News That Matters

By www.thetrader.se

Ft.com

The leaders of Greece’s two largest political parties last night decided to form a government of national unity to start implementing a €130bn bail-out plan, then take the country to elections. George Papandreou, premier, reached the deal with Antonis Samaras, leader of the opposition conservatives, during a 90-minute meeting with Carolos Papoulias, Greece’s president.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7c455fc4-087f-11e1-bc4d-00144feabdc0.html...

The Group of 20 is seeking to meet again, possibly before Christmas, with the aim of resurrecting a deal to provide an international firewall around Greece, G20 sources have told the Financial Times, saying negotiators at the Cannes summit had been close to an agreement. A source, who was party to the negotiations, told the FT that the three-part package of measures summit host France tried to broker fell apart because the German Bundesbank vetoed one element. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a2e083e0-089b-11e1-9fe8-00144feabdc0.html...

Three of Greece’s biggest banks have issued €6.4bn ($8.8bn) of government-guaranteed bonds likely to be used as security to obtain financing from central banks, a move that points to worsening market conditions amid talk of a disorderly Greek default. Alpha Bank, EFG and Piraeus on Friday issued the floating-rate notes, which analysts say will probably be used as part of a new €30bn liquidity facility created for cash-strapped Greek banks earlier this year. Under the scheme, Greek banks can issue bonds guaranteed by the government, which can then be used as collateral to receive funding from central banks. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a008a664-0898-11e1-9fe8-00144feabdc0.html...

Time appears to be running out for Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right government amid speculation that Italy’s prime minister could be forced to resign within weeks or even days despite his insistence that he has the support in parliament to fight on. Against this backdrop of deep political uncertainty, officials are anxiously awaiting the opening of markets on Monday following a sharp rise to euro-era highs of Italy’s bond yields on Friday because of disappointment with the inconclusive outcome of the G20 summit in Cannes. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/abe041fa-0897-11e1-9fe8-00144feabdc0.html...

A raft of trade balance data will offer insight into the relative strengths of several leading economies this week, while a series of industrial production reports will shed fresh light on more immediate conditions. As the eurozone continues to grapple with its debt crisis, Germany’s trade balance for September will be closely watched on Tuesday. It is expected to remain relatively stable at a seasonally adjusted €12bn, close to its average reading for the year so far, but down from the €13.8bn seen in August. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1883599a-06d2-11e1-90de-00144feabdc0.html...

Wsj.com

Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday, tracking Wall Street’s fall on Friday, with many investors keeping to the sidelines as Greek politicians continued their efforts to avoid a disorderly debt default. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was off 0.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite lost 0.1% and New Zealand’s NZX-50 was up 0.2%  Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 11 points higher in screen trade.  Trading in regional stock markets lacked conviction, with many exporters and financials trading lower or marginally up.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020455420457702271341200916...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling center-right coalition said it plans to cut income taxes for low- and middle-wage earners, a small but symbolic step as the coalition begins setting the stage for elections in 2013. The €6 billion ($8.3 billion) tax cut, to take effect in two steps ahead of the next general election, could be seen as a necessary move to restore peace in Ms. Merkel’s fractious coalition. It also may be a small gesture to German voters who increasingly feel that the fruits of their labors are being funneled into bailouts for profligate euro-zone members while ordinary Germans see few personal gains. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020455420457702234227628615...

European banks are sitting on heaps of exotic mortgage products and other risky assets that predate the financial crisis, adding to pressure on lenders that also are holding large quantities of euro-zone government debt. Four years after instruments like “collateralized debt obligations” and “leveraged loans” became dirty words because of the massive losses they inflicted on holders, European banks still own tens of billions of euros of such assets. They also have sizable portfolios of U.S. commercial real-estate loans and subprime mortgages that could remain under pressure until the global economy recovers. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020371620457701786323991537...

The French government is finalizing an austerity package that will be unveiled Monday as it seeks to meet its deficit-reduction targets and hold on to its prized triple-A credit rating against a backdrop of slowing growth.  We must “be reactive and show that France can evolve,” Finance Minister François Baroin said on Sunday.  The plan, which will be unveiled by Prime Minister François Fillon on Monday at midday, will be a balance of tax increases and spending cuts, Mr. Baroin told French radio RTL. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020419070457702184187606589...

Citigroup Inc. is moving to try to quell anger among regulators in Japan who are growing increasingly impatient at what they see as the bank’s inability to fix regulatory problems that have led to three scandals in seven years. The New York company has hired a recruiting firm to find a slate of new senior executives for Citigroup’s operations in Japan, possibly including its top executive, according to people familiar with the situation. On Friday, Citigroup placed its Japanese unit under direct supervision of the bank’s No. 2 executive in New York. Officials at Japan’s Financial Services Agency have grown http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020373350457702191104203514...

The future of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government is increasingly in doubt, as the country faces unprecedented international pressure to take credible steps to shoring up its flailing economy. Mr. Berlusconi’s parliamentary majority could fall apart as early as this week. Several once-faithful members of his party have threatened to vote against the government or abstain from voting on Tuesday during a scheduled ballot on budget matters in the lower house of Parliament. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020373350457702201141901006...

Marketwatch.com

China is seeking a “reasonable correction” in housing prices, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reportedly said Monday, affirming the government will keep its policy stance involving administrative controls and other measures intended to cool the market. Wen was cited by the Chinese-language Phoenix TV as saying during a visit to Russia that Beijing will seek to make homes more affordable and promote a stable and healthy development of the housing sector. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-wen-beijing-wants-real-estate-to...

More than a year on from the first earthquake that devastated New Zealand’s second-largest city, Christchurch, the ground continues to shake. The center of the city remains deserted and off-limits. Little can be done until the land stabilizes.   The aftershocks, which have exceeded 8,000 to date, are the result of two earthquakes less than six months apart which added up to one of the nation’s deadliest natural disasters. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nz-quake-delays-cloud-economic-recovery...

Reuters.com

Gold prices gained nearly 1 percent on Monday after Greece’s politicians sealed a deal to form a coalition government, while continued uncertainty about resolving the zone’s debt crisis supported safe-haven demand in bullion. Spot gold rose to $1,769.79 an ounce, its highest since Sept 22, before easing to $1,768.50 by 0252 GMT, up 0.8 percent from the previous close. U.S. gold also rose 0.8 percent, to $1,770.40. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE7A0...

Brent crude rose above $113 on Monday, gaining for a third straight day on hopes of steady oil demand growth as Europe inches closer to contain the region’s debt crisis with Greece agreeing to form a coalition government. Brent crude gained $1.12 a barrel to $113.09 by 10:10 p.m. EST. It settled $1.14 higher on Friday, above its 100-day moving average of $111.13, rising for a second consecutive week.U.S. crude traded 44 cents higher at $94.70 a barrel. The contract increased 1 percent last week, posting a fifth straight weekly gain. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/us-markets-oil-idUSTRE7922QH20...

Europe is the largest trading partner for the United States and for China, and its financial system is deeply interwoven with world finance. Until euro-zone leaders draw a line under their debt crisis, risks of upheaval spreading through the global economy will remain high. So far, the United States and China have shown a welcome resilience to turmoil from Europe, revealing a disconnect between sentiment and what is happening in the real economy. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/06/us-economy-global-weekahead-id...

China’s yuan exchange rate is within a “basically reasonable level,” and it is not the root cause of the China-U.S. trade imbalance, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said in remarks published on Monday. “If China shows an overall trade balance with other countries but only sees a relatively big trade imbalance with one particular country, that means it is not a result of an exchange rate issue,” Chen said in an interview during the G20 Cannes summit. “Currently, the yuan exchange rate is within a basically reasonable level and our country’s trade surplus is just slightly above one percent of GDP,” he said, according to the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/us-china-economy-yuan-idUSTRE7...

Bloomberg.com

A “bold” deficit-reduction deal worth $4 trillion is possible, say two influential lawmakers, one a Democrat the other a Republican, who expressed willingness to compromise over their previous positions on taxes and spending.  Representative Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat who last year voted against a plan put forth by President Barack Obama’s debt commission, said this time he is prepared to back something close to it as long as about one-third of the plan includes higher revenue. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-04/becerra-says-4-trillion-deficit...

Hong Kong companies are issuing a record amount of bonds in Singapore dollars as Europe’s debt crisis boosts relative yields on securities denominated in the U.S. currency, enhancing the city-state’s appeal as a rival financial center. Singapore-dollar bond sales by borrowers from Hong Kong have risen to $2 billion this year, from $671 million in all of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Developers including Henderson Land Development Co. accounted for at least 96 percent of the total. At the same time, Hong Kong companies’ offerings of U.S. dollar notes have shrunk to $1.8 billion from $7 billion in 2010. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-07/singapore-draws-hong-kong-s-bon...

Australian consumers are more likely to save than spend any extra money available to them following the central bank’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time in more than two years, according toWestpac Banking Corp. (WBC) Chief Executive Officer Gail Kelly. The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the benchmark a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 percent on Nov. 1, citing slowing inflation and weaker global growth. Sydney-based Westpac lowered its variable mortgage rate by the same amount. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-05/australian-rate-cut-to-boost-sa...

Cnbc.com

The Bank of Japan likely continued to intervene stealthily in the currency market during the previous week even after its record yen-selling intervention last Monday, market sources told Reuters. The sources said trading evidence showed the central bank probably continued to intervened, albeit in small amounts, since Monday, when Japan spent an estimated 7.7 trillion yen, a daily record for interven tion, to curb the yen’s strength.The dollar has since been mostly supported above 78 yen and traders said there were persistent bids around 77.80 yen last week, which helped prop up the dollar.http://www.cnbc.com/id/45185660

Countries in the euro zone will find it increasingly unattractive to stay in the single currency, if there is a German-led fiscal integration, the chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management said in a Sunday Telegraph interview. Portugal, Ireland, Finland and Greece could all pull out of the euro zone rather than operate under a single treasury, Jim O’Neill, whose division manages more than $800 billion (500 billion pounds) of assets, was cited as saying. He also called on the European Central Bank (ECB) to show more leadership to reassure “worried investors.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/45182054

China is confident that Europe will be able to overcome its debt crisis, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, adding stability in the eurozone was crucial for the global economic recovery. Yang, however, made no mention about increasing investment in Europe in his statement late on Saturday on President Hu Jintao’s trip to the G20 leaders’ meeting in southern France. “We believe that Europe has the complete wisdom and ability to solve the debt problem,” Yang said in remarks published on the Foreign Ministry’s website. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45178525

Foxbusiness.com

U.S. employment rose less than expected in October, but a drop in the jobless rate to a six-month low of 9.0 percent and upward revisions to prior months’ job gains pointed to underlying strength in the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls rose 80,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, missing economists’ expectations for a gain of 95,000. However, figures for August and September were revised to show 102,000 more jobs than previously reported. In addition, the decline in the jobless rate from 9.1 percent in September came even as more people entered the labor force. While job growth last month was less than expected, details of the report suggested the economy was gaining some momentum. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/11/04/us-adds-80000-jobs-in-octo...

Enough with the on-again off-again referendum. Enough with the incremental bailouts that require increasingly harsh austerity measures imposed from above on Greek citizens. And enough with the escalating political drama in Athens. None of it’s working. It’s just making the situation worse. Greece should simply default on its massive 350 billion euro debt, cut its losses and move on. By shedding its larger sovereign debt Greece could use the money to scale back on some of the more onerous austerity measures and to cover other debts, such as public employee pensions, that could help quell the country’s rising social unrest. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/11/03/why-all-drama-let-greece-d...

USAtoday.com

Instead of being a turnaround year, 2011 is likely to set a new low for the battered single-family home-building industry. The industry is on pace to start construction on 424,000 single-family homes this year, says the National Association of Home Builders. That’s down 10% from last year and down 5% from 2009, which was the worst year for single-family home starts since consistent record keeping began in 1959. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2011-11-03/economy-h...

BBC.co.uk

Qantas is to offer thousands of free tickets to passengers hit by its decision to halt all flights during an industrial dispute. The suspension left travellers suddenly stranded in 22 cities around the world. They will now be eligible for a free return economy flight within Australia or New Zealand, the company said.  On Friday the airline was again hit by reliability worries when a flight from Singapore to London was diverted to Dubai after an engine was shut down. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15610932

The UK economy could start contracting this year due to the weakness of the service sector, according to the accountancy group BDO. The group said its output index – based on a range of survey data – fell to 92.6 in October from 93.3 in September. The index measures company turnover expectations over the next three months. In a separate report Ernst and Young’s ITEM club forecast inflation would fall next year due to weak global growth. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15613273

Telegraph.co.uk

European leaders have lifted the lid on a “Pandora’s box” by raising the possibility of Greece leaving the single currency, economists warned yesterday, as the country’s politicians fought to create a fresh government.  After Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel last week said that Greece had to abide by the rules of the Brussels bail-out agreement or leave the eurozone, Morgan Stanley cautioned that leaders could have set in train a sequence of unintended consequences. Joachim Fels, head of global economics at Morgan Stanley, wrote that the French president and German chancellor had raised the heretofore “taboo” subject of a country exiting the single currency. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8873227/European-lead...

HSBC and Standard Chartered could be dragged into a multi-billion dollar dispute between warring Saudi factions after the banks were forced to hand over thousands of potentially incriminating documents. A court in New York ordered the two British banks together with Citi and Bank of America to disclose confidential client documents, over-ruling pleadings that the evidence could be used against them. The documents relate to bank accounts held by Maan Al-Sanea, the Saudi billionaire being pursued for billions of dollars he is alleged to have stolen. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/8872856/British-banks...

America must cut taxes and reduce government spending in order to kick-start an economic recovery, Jim Skinner, the chief executive of McDonald’s, has warned. The question is, how can we get the ox out of the ditch?” Mr Skinner said. “In order to create jobs in America, you’re going to have to cut taxes… particularly in the business community. “We pay some of the highest [corporate] taxes around the world. There needs to be some levelling.”  Asked about federal borrowing, he said: “It’s not a good story… the government has to spend less. We have to grow the economy, grow GDP… and you have to be able to do it in an organic way and not through borrowings and increasing debt.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8873022/McDonalds-chief-Cur...

The six weeks allotted to save monetary union have expired. The G20 has come and gone, yet no workable firewall is in place as the drama engulfs Italy and threatens to light the fuse on the world’s third largest edifice of debt. As of late Friday, the yield spread on Italian 10-year bonds over German Bunds was a post-EMU record of 458 basis points. This is dangerously close to the point where cascade-selling begins and matters spiral out of control. The European Central Bank has so far bought time by holding a series of retreating lines but either it has reached its intervention limits after accumulating nearly €80bn of Italian debt, or it is holding fire to force Silvio Berlusconi to resign – if so, a foolish game. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/887304...

Independent.co.uk

As the financial crisis in Europe intensifies, the UK has been handed a boost after a respected think-tank predicted that should the euro collapse, it would cost the economy “much less than feared”. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said the “on-off” Greek referendum has forced Europe “to look over the edge and confront the issue of the break-up of the eurozone”. In a report released today, the body predicted that UK GDP would fall about 0.5 per cent in the year the euro collapsed, mainly driven by slower growth in export markets. Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the CEBR, said: “But we do not think that a break-up would be anything like the disaster that has been argued.” http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/breakup-of-euro-would-co...

Smh.com.au

The global economy has three main pillars: the United States, the European Union and China. America was where the crisis began, with a housing market bubble that corrupted the financial sector. Europe is where the crisis now has its locus, amid fears that the single currency could break apart. China, despite steaming ahead since the slump of late 2008, may be next. The fact that China is now pivotal says much about developments in the decade since it emerged as a fully fledged market economy as symbolised by membership of the World Trade Organisation. Financial m eltdown in the west and east Asia’s rapid growth have altered globalisation’s terms of trade, leading to a shift in the balance of power as fundamental as that of a century ago. http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/booming-echoes-of-global-c...

Theglobeandmail.com

Two new reports this week illustrate the death of the American dream in the wake of the housing bust, the financial crisis and the recession.  The first, from the Brookings Institution, shows that the number of people living with poverty climbed by more than 12 million from 2000 to the end of the of the decade, bringing the overall number of impoverished Americans to an all-time high of 46 million.  That means more than 15 per cent of America’s population lived below the poverty line, measured at $22,314 for a family of four, the group’s study says. A second report, from the Pew Charitable Trusts, notes that by the third quarter of this year, about 32 per cent of America’s 14 million unemployed had been without jobs for a year or longer. This spans age groups, education levels and industries.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/p...

Straitstimes.com

The Swiss central bank warned it is ready to intervene again if necessary to push down the value of the national currency against the euro in order to protect exports to the country’s main market.  ‘The Swiss franc is today still at a very high level against the euro,’ Swiss National Bank president Philipp Hildebrand told the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper on Sunday.  ‘We are waiting for it to weaken over time … if that is not the case, it could lead to deflation pressure and weigh heavily on the economy,’ Mr Hildebrand said. ‘If the economic outlook and deflation pressures require it, then we are ready to take new measures’ to weaken the currency, he added. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_731340.htm...

Xinhuanet.com

China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, will ease for a third consecutive month in October, economists said. China’s CPI is likely to fall to 5.5 percent in October, due to falling food prices, said Yuan Gangming, a researcher at the Institute of Economic Research under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, the wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables fell 2.2 percent during the last week of October, while prices of pork and eggs dropped by 1 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. In addition to lower food prices, declines in world commodity prices and weakening tail-raising factors will also contribute to the CPI’s decline, said Lian Ping, chief economist for the Bank of Communications.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/07/c_131232837.htm

A majority of China’s provinces and regions experienced a slower year-on-year economic growth rate in the first three quarters, with major boom areas leading the decline, official figures showed. Of the 29 provinces and regions that have released their growth data for the first nine months, 23 have reported a slowdown in growth speed, a sign that the local governments are working to restructure the growth pattern in response to the central government’s call. Traditional powerhouses of Beijing, Zhejiang Province and Guangdong Province registered the slowest growth pace during the period compared with other regions, with a growth rate of 8 percent, 9.5 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, said a Sunday report of Beijing News. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/06/c_131231829.htm

China’s trade surplus will rebound to 23.89 billion U.S. dollars in October after falling for two consecutive months, the First Financial Daily reported Monday. Most economists said they expect the country’s October trade surplus to be higher than the 14.5 billion U.S. dollars recorded in September, the newspaper said, citing its survey results. Exports are likely to increase by 16.1 percent, slower than the 17.1-percent growth posted in September, while imports are expected to rise by 21.7 percent, up from September’s 20.9-percent increase, the newspaper said. China’s export growth will continue to slow over the next few months due to weak global demand, the newspaper quoted Qu Hongbin, HSBC’s chief China economist, as saying. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/07/c_131233119.htm

China’s major cotton production base in the far western region is expected to have a good harvest this year, but the lack of processing facilities and smooth transportation is increasing inventory pressures, industry insiders say. Amid a good harvest, government agencies and private firms have purchased 1.23 million tonnes of cotton from farmers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by the end of October, up 240 percent compared with the same period last year, according to official statistics. But insufficient local processing capacity, sluggish demand from textile enterprises and poor railway transportation combined to build up inventories in Xinjiang, traders said. About 732,000 tonnes of Xinjiang’s cotton need to be shipped out of the remote region, but only less than one third of that amount had been transported by late October, they said, adding that the cut in the number of cargo trains is to blame for the transportation strain. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/07/c_131233114.htm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the settlement of the current eurozone’s debt crisis will take at least a decade to complete. “The debts have been accumulated over a decade,” Merkel said in her weekly video podcast, adding that “it will certainly last for a decade until we are left feeling better.” In response to how to contain the debt crisis and forestall the possible massive economic recession, Merkel stressed it will be helpful to have a decision for all member nations inside the eurozone to brake their debts escalation. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/06/c_131231293.htm

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Friday his country is ready to face a possible world recession. “Unfortunately, the world economy is not working well, but Chile is well prepared and ready to face the hard times that may come,” Pinera told reporters in the Chilean capital.  He said he will “personally make an effort” to ensure that any possible economic recession won’t burden the middle class or the most vulnerable sectors of the South American country. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/05/c_131230842.htm

Cs.com.cn

Thehindu.com

India on Friday signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and opened for signature by the member-states of both organisations on January 25, 1988. All members of the G20 have now become signatories to the Convention. R. Gopalan, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, signed on behalf of the Indian government. The Convention will have to be ratified by the Indian Parliament to become law. “Tax evasion and illicit flows are a serious problem and over the last two years, in order to check this trend, India has negotiated 19 new double taxation avoidance agreements and 17 new tax information exchange agreements,” Mr. Gopalan said.http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2598807.ece

Economictimes.com

The government is planning a new gauge to track industrial production and export growth every month after a recent set of data pointed towards inconsistency between the two readings.  The Index of Industrial Production, which measures factory output growth, and the export growth numbers over the past few months have shown a huge divergence. Growth in exports has remained robust despite a slowdown in industrial activity, prompting economists and policymakers to speculate that exporters may be mispricing their transactions to bring back black money stashed in tax heavens abroad. While IIPfor July fell to a 21-month low of 3.84%, exports during that month grew 72% in rupee terms. The following month, industrial output rose 4.04%, but exports registered a growth of 40%. Mispricing refers to under- or over-invoicing of transactions. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/governmen...

India will achieve its USD 500 billion export target for 2014 on account of increasing demand in new markets like Latin America and Africa, a study released today said. Export trends shows India’s dependency on the US market has reduced by great margin and in 2011, the UAE emerged as the country’s top export destination, PHD Chamber Chief Economist S P Sharma said, adding that China and Singapore have emerged among its top five export destinations. “Due to various government policies and benefits given under the foreign trade policy, there has been a diversification in the export destinations of the country. There had been big change in export trends over the last 10 years,” he said. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/indias-50...

Yonhapnews.co.kr

South Korea’s economic recovery seems to be moderating as lingering external risks including the eurozone debt crisis are weighing on the nation’s export-driven economy, a state-run think tank said Monday.

“The Korean economy, mainly driven by exports, showed gradual economic moderation,” the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly economy assessment report. The think tank, in particular, cited the latest industrial and service-sector output, saying that they are indicating a “moderate” slowdown in production. Inflation is showing signs of easing amid the slowing recovery, the KDI noted, citing the recent consumer price index data. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/11/07/90/0502000000AEN2011...

South Korea’s central bank forecast Monday that oil prices are likely to stay above US$100 per barrel for a considerable period of time due to tight supply and a potential pick-up in speculative investment. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report that prices of Dubai and Brent crude are staying at a high level despite an end of political turmoil in Libya and market jitters stemming from the eurozone debt crisis. Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea’s benchmark, have been largely trading at more than $100 per barrel since they rose to $119.23 on April 28. South Korea, the world’s fifth-largest crude buyer, relies entirely on imports for its oil needs. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/11/07/59/0503000000AEN2011...

Thetrader.se

With the Greek Drama reaching ridiculous levels, the happenings are moving to Italy, on both the Economic and Political front. Grande Silvio has been around for a long time, and will not let go of the power so easily. The political end of Silvio Berlusconi is no ordinary matter. Nothing comparable to the handover from Kohl to Merkel in Germany or from Thatcher to Major in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. Berlusconi is not the only politician with great experience that resists in his position. http://www.thetrader.se/2011/11/06/the-paralysis-that-italy-cannot-affor...

Guest Post by Macro Story. The equity markets are getting no credit, literally and figuratively. For months now we have discussed the warning signs being flashed by credit and although unheeded by equity they continue to this day. Perhaps it is because credit markets are perceived as complicated black boxes not worth the time to analyze. The reality is they are not that complicated. Most importantly though without credit you have no economic growth and without growth you have no expanding corporate profits. http://www.thetrader.se/2011/11/06/credit-markets-suggested-something-el...