Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) said there is no issue of a rice shortage during this festive period. Bernas MD Datuk Bakry Hamzah said the usual demand for rice is 3k-4k tonnes, and supply will be doubled during the festive period with the price remaining the same. “For now, Malaysia has around 500,000 tonnes of rice and this is sufficient to meet demand for six months,” he said. However, glutinous rice is still imported from Thailand and Vietnam according to the prevailing demand. Malaysia’s rice production is still at the same level, with 70% domestic production and 30% imported, he added. (Financial Daily)
Malaysia's debt is still manageable as it is below 55% to the GDP ratio, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala. The 53.8% of national debt for last year is within the range as the government continues its efforts to bring down the fiscal deficit level, he said. Citing the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, Idris said though the government had to raise funds for the project, it still managed to keep the debt level below 55%. "We borrow for investments aiming to grow our GDP and economy, hence the debt level will directly reduce. Unlike Greece, they are borrowing a lot of money but the economy is shrinking," he added. (Bernama)
Fitch Ratings said in its latest global cross-sector credit outlook report that ratings with negative credit outlooks had increased across the sovereign (19.8% versus 10.3%), international public finance (48.3% versus 22.4%), financial institution (19.3% versus 10.7%) and insurance sectors (11.1% versus 5.6%) over the past six months, mainly due to the eurozone calamity. (StarBiz)
US stocks fall on concern Europe’s crisis is worsening
US stocks declined, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down for a second day. Stocks fell as Spain’s 10-year bond yields rose to a euro- era high on bets more of its regions will ask for aid. All 10 S&P 500 groups fell as commodity shares had the biggest losses. McDonald’s (MCD) Corp. slid 2.9% as profit trailed estimates. S&P 500 index lost 0.9% to 1,338.31 as Moody’s Investors Service lowered the outlooks for Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 104.14 pts, or 0.8%, to 12,617.32. (Bloomberg)
The US FHFA house price index rose 0.8% mom in May (a revised 0.7% in Apr), almost tripling consensus of 0.3%, whilst on a yoy basis, the measure gained 3.7% (a revised 3.0% in Apr). (Bloomberg)
The US ICSC-Goldman Store Sales index gained 1.0% wow in the 21 Jul week (0.0% in the prior week), whilst on a yoy basis, the gauge gained 3.3% (2.6% in the earlier week). (Bloomberg)
The flash reading of the US manufacturing PMI fell to 51.8 in Jul from a revised 52.5 in Jun, worse than consensus of 52.6 and is the second-lowest rate since Dec 2010. (Bloomberg)
HSBC said its China purchasing managers’ index was on track to rise from 48.2 last month to 49.5 in Jul, which would mark a five-month high, but in remaining below the 50 threshold, factory activity is still contracting at a mild pace. (FT)
The growth rate of Conference Board’s China leading index slowed to 0.1% mom in Jun following 1.1% seen in May. (Bloomberg, Conference Board)
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said that Europe's sovereign debt crisis remains the biggest risk to Japan's economy, which is heading for a gradual recovery. (Reuters)
Japan’s Finance Ministry judged its record foreign-exchange intervention last year to have proved effective. (Bloomberg)
A full-blown Spanish bailout can be averted if the European Central Bank starts buying the nation’s bonds in large quantities, according to OECD Secretary General Angel. (Bloomberg)
Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker stated his "strong commitment" to the eurozone's stability after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the outlook of three members including Germany. (AFP)
Moody's Investor Service lowered the outlook on the EU's bailout fund from stable to negative, after threatening the triple-A credit ratings of three of the eurozone's major guarantors. (Bangkok Post)
There will be fewer job vacancies in Singapore over the next three months, according to a recent survey by recruitment firm Hudson. Just 34.7% of respondents plan to increase headcount, while 57.8% will maintain their headcount for the next quarter. (Channel News Asia)
A shortage of electricity may hamper Indonesia’s plan to ban all raw-ore exports by 2014 and force companies to refine locally, as more than 1 gigawatt of additional capacity may be needed to power the smelters required. (Jakarta Globe)
Vietnam’s inflation rate slowed to 5.35% yoy in Jul (6.9% in Jun), lower than market expectations of 5.7%. (Bloomberg)
Vietnam's index of industrial production (IIP) rose 3.2% mom in Jul driven by manufacturing and power generation sectors. (Vietnam News)
Vietnam has approved a master plan for the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta region that seeks to achieve annual economic growth of 7.7% until 2015 and 8.6% in the succeeding five years. (Vietnam News)
Vietnam’s trade deficit reached US$58m in 7M12, representing only 0.09% of total export value. In the first seven months, total imports reached nearly US$63bn, up 7.3% yoy. Exports totalled US$62.93bn 7M12, up 19% yoy. (Vietnam News)
Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand, aims to ship at least 6-7m tonnes of rice a year until 2015, the government said, nearing 2011's record shipment of 7.2m tonnes. (Reuters)
The Eurozone composite Purchasing Managers Index compiled by business research firm Markit was stuck at 46.4 in Jul, according to a preliminary "flash" reading, indicating another month of contraction in activity. (WSJ)
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