Malaysia attracted RM120bn in investments between Jan and Nov last year. International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir said total investments surpassed the RM115bn target set by the government for last year. (Bernama)
Overseas investors bought Malaysian stocks for a fourth straight month in Jan, according to data on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange‟s website. Foreign funds purchased a net RM200m (US$66m) of Malaysian shares in Jan 2012 (RM800m in Dec 2011, RM700m in Nov 2011 and RM1.5bn in Oct 2011). (BT)
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank of Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday to enter into a cross-border collateral arrangement. The agreement is mainly to facilitate a reciprocal operational arrangement aimed at enhancing liquidity facilities to financial institutions in both countries. Under this arrangement, eligible financial institutions operating in Malaysia may obtain Malaysian Ringgit liquidity from Bank Negara by pledging Thai Baht or Thai government and central bank debt securities with it and vice versa. (BNM)
The Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA), expected to be inked in three months, will smoothen and increase the movement of goods and services between both countries, said the CEO of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) Dr Wong Lai Sum. She said Malaysia, which currently does not have a direct agreement with Australia, except through the ASEAN-ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) FTA, has so far benefited tremendously from the regional agreement. Total trade with Australia increased by 6.1% to reach RM34bn last year compared with the RM32bn in 2010. (Bernama)
The Chinese government is considering funding options for the temporary European Financial Stability Facility and its permanent successor, the European Stability Mechanism, through the International Monetary Fund to help stabilise the monetary union, Premier Wen Jiabao said in affirmation of China‟s preparedness to assist in resolving the eurozone‟s debt crisis. (Bloomberg)
Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi stepped up his warnings over the yen's renewed strength, saying he "can't overlook" speculative moves in the market to push the currency higher—a trend that threatens to exacerbate the nation's trade shortfalls and economic slowdown. "I am calmly watching the market now, but I can't overlook any acceleration in moves by short-term speculators" in the currency market, he said. "As I have been saying, I will take decisive steps if deemed necessary." (WSJ)
South Korea’s foreign reserves rose to US$311.34bn in Jan (US$306.4bn in Dec). (Bloomberg)
Vietnam’s exports fell 11.1% yoy YTD in Jan (+33.3% in Dec), while imports declined 18.7% yoy YTD (+24.7% in Dec). (Bloomberg)
Australia’s trade surplus soared to a record in 2011 on coal and iron ore shipments, sending the local currency to a five-month high. Exports outpaced imports by AUD19.3bn (USD20.7bn) in the 12 months through 31 Dec, a Bureau of Statistics report showed. The December surplus unexpectedly widened to AUD1.71bn from a revised AUD1.34bn in November. The data underscore the Reserve Bank of Australia’s expectation that Chinese demand for the nation’s commodities will help propel the domestic economy even as a global expansion slows. Growth in Australia, which has avoided a recession for two decades, is driven by iron ore and coal shipments to Asia as the developing economies of China and India boost construction and power generation. (Bloomberg)
Spain: Jobless sign on at fastest pace in three years
Spanish unemployment registrations jumped by the most in three years in January as the economy edged into its second recession since the end of 2009. The number of people signing on for jobless benefits increased by 177,470 to 4.6m, the Labor Ministry in Madrid said in a statement yesterday. That was the biggest increase since January 2009 and the total is the most since records began 16 years ago. Data last week showed overall unemployment in the fourth quarter reached a 15-year high. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is battling to trim the budget deficit while nurturing growth and creating jobs in an economy home to a third of the euro region’s unemployed and where almost half of young people are out of work. (Bloomberg)
US: Bernanke says he won’t trade inflation goal for more job growth
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank will seek to keep prices rising at a 2% rate and rejected suggestions that it would sacrifice its inflation goal to boost employment. “Over a period of time we want to move inflation always back toward 2%,” Bernanke said yesterday in response to a question from Republican Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee. “We’re always trying to bring inflation back to the target.” Bernanke defended the central bank’s newly established inflation goal after Ryan suggested it might be willing to tolerate higher inflation to fulfill the second part of its mandate from Congress, which is to seek maximum employment. (Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims fall, productivity gains cool
Claims for US jobless benefits fell last week and productivity cooled in the fourth quarter, signaling hiring may accelerate as companies reach the limits of how much efficiency they can wring from existing workforces. Applications for unemployment insurance payments dropped by 12,000 to 367,000 in the week ended 28 Jan, according to Labor Department figures issued yesterday. Worker output per hour increased at a 0.7% annual rate from October through December, down from a 1.9% gain in the prior three months, another report showed. After focusing on cutting costs during the recession, American businesses are taking on more staff as they gain confidence the recovery will be sustained. (Bloomberg)
US: Consumer comfort index rises as view of economy improves
Consumer confidence in the US climbed for a second week as Americans became less pessimistic about the prospects for the world’s largest economy. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 44.8 in the period to 29 Jan from minus 46.4 the previous week. A measure of Americans’ view of the state of economy climbed to the highest since June. Gains in employment and post-holiday clearance sales at retailers also helped create a better buying climate for consumers, the report showed. At the same time, increasing gasoline costs threaten to hinder progress in household spending, which accounts for about 70% of the economy. (Bloomberg)
US employers said they planned to cut 53,486 positions in Jan, compared with 41,785 job cuts announced in Dec, representing a 39% yoy increase from Jan 2011‟s 38,519 cuts, the lowest first-month cuts on record, according to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This jump was led by retailers and financial firms which were cutting 12,426 and 7,611 jobs, respectively. (CNBC)
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