20121107 1003 Local & Global Economy Related News.

Malaysia's healthcare has attracted more foreign patients, including from developed countries such as the US and Japan, due to the high-quality care and reasonable rates on offer. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the number of foreign patients to the country showed a 48% increase in 2011, to 583,000 arrivals from 393,000 in 2010. (Bernama)

The  pay rise review for civil servants who have reached their maximum salary scale will only be conducted if the Special Commission on civil service transformation does not make any suggestions, said  Chief Secretary to the Government, Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa. The Special Commission has had discussions with the Public Service Department and the results will be presented in Dec, he added. The study would take into consideration the total number of civil servants involved, financial implications for the government and to be fair to those who have not been given a raise or promotion after several years of being in the maximum bracket, he said. (Bernama)

Malaysia is the  second best country in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) for dynamic growing businesses, according to the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI). Malaysia, which came in second after Singapore, was ranked 23rd globally. Managing partner of SJ Grant Thornton, Datuk N.K. Jasani, said the strong positioning was a result of good ratings for Malaysia in key areas of business operating environment (74), economics and growth (72.3) and financing environment (57.7). (Bernama)

US job openings - a measure of  labor demand - fell to 3.56m in Sep from 3.66m in Aug. The hiring rate decreased to 3.1% from 3.3% while the quit rate fell to 1.5% from 1.6%. (Reuters)

In the US, CoreLogic Inc's home price index fell 0.3% mom in Sep. Prices were still up strongly compared with a year ago, rising 5% yoy for the biggest increase since Jul 2006. (Reuters)

The  eurozone’s services PMI declined to 46 in Oct from 46.2 last month. The region’s  composite PMI slid to 45.7 in Oct from 45.8 previously. (Bloomberg)

Producer prices in the  euro area rose 0.2% mom in Sep, slowing from a 0.9% rise in Aug. In year-to-year terms producer-price inflation was unchanged at 2.7%. (WSJ)

Japan’s leading index fell to 91.7 in Sep from 93.2 in Aug, while the coincident index slipped to 91.2 from 93.5 in Aug. (Bloomberg, Reuters)

Indonesia will review its rules on the export of unprocessed metal ores after a Supreme Court ruling upheld a challenge to a government ban on such shipments. The court decision could pave the way for a resumption of exports by small mining companies, which were hit hard by the restriction imposed in May. (Reuters)

The rice exports target for 2013 has been set at 8.5m tonnes, up 16.44% from this year's expected result,  Thailand’s Foreign Trade Department reported. (Bangkok Post)

Consumer price inflation in the Philippines slowed to a four-month low of 3.1% yoy in Oct from 3.6 percent in Sep. (Philippine Star)

Australia’s central bank left the overnight cash-rate target at 3.25%. The move surprised most economists, who predicted a cut to 3%. (Bloomberg)