Bank of Japan snubs call for more easing as Standard & Poor’s downgrades debt
Japan’s central bank has announced that it has already done enough to combat deflation, brushing off yet another call for more action from the ranks of the ruling party. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi dismissed a suggestion from a Democratic Party lawmaker that the central bank should consider scrapping a self-imposed cap on […]
Hildebrand exits SNB after failing to prove innocence beyond doubt
Swiss National Bank chair Philipp Hildebrand resigned late on Monday over a controversial personal foreign currency trade undertaken by his wife. Hildrebrand’s wife Kashya had switched SFr400,000 into dollars in mid August, just days before a Swiss National Bank intervention in the FX market. Hildebrand said at a press conference after his resignation: “I came […]
India lowers growth rate by 1.5 percent
India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Sing, on Sunday slashed a previously set forecast for the country’s economic growth rate to seven percent, down from 8.5 percent a year ago. The country was initially estimated to grow around nine percent for the current fiscal year but was scaled down by both the Finance Ministry and the Reserve […]
China tells banks to limit loans to local governments; support stock in Shanghai
China’s banking regulator has told commercial lenders to restrict new credit they provide to local governments’ financing vehicles, to ward off potential risks of default, state media reports. The move is part of broader efforts to check explosive lending growth that has set off concerns about asset price bubbles and the potential creation of a […]
Smartphones help Samsung to record sales
Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest consumer electronics group by sales, on Friday reported all-time-high quarterly profits for the October to December period despite the slowing global economy. The South Korean group assessed its operating profit at approximately Won5.2trn or $4.5bn, the company said in a statement. Up 73 percent, profits were mainly boosted […]
Three Swiss bankers accused of $1.2bn tax conspiracy
US prosecutors late on Tuesday charged three Swiss bankers with conspiring to help US citizens evade over $1.2bn in assets from the IRS. The filed indictment, which refers to ‘Swiss Bank A’ only, shows that Roger Keller, Urs Frei and Michael Berlika plotted to open and service several secret accounts for US clients as they […]
China’s land sale revenue slumps 13 percent
Land sale revenue across 130 Chinese cities has dropped 13 percent year-on-year in 2011 to ¥1.86trn, said property research group China Index Academy late on Wednesday. In contrast, countrywide land sales revenue in 2010 amounted to ¥2.9trn, said the Ministry of Finance. China’s government had hoped that curbing soaring real estate prices would create more […]
Miners boost FTSE as China data buoys demand outlook
Miners led Britain’s FTSE 100 higher early on Tuesday, boosted by stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from China, and as the index caught up with sharp gains posted in Europe in the previous session. London’s blue chip index was up 67.67 points or 1.2 percent at 5,639.95 by 0903 GMT on the first trading day since the […]
Afren oil explorer says output ahead of target
Energy exploration firm Afren said production at its Ebok field, offshore Nigeria, had reached around 40,000 barrels per day (bpd), taking its end-2011 net output to some 55,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), ahead of target. An output rate above the year-end goal of 50,000 boepd has been sustained since December 19, it […]
Premier Wen Jiabao addresses China’s yaun
When Premier Wen Jiabao addresses China’s largely ceremonial parliament, investors will prick up their ears for any hint that change is coming to the country’s currency regime. Wen, who swore there would be no more surprises, after Beijing revalued the yuan by 2.1 percent in 2005, will err on the side of caution in choosing […]
