China: To widen property tax reforms in 2012
China will expand a pilot property tax programme in 2012 while speeding up resource tax reforms, said Finance Minister Xie Xuren. “We will summarize the experience from property tax reforms being experimented with and steadily push forward the reforms,” Xie said in remarks published on Monday on the Finance Ministry’s website. Chinese officials have said a pilot property tax programme in Chongqing and Shanghai will eventually be extended to the rest of the country to help cool housing prices rises. (StarBiz)
South Korea: Confidence falls after death of Kim Jong Il
South Korean consumer confidence fell to a three-month low in December, as concern the political outlook in the North will worsen in the wake of Kim Jong Il’s death compounds the risk from Europe’s debt crisis. The sentiment index fell to 99, from 103 in November, the Bank of Korea said. A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey was conducted between 14 Dec and 21 Dec. North Korea announced the death of its leader on 19 Dec, with his son Kim Jong Un, thought to be under 30, to succeed as ruler. (Bloomberg)
UK: First-time UK home buyers at record low
Homes bought by first time buyers have reached their most affordable level since 2003-but the number of such buyers has hit a record low, Halifax has found. Houses bought by first-time buyers in November were found to be priced at “affordable” levels in 44% of local authority districts in the UK, the highest proportion for 8 years, the First Time Buyer Review found. (Bloomberg)
US: Home prices in 20 US cities decrease more than forecast
Residential real estate prices dropped more than forecast in the year ended October, showing a broad-based decline that indicates the US housing market continues to be weighed down by foreclosures. The S&P index of property values in 20 cities dropped 3.4% from Oct 2010 after decreasing 3.5% in the year ended September, the New York-based group said. The real-estate market is bracing for another wave of foreclosures that may keep pressure on home prices, indicating any housing recovery will take time to develop. Nonetheless, rising builder confidence, a pickup in construction and fewer unsold new properties for sale are among signs the industry that triggered the last recession is steadying. (Bloomberg)
US: Obama to seek USD1.2trn increase in debt limit 30 Dec
The Obama administration will ask Congress to increase federal borrowing authority by USD1.2trn as the nation approaches the debt limit set by law, according to a Treasury Department official. The White House will send the request to Congress on 30 Dec, the day the debt is projected to rise to within USD100bn of the USD15.194 trn limit, the Treasury official told reporters today on condition of anonymity. Congress will be notified under the terms of a deal to raise the limit worked out on 2 Aug after a more than two-month standoff between the administration and Republican lawmakers that was followed by a cut in the US debt rating by S&P’s. The Budget Control Act of 2011 gives Congress 15 days to pass a joint resolution disapproving the increase in the limit. The president can veto such a measure. (Bloomberg)
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