The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), a joint venture with South Korea’s stock exchange, finally began trading shares nine months after it officially opened, when a water monopoly became the first firm to list. (AFP)
India: Consumer-price inflation accelerated to 9.47% in March
Indian consumer-price inflation accelerated in March as the cost of egg, vegetables, fish and meat products rose, the government said. The consumer-price index climbed 9.47% y-o-y, compared with an 8.83% advance in February, the central statistics office said in a statement yesterday. The Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates earlier this week for the first time since 2009 on slowing growth even as it said upside risks to inflation were limiting room for further easing. The country’s benchmark wholesale-price index rose 6.89% in March, slower than the 6.95% pace in February. (Bloomberg)
China: Home prices decline in more than half of cities
China’s home prices fell in a record 37 of 70 cities tracked by the government in March as officials pledged to keep restrictions on property purchases that have sapped buyer demand. The eastern city of Wenzhou led declines with a 9% slump in values from a year earlier, while Beijing and Shanghai recorded drops of 0.8%, according to data released by the statistics bureau yesterday. Yesterday’s release underscores forecasts for China’s economic growth to slow further this quarter after the rate reached the lowest level in almost three years in the three months through March. (Bloomberg)
Out of 70 major Chinese cities tracked by the government, 46 recorded falls in home prices in Mar from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said - one more than Feb. (AFP)
Prices of newly built homes in 70 Chinese cities in Mar were down 0.4% yoy on average. By contrast, in Feb home prices were up 0.17%. (WSJ)
China's outbound investment in non-financial sectors increased by 94.5% yoy in the first quarter, rising to US$16.55bn. (China Daily)
China’s FDI in Mar dropped 6.1% yoy to US$11.76bn as companies curbed investments amid a sluggish global economy. (Global Times)
China will firmly support efforts to maintain the stability of the euro and the European economy, Premier Wen Jiabao told German Chancellor Angela Merkel, state media said. (AFP)
The Bank of Japan is ready to ease monetary policy further if necessary to help the economy recover and escape deflation, deputy governor Kiyohiko Nishimura said, pointing to Europe’s debt crisis as the bank’s prime concern. (Reuters)
The Bank of Japan is ready to implement additional monetary easing as necessary to help the economy recover and escape deflation, deputy governor Kiyohiko Nishimura said, giving the strongest signal for further stimulus since its surprise Feb action. (Reuters)
UK: Unemployment unexpectedly falls as growth resumes
UK jobless claims rose less than economists forecast in March and a broader measure of unemployment fell for the first time for almost a year, signs that the labour market is stabilizing as the economy recovers. Jobless-benefit claims rose by 3,600 from February to 1.61m, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. Unemployment as measured by International Labour Organization methods fell to 8.3% in the quarter through February from a 16-year high of 8.4%. (Bloomberg)
The Eurozone current account plunged into a deficit of €1.3bn in Feb (a revised +€3.7bn in Jan), according to the ECB. Over the 12 months to Feb, the current account showed a surplus of €2.1bn, compared with a deficit of €18.1bn in the corresponding period a year earlier. (Dow Jones)
US: Factories cool for first time in four months
Production at US factories dropped in March for the first time in four months as the industry cooled following the strongest surge in three decades. Manufacturing, which makes up about 75% of industrial output, decreased 0.2% last month as appliance and furniture makers cut back, data from the Federal Reserve showed today in Washington. The decline followed a revised 3.4% gain from December through February that marked the biggest three-month jump since March 1984. (Bloomberg)
The US Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued rules requiring US financial institutions to begin reporting to the government the interest payments they make to foreigners. (WSJ)
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