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Ft.com
A top European Central Bank policy maker has publicly backed the rapid use of the eurozone’s bailout fund to buy distressed sovereign bonds on the open market, saying such action could ease the “very severe strain” being felt by Spain and Italy. Speaking to the Financial Times, Benoît Cœuré, the ECB executive board member who oversees financial market operations, also said a cut in interest rates was likely to be discussed at next month’s ECB rate-setting meeting, to help boost confidence. But he stressed that political agreement on fiscal integration was needed to tackle the eurozone’s underlying problems.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2007154e-baf0-11e1-b445-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI48tC
The Federal Reserve has extended “Operation Twist” – a plan to sell short-term bonds while purchasing longer-term securities – to support a slowing US economic recovery, but refrained from a more aggressive plan to ease monetary policy. At the end of a two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates, offered a bleaker picture on Wednesday of the US economy than it had at its last gathering two months ago. It noted thatemployment growth had slowed and consumer spending was rising at a weaker pace. The Fed warned that global financial strains continued to pose “significant downside risks” to the economic outlook. Officials cut forecasts for US growth this year to a range of 1.9 to 2.4 per cent, from between 2.4 and 2.9 per cent in their previous projection in April.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5a7bbe52-baee-11e1-b445-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI6tZF
The government’s new “funding for lending” programme, designed to boost credit for British business, will cut banks’ costs to as little as 1.2 per cent, according to people briefed on the scheme. The supply of such cheap money to the banks is supposed to encourage them to lend to companies and stimulate the sluggish economy. Under current plans, which are still being revised the rate at which banks could borrow government money would start at the baseline Libor rate plus 125 basis points and fall to a minimum possible surcharge of just 25 basis points, according to one senior banker.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c8e3c988-bab8-11e1-83e0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI6tZF
UK Unemployment may start to rise again over the summer despite the labour market’s remarkable resilience in the face of a double-dip recession and theeurozone crisis, economists and business leaders have warned. The jobless total fell 51,000 to 2.61m in the three months from February to April, the Office for National Statistics reported: the third successive monthly fall. But in a possible sign of future increases, the more timely claimant count – a measure of those claiming jobseeker’s allowance – rose by 8,100 in May to reach 1.6m, ending two months of declines. Economists had expected a small fall.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3485ba3a-bab8-11e1-83e0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI6tZF
The leaders of three Greek political parties committed to keeping the country in the euro and pushing ahead with its €174bn bailout have agreed to form a coalition government. Antonis Samaras, whose centre-right New Democracy party narrowly claimed first place in Sunday’s election, was sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday afternoon at the presidential residence. He promised to “uphold the law and serve the interests of the Greek people”. “Tomorrow I will ask the new cabinet to work hard to produce tangible results that will take us out of the crisis,” Mr Samaras said.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d9756942-bab2-11e1-83e0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI6tZF
Hastily elevated from professor to prime minister to save Italy from financial ruin, Mario Monti enters his most crucial week in politics, his options dwindling with the future of the euro hanging in the balance. If he were to come away empty-handed from a European summit starting next Thursday then Mr Monti’s unelected technocrat government could also expect to find itself under intensifying pressure to resign and to make way for early elections, a prospect that is already alarming markets. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1ef8289c-baef-11e1-b445-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI6tZF
The US Congress is considering imposing tougher sanctions on Iran after the latest round of diplomatic talks over Iran’s nuclear programme ended in Moscow without substantive progress. Congress was already preparing another piece of sanctions legislation before the latest diplomatic setback in Moscowand members of both parties are pushing for stricter measures to be included in the new bill, which would further reduce Iran’s ability to export oil.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/03cda01c-baf2-11e1-b445-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yOqI6tZF
Thetrader.se
Guest post by Azizonomics. Most of us are at least passingly familiar with the theory: the completion of a new tallest skyscraper presages a market crash. Over-exuberant construction reflects over-exuberant markets, and over-confidence often spills over as the hyper-bullish slowly (and then quickly) realise that the good times are over. Here’s the story so far: Where else but China? As if that country didn’t already have enough empty buildings, enough empty office space, enough empty homes, and enough grey uninspired architecture. And it’s not like Changsha — the relatively-sparsely populated city where the thing is to be built — is running out of countryside to expand into. Sky City One is planned to be prefabricated and built onsite, to a timeframe of just ninety days (that will instil confidence that the building won’t spontaneously collapse, right?) and at a much lower cost than the current titleholder (which of course presaged the 2008 crash, and bankrupted its builders) the Burj Khalifa.http://www.thetrader.se/2012/06/20/skyscraper-index-indicates-next-global-crash-in-2013/
Wsj.com
Most Asian stock markets fell and oil slid to its lowest close since October after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided against aggressive monetary stimulus, while a weaker yen helped push up Japan’s Nikkei Average. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 dropped 0.6%, Korea’s Kospi was down 0.7%, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was 0.7% lower. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.8%, while the China Shanghai Composite dropped 1.1%.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577479223359374002.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews
The preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity showed that China’s manufacturing activities contracted for an eight straight month in June, which could make the case for further policy easing measures to boost growth. The PMI fell to 48.1 in June compared with a final reading of 48.4 in May, HSBC Holdings HBC +0.68%PLC said Thursday. A reading below 50 indicates contraction from the previous month, while anything above that indicates growth.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577479461349552418.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi warned that his conservative party was bleeding voters by supporting unpopular austerity measures, raising the specter that Italy’s biggest party might pull support for the country’s technocrat government before its term’s scheduled end next spring. In an interview at his villa near Milan, Mr. Berlusconi—who is still the kingmaker of Italy’s biggest political party, the People of Freedom party—criticized the tax increases and labor-market makeover that Prime Minister Mario Monti has adopted to fend of Europe’s debt crisis. “The day we stop supporting this technical government, we will recover a lot of votes,” the tanned 75- year-old media mogul told The Wall Street Journal.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304441404577478631500384776.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories
The Bank of England looks set to pump more stimulus into the U.K. economy after minutes of its June policy meeting revealed that Governor Mervyn King was narrowly defeated in a knife-edge vote on a fresh bout of bond purchases. The rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee voted earlier this month to leave its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5% and the size of its asset purchase program at £325 billion pounds ($511 billion). The minutes of the MPC’S deliberations, published Wednesday, record that the nine-man committee voted five to four against extra stimulus, with Mr. King in the minority pushing for more. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577477963082127488.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories
The euro-zone’s fiscal crisis has widened the gap between household consumption in those countries pursuing austerity programs and those that aren’t, according to figures from the European Union’s official statistics agency. Within the currency area, households in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain suffered relative declines in consumption of goods and services in 2011, while those in Germany, Austria and Finland saw their relative consumption increase, the data from Eurostat showed. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577478222819697832.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories
Marketwatch.com
As Asian markets obsessed over weak manufacturing data out of China Thursday, sparkling economic growth out of New Zealand is perhaps not getting as much attention as it deserves. New Zealand’s GDP jumped 1.1% in the January-to-March quarter from the preceding three months, blowing away expectations of a 0.5% expansion in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. Read more about New Zealand’s GDP growth. The expansion is New Zealand’s fastest pace of growth in nearly five years and comes against the backdrop of serious stresses in the euro zone, slowing growth in China and softer indicators in neighboring Australia. http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2012/06/21/new-zealand-gdp-soars-too-good-to-be-true/
MSCI Inc. announced changes late Wednesday to its review lists for potential reclassifications within its widely-used emerging markets indices, including the possible reclassification of Greece to emerging markets. The provider of investment decision support tools said the MSCI Greece Index is “structurally no longer in line with developed markets size requirements with only two index constituents.” MSCI said it may open consultations on proposals to reclassify the index to “stand-alone market status outside of the regular reclassification cycle if the country were to introduce accessibility restrictions to its equity market following a potential exit of the country from the European Monetary Union.” The MSCI Korea Index remains under review for possible reclassification to developed markets, as it continues to meet “most of the developed markets criteria,” notably in economic development, market size and liquidity, MSCI saidhttp://www.marketwatch.com/story/greece-may-be-cut-to-emerging-market-status-2012-06-20
Reuters.com
Bank of Japan policymaker Koji Ishida on Thursday stressed the central bank’s resolve to continue pursuing powerful monetary easing, warning of a bigger-than-expected slowdown in overseas growth as Europe’s simmering debt crisis keeps markets jittery. Ishida, a former banking sector executive, said the central bank’s ultra-loose monetary policy has kept borrowing costs in Japan very low despite market worries over the euro-zone crisis. He also said Japan’s economy is on course for a moderate recovery mainly due to support from domestic spending for rebuilding from last year’s devastating earthquake.http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/21/us-japan-economy-boj-ishida-idUSBRE85K06320120621
Brent crude for August delivery fell 56 cents to $92.13 a barrel by 0254 GMT, after falling to as low as $91.98, its weakest since December 20, 2010. Front-month U.S. crude was down $1.11 cents to $80.34 a barrel, after earlier hitting an eight-month low of $80.39. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/21/us-markets-oil-idUSBRE83H17O20120621
Cash gold fell $5.62 an ounce to $1,599.76 by 10:14 p.m. EDT (0214 GMT). Gold rallied to its highest level in 2012 of around $1,790 in February after the Fed at the time said it would keep interest rates near zero until the end of 2014 at the earliest. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/21/us-markets-precious-idUSBRE85H0KJ20120621
Bloomberg.com
South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar failed to secure an upgrade at MSCI Inc. (MSCI), whose stock indexes are tracked by investors with about $7 trillion in assets. The New York-based index provider will keep South Korea and Taiwan’s emerging-market status, and Qatar and the U.A.E.’s frontier classification, it said in a statement yesterday. The two Asian countries will be kept under review for potential elevation to developed markets, while the Persian Gulf nations will remain under review for possible reclassification to emerging markets, it said.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-20/south-korea-taiwan-uae-qatar-fail-to-secure-upgrades-at-msci.html
Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter. Scott, a Republican, was asked to say that the state’s jobless rate could improve faster under a Romney presidency, according to the people, who asked not to be named. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-21/romney-campaign-said-to-ask-scott-to-downplay-job-gains.html
Cnn.com
Japan has posted its first-ever trade deficit with the EU, underlining the threat to the recovery of the world’s third-largest economy posed by the debt crisis roiling Spain and Greece. Big deficits have opened up all over Japan’s trade account since March last year when the Fukushima nuclear crisis caused imports of replacement fuels to soar, while the strong yen and uncertain global demand weighed on exports. In recent months, however, Japan’s trade with the EU has deteriorated sharply. In May, Japanese shipments to the EU fell 0.9 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, even as they surged 38 per cent to North America. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/20/business/japan-trade-deficit/index.html?hpt=ibu_c2
Washingtonpost.com
Reliance Industries Ltd., the operator of the world’s biggest refining complex, is benefiting from a record demand for diesel as consumers in India opt for the subsidized fuel to run vehicles and generators. State-owned oil companies, unable to meet the surge in domestic requirements, are turning to Reliance, Essar Oil Ltd. and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. to bridge the shortfall. Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner, said its diesel purchases from private companies surged 50 percent in the past two months. Demand for the fuel in India increased 7.8 percent in the year ended March 31, surpassing growth in gasoline sales for the first time in seven years. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government caps diesel prices to shield farmers and truckers, a significant voting bloc, spurring artificial demand for the fuel that costs 41 percent less than gasoline in the capital New Delhi. The shift in customer preference is helping Essar and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance bolster local sales and counter an export slowdown caused by the debt crisis in Europe.http://washpost.bloomberg.com/story?docId=1376-M5X68M1A1I4H01-2J2FQLSJGMHL5ER7AOJ4FILUFA
Telegraph.co.uk
Angela Merkel put Germany on a collision course with its European neighbours by insisting an idea to allow bail-out funds to buy Spanish and Italian debt was “purely theoretical”. The German Chancellor agreed that the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) had the “possibility of buying bonds” but said no discussions were being held about such a move. Her comments came as a top European Central Bank policymaker publicly backed the idea. Benoît Cœuré said that the action could ease the “very severe strain” on Spain and Italy. “Certainly it’s a mystery why the EFSF was allowed almost a year ago to undertake secondary market interventions and governments have not yet chosen to use that possibility,” he told the Financial Times in an interview http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9345571/Debt-crisis-bond-buying-plan-to-ease-euro-debts-only-theoretical-says-Angela-Merkel.html
Greece will on Thursday begin the uphill struggle of trying to secure revisions to its mammoth international bail-outs, just hours after ending its protracted political crisis by forming a coalition government. New prime minister Antonis Samaras is sending a representative to Luxembourg for a meeting of eurozone finance ministers that will provide his administration an opportunity to argue its case for leniency. After three days of talks following Sunday’s re-run election, Mr Samaras’ New Democracy party agreed to join forces with the socialist Pasok, which finished third, and the smaller Democratic Left led by Fotis Kouvelis. “With God’s help we will do everything we can to take the country out of the crisis,” said 61-year-old, US-educated former foreign minister Mr Samaras after his swearing-in at the presidential palace. Panagiotis Pikrammenos, the outgoing caretaker prime minister, told Mr Samaras bluntly: “You have many battles ahead of you, both inside and outside Greece.”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9345380/Greek-coalition-to-plead-for-leniency-on-bail-out.html
BP could yet find a way forward in Russia, a senior member of the country’s government has suggested, declaring he did not want the British oil major to leave the country. The UK company put its 50pc stake in TNK-BP, its main Russian venture, up for sale on June 1 after a breakdown in relations with oligarch partners AAR. Igor Shuvalov, Russian first deputy prime minister, said he would be happy to see AAR buy out BP, or for AAR to find a new partner. But he added: “In the big picture, the only thing I would regret is that BP would leave. Having such an investor on the market is a very valuable thing.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9345439/Russia-wants-BP-to-stay-in-the-country.html
Smh.com.au
Australia’s era of flipping houses in a rising market is well and truly over with the latest data showing homes are now changing hands at the slowest pace since at least 2000. House owners now stay put for nine years on average, according to data to March gathered by property research group RP Data. That’s up from an average of 7.6 years at the turn of the century. For units, the average hold period has risen to 7.7 years from about six years in 2000. “It appears that home owners are increasingly likely to keep their current properties rather than upgrade due to the significant cost,” said RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher. The longer hold period is the latest sign that Australia’s residential property is in a funk. http://www.smh.com.au/business/home-owners-stay-put-as-prices-slump-20120621-20psw.html#ixzz1yOwVc6dH
Spain insisted Wednesday it had no need of a full-blown bailout even though its borrowing costs were hovering near danger levels and a vast rescue loomed for its stricken banks. Fears mounted among investors that punitive borrowing rates could eventually topple the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, forcing an international rescue that would dwarf those mounted for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Spain’s eurozone partners agreed on June 9 to lend up to 100 billion euros ($US127 billion) to save banks laden with bad loans extended during a real estate bubble that imploded in 2008. But Madrid refuses to consider this a rescue, and dismisses talk of a broader bailout. http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/spain-insists-no-need-for-full-bailout-20120621-20p3c.html#ixzz1yOwapxVo
Straitstimes.com
Singapore has a high degree of resilience of global financial shocks, despite its open economy and dependence on global finance and trade, said ratings agency Moody’s. But the economy is facing both structural challenges as growth slows down and the political landscape changes. Still, Moody’s is keeping a stable outlook on its triple-A rating on Singapore’s sovereign credit rating, citing strengths in its economy, institutions and government financial position.http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_812685.html
Xinhuanet.com
China’s decision to impose stricter regulations on its rare earth industry was made out of environmental concerns and should not be seen as a pretext for political or economic gain, an official said Wednesday. Su Bo, vice minister of Industry and Information Technology, said at a press conference that China’s imposition of export quotas and tougher regulations for the sector are aimed at protecting the environment and public health. Some countries have complained that China’s regulations have led to price increases for rare earth metals, triggering concerns that the country is trying to use the resources as a political bargaining chip http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-06/20/c_131665392.htm
Nepali government will formulate an Internal Trade Policy (ITP) to better manage and develop local markets and boost local trading activities, local media reported on Thursday. The larger concern of the policy is to better serve the interest of consumers, said an official at Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM)). “Its goal is to facilitate the establishment and development of value chain, increase employment and income opportunities through expansion of commerce and ultimately attain poverty reduction,” Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general of th e DoCSM told Republica daily. The department has outsourced the task of preparing the ITP to South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), a Katmandu-based regional think tank.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2012-06/21/c_131667825.htm
South Korean companies’direct financing through issuing stocks and bonds shrank 19.3 percent last month due to a drop in bond issuance by non-financial companies, the financial watchdog said Thursday. Corporate financing through public offers such as equity issuance and bond sales amounted to 8.31 trillion won (7.22 billion U.S. dollars) in May, down 19.3 percent from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Cumulative funding-raising for the first five months of this year reached 55.25 trillion won, down 9.3 percent from the same period last year. The May drop was mainly attributed to a sharp fall in bond sales by non-financial companies. Industrial firms secured money by preemptively floating bonds ahead of the tighter regulation.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2012-06/21/c_131667335.htm
Cs.com.cn
China`s big four state-owned banks issued new loans 25 billion yuan in the first two week of June, some anonymous banker told China Securities Journal Wednesday.As Chinese commercial banks used to grant more new loans before the end of one quarter, some market persons forecasted that the financial institutions likely to issue new loans about 900 billion to 1 trillion yuan in this June.
New yuan loans issued by Chinese financial institutions totaled 793.2 billion yuan ($125.6 billion) in May, up from CNY682 billion in April, data from the People’s Bank of China showed before.http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201206/t20120621_3380019.html
Thehindu.com
India and China have agreed to step up their defence and security dialogue and work to take steps to ensure that the two countries achieve a $100 billion trade target by 2015. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabo spoke of the need to continue with this dialogue at their 40-minute meeting on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Environment Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said that during the discussion on trade and economic cooperation, Dr Singh invited Chinese investment in infrastructure in India. Mr Mathai also said that Indian rice exports to China will commence soon. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3553515.ece?homepage=true
Economictimes.com
So you think India is doing badly? Sample this: China’s growth rate in the second quarter of the year is expected to dip below 7%. India’s growth rate has tended to be, in general, two to three percentage points below that of China. If India were to grow at 5% in the second quarter, that should not be a great shock. Brazil, another of the BRIC economies, grew by just 2.7% in 2011, down from 7.5% in 2010. The IMF projects growth in 2012 at 3%. Among the BRIC nations, Russia alone is poised to maintain its growth rate in 2012 but that is because Russia has been growing in the past two years at a relatively slower 4%. You can’t say that China’s growth has slumped because of ‘policy paralysis’. China does not face the difficulties that a democracy does. To get a better clue to the slump, just see when was the last time that its growth rate fell below 7%. China’s growth was 6.6% in the first quarter of 2009, which was the worst time in the sub-prime crisis, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/t-t-ram-mohan/sp-india-inc-overdoing-gloom-on-economy/articleshow/14311332.cms
Yonhapnews.co.kr
South Korea’s labor productivity fell in the first quarter of 2012 from a year earlier due to sluggish exports and weak domestic consumption, a government report showed Thursday. According to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the labor productivity index for all industries in the January-March period fell 2.3 percent on-year to 104.6, compared to 107 tallied a year earlier. The figure also decelerated from 107.2 reached in the fourth quarter of last year, it said. Labor productivity, which excludes the farming and fishing sectors, is measured by dividing total industrial output with total labor input during a given period of time. The quarterly report showed labor input rising 5.1 percent, but industrial output gaining just 2.7 percent.http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2012/06/21/95/0502000000AEN20120621001500320F.HTML
Themoscowtimes.com
The United States says the Russian military was preparing to dispatch three more ships to Syria after a separate transport carrying attack helicopters turned back when its U.K. insurer removed its coverage. But Pentagon officials noted that Moscow’s stated intent was to send supplies and personnel to its naval facility in the Syrian port of Tartus. “We have no indication that these vessels and that material is being sent to Syria for any other purpose than that which the Russian military has acknowledged themselves,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain John Kirby said Tuesday. “Russian citizens have been threatened there in Syria, and their stated intention is that this is for force protection reasons.” Interfax reported Monday that Russia was preparing to send two landing ships carrying marines to Syria in the event that it needs to protect personnel and remove equipment from the naval facility.http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/more-russian-ships-on-way-to-syria/460709.html#ixzz1yOywv9CV
Nearly 5,000 investors leaned forward in their seats during Dmitry Medvedev’s keynote address at the annual economic forum in St. Petersburg last year, eagerly waiting to hear whether he would run for a second term as president. But Medvedev refused to spill the beans, saying only that “every story should have intrigue, otherwise it’s not interesting to live.” He promised, however, to reveal his plans soon. Indeed, the announcement came three months later at a United Russia convention, when Medvedev said he would step aside for Vladimir Putin. So it will be Putin, who last month returned to the Kremlin for a third term and immediately reshuffled the government, who welcomes business leaders to this year’s forum Thursday with a keynote speech some hope will clarify the new government’s priorities, particularly the economic modernization policy initiated by Medvedev. “I would like to better understand the priorities that the government has today in order to see where we as an IT company could be useful,” said Alexander Mikoyan, head of Hewlett-Packard in Russia. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/special/SPIEF2012/news/investors-look-to-putin-for-direction.html#ixzz1yOz4PNyG
Fin24.com
Consumer price inflation (CPI) eased to 5.7% year-on-year in May, Statistics SA said on Wednesday. “This rate was 0.4 of a percentage point lower than the corresponding annual rate of 6.1% in April 2012,” the agency reported. This was below market expectations of a rise of 5.9%, Investec Capital economist Tertia Jacobs said. The SA Reserve Bank’s (Sarb’s) inflation target range is 3%-6%. “Inflation has been outside the target band of 3%-6% from September 2011 to April 2012, and the downward trajectory has commenced earlier than expected on account of a decline in commodity prices,” Jacobs said in a statement http://www.fin24.com/Economy/CPI-eases-in-May-20120620
Tehrantimes.com
At least two of Asia’s four top buyers of Iranian crude will keep imports flowing as they find ways around an EU ban on insuring tankers carrying the Islamic country’s oil. Asia needs oil to feed growing demand and top consumers are reluctant to entirely halt imports from Iran and depend entirely on top exporter Saudi Arabia, especially given that output from other alternative suppliers such as Libya and Iraq has not stabilized. Japan has secured a parliament approval that allows the government to provide insurance cover, while China is asking Iran to take on the risk and deliver the crude on their ships. South Korea and India have yet to find a way out. Together, Japan and China have nominated loadings for as many as 620,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil next month, sources said on Wednesday. http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/98934-japan-china-to-import-iran-oil-after-eu-ban
Eleven wells which have been drilled at the South Pars gas field’s phases 15 and 16 are ready to produce up to one billion cubic feet of natural gas, the Shana News Agency reported. Eleven other wells will be drilled by September this year, which will boos the output to 2 trillion cubic feet. The phases 15 and 16 will start early production by the sixth calendar month of Shahrivar, which begins on August 22, said the managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company. Mousa Souri added that development of the two phases has progressed by 85 percent. Meanwhile, development of the phases 17 and 18 is ahead of schedule, Mehr news agency reported. http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/98906-south-pars-phases-15-and-16-ready-for-production
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Census: Number of Shared Households increased 2.25 million from 2007 to 2010
by CalculatedRisk on 6/20/2012 04:25:00 PM
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims mostly unchanged, Four week average highest this year
by CalculatedRisk on 6/21/2012 08:38:00 AM
thanks for the post. my fav roundup online. can i get it emailed?