Broken News ( Daily Update )

[surf4sports]

Oil prices below 90 dollars in Asian morning trade

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 02:20 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - World oil prices fell below 90 dollars in Asian trading on Friday amid deepening concerns about weakness in the US economy -- the world's biggest energy consumer -- that could sharply dent demand.

In morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, slid 41 cents to 89.72 dollars a barrel.

The contract closed 71 cents lower at 90.13 dollars a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.

Brent North Sea crude for March delivery fell 75 cents to close at 88.75 dollars per barrel on Thursday in London.

Oil prices retreated as US stocks fell sharply, with investors reeling from further dismal housing data and news of a record loss at Wall Street investment and brokerage firm Merrill Lynch.

Some analysts are predicting a prolonged real-estate slump and credit crisis could push the world's largest economy into recession.

Prices remain at high levels but have shed more than 10 dollars since striking a record in New York of 100.09 dollars per barrel in early January.

"At the moment, it seems that economic concerns continue to outweigh all these factors that drove crude prices to just above 100 dollars," Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said in London.

afp

jm/jg

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

 

[surf4sports]

World Bank Zoellick: US Slowdown Will Impact Emerging Mkts

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 02:24 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu

World Bank Zoellick: US Slowdown Will Impact Emerging Mkts

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- World Bank President Robert Zoellick downplayed Thursday the prospect that emerging markets are "decoupling" from the U.S., predicting that the slowdown in the world's largest economy will eventually have an impact worldwide.

Zoellick, answering questions at an event sponsored by the Economic Club of Washington, acknowledged that emerging markets have performed better than expected amid the global credit crunch, but said the outlook remains uncertain.

"I do believe it will have an effect," he said of the U.S. downturn.

On the other hand, Zoellick pointed to the strong growth of China and India as a sign that globalization is changing the interconnections between economies.

"The world isn't decoupled, but I do think that you're likely to see continued growth in the developing world even with some of the uncertainty in the U.S. market," he said.

When asked about recent troubles at the World Bank, in which Paul Wolfowitz was ousted as the bank's president last fall, he said the institution is on the path to recovering its credibility.

But he added that "people shouldn't underestimate the difficulty of that period of upheaval."

The bank has refined its role to provide more help for the poorest countries, while diversifying the services it offers to middle-income countries in order to remain relevant to that group, as well, he said.

"The challenge of adjusting the mission to a new era is going to take a considerable period of time," said Zoellick.

-By Tom Barkley, Dow Jones Newswires; (202) 862-9275, [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2008 21:24 ET (02:24 GMT)


Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

 

[surf4sports]

UPDATE:Japan Nukaga: To Closely Watch Financial Market Moves

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 02:33 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu

UPDATE:Japan Nukaga: To Closely Watch Financial Market Moves

(adds background, more comments by Nukaga and also a separate press conference by Economy Minister Ota)

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said Friday he will closely monitor financial market moves, but said it isn't necessary to worry too much about each market fluctuation.

"I gather that U.S. subprime loan issues and things like high oil price moves are behind (the jittery markets). We will closely monitor market moves, but at this stage we don't need to go through an emotional yo-yo at each market move," Nukaga said at a regular press conference.

Nukaga's comment came amid the recent big drops in Japanese and global stock prices and the value of the dollar against the yen. His guarded caution suggests the Japanese government doesn't intend to take any action at this stage against falls in stock and currency markets
Following a big drop in New York shares overnight, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average briefly fell 400 points during the Friday morning session.



The Nikkei was down 387.67 points, or 2.8%, at 13395.78 midday. The dollar stood at Y106.64, down from Y106.73 late Thursday in New York.

At a separate press conference Friday, Economy Minister Hiroko Ota also said that such global financial issues and the oil problem will affect the world and Japanese economies.

"U.S. economic indicators have been sluggish...We will carefully watch how this will impact the Japanese economy," she said.

"Japanese financial markets are also affected and we will monitor how the high yen and oil prices are affecting corporate profits," she added.

Turning to the financial heads' meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized countries, scheduled for Feb. 8 in Tokyo, Nukaga said the members haven't yet finalized the topics to be discussed or which non-G7 countries will be invited.

"(The member countries) have been discussing these things in light of what was discussed in the last meeting, but haven't reached a conclusion," Nukaga said.

Asked about the issue of who will replace BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui, whose term expires in March, Nukaga declined to comment.

"The prime minister's office is in charge of the matter and I'm not in a position to comment on that...But in general, I hope the next governor will be someone who is well versed in domestic monetary and fiscal conditions, as well as international financial problems. At the same time, I want him to have the managerial ability to make a big organization such as the BOJ work smoothly," he said.

-By Takeshi Takeuchi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2008 21:33 ET (02:33 GMT)


Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

 

[surf4sports]

Japanese employees' average pay rises 0.1 pct in November

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 03:02 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - The average monthly cash earnings of a regular employee in Japan, including overtime and bonuses, rose 0.1 percent to 290,302 yen in November from a year earlier, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Friday.

The ministry's survey covers companies that employ five or more people and employees who are considered regular, including full-time and part-time workers.

The average basic salary, excluding overtime pay and bonuses, increased 0.2 percent to 250,504 yen.

The average overtime pay rose 0.4 percent.

The average total time worked during the month was 156.0 hours, up 1.4 percent. The average non-scheduled time worked was 11.3 hours, down 0.2 percent.

In the manufacturing sector, the average overtime worked was 17.5 hours, up 0.1 percent from a year earlier, and up a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent from August.

The number of regular employees last month reached 44.715 million, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier. Full-time employees increased 1.0 percent to 32.929 million and the number of part-time workers rose 5.2 percent to 11.786 million.

(1 US dollar = 106.64 yen)

[email protected]

yas/yas/jm

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

 

[surf4sports]

China 7-day repo rate set at 2.6410 pct vs 2.7300 pct

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 03:30 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The China Foreign Exchange Trading System (CFETS) set the reference rate this morning for seven-day repurchase agreements at 2.6410 pct against 2.7300 pct yesterday.

The overnight repurchase rate was set at 1.8825 pct against 1.8870 pct previously.

The rates, based on the median trading level from 9.00 to 11.00 am, are released daily at 11.00 am on the CFETS website (www.chinamoney.com.cn).

CFETS began the daily fixing of overnight and seven-day repurchase rates in March 2006 to provide a reference for derivatives such as interest rate forwards, swaps and short-term interest rate futures.

[email protected]

ic/kmq

-

xfnic/xfnkm

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

 

[surf4sports]

Indonesian rupiah weaker vs dollar on fund outflow, central bank intervenes

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 03:49 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

JAKARTA (Thomson Financial) - The Indonesian rupiah was weaker against the US dollar in midmorning trade Friday on increased fund outflows following recent selloffs in the stock market.

At 10:05 am, the rupiah was trading at 9,475/9,480 to the dollar, down 0.4 percent from late Thursday.

Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, has been very active in defending the local currency in the past few days, said Alberami Zulkarnain, an analyst at Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) treasury research.

This is a departure from its stance in the first few days of this year when the BI tended to allow the rupiah to remain weak to support Indonesian exports, Zulkarnain said.

Local stocks have been hit by heavy losses in recent days, mirroring sharp falls in other markets around the world, on fears that the US is headed for a recession given bleak economic data recently.

The recent capital outflows from the stock and bond markets could further weaken the rupiah, driving the local unit to test the psychologically important level of 9,500 rupiah per dollar, he said.

[email protected]

alo/zr

ab/zr

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

 

[surf4sports]

Malaysia's foreign tourist arrivals hit new high of 20.88 million in 2007

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 04:05 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysia attracted 20.88 million foreign visitors last year, a 19 percent rise from the year earlier, setting a new record and bringing in 14 billion dollars in revenue, Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said.

Tengku Adnan said he expected an even better performance for the 12 months of 'Visit Malaysia Year 2007' -- held to attract visitors on the 50th year of its independence -- which ends in August.

"In view of this, the government has revised the target for tourist arrivals for this year," he told the state Bernama news agency late Thursday, without giving any new figures.

The 20.88 million foreign visitors in 2007 represented an annual rise of almost a fifth, up from 17.5 million in 2006.

The tourism boom meant that Malaysia's hotels, which are cheap compared to neighboring nations and often half-empty, were packed out for several months of 2007.

Tengku Adnan in August was forced to tell tour operators to "cool off" as the nation experienced a room shortage in the capital Kuala Lumpur, as well as other popular spots including Penang and Langkawi islands and on Borneo.

But Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also warned in December that a spate of street protests, which police dispersed with tear gas and water cannons, had hurt the tourism industry, with hotels and tour agencies reporting cancellations.

afp/nt

-

nt/nt

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

 

[surf4sports]

Oil prices fall below 90 dollars in Asian midday trade - UPDATE

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 04:21 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - World oil prices fell below 90 dollars in Asian trading on Friday amid deepening concerns that weakness in the US economy -- the world's biggest energy consumer -- could sharply dent demand.

In morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, slid 51 cents to 89.62 dollars a barrel.

The contract closed 71 cents lower at 90.13 dollars a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Brent North Sea crude for March delivery fell 20 cents to 88.55 dollars per barrel, after settling 75 cents lower at 88.75 dollars per barrel on Thursday in London.

"The drop in demand is certain in the short term with the economic slowdown in the United States affecting sentiment worldwide. Everyone stops spending, and that will drive prices further down," said Tony Nunan, of Mitsubishi Corp's international petroleum business in Tokyo.

trading is volatile and in a "worst-case scenario," prices could fall to as low as 69 dollars a barrel, he said.

"I can see prices dropping to the lower 80s or even the higher 70s as we move towards the end of the first quarter," he said.

Oil prices retreated as US stocks fell sharply Thursday, with investors reeling from further dismal housing data and news of a record loss at Wall Street investment and brokerage firm Merrill Lynch.

Some analysts are predicting a prolonged real-estate slump and credit crisis could push the world's largest economy into recession.

On Friday US President George W Bush was to propose a series of "short-term, temporary measures" to stimulate the US economy and see it past current troubles, the White House said.

"If the US falls into recession and China slows down we could be headed for one of the most significant corrections of this decade in oil," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading.

Prices remain at high levels but have shed more than 10 dollars since striking a record in New York of 100.09 dollars per barrel in early January.

"At the moment it seems that economic concerns continue to outweigh all these factors that drove crude prices to just above 100 dollars," Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said in London.

"All the aspects that underpinned crude prices in 2007 and at the start of this year are still here, with tight supplies, geopolitical fears on the supply side and the broad weakness in the greenback."

But until global economic jitters ease, there is likely to be less emphasis on supply fundamentals, he said.

Mitsubishi Corp's Nunan said oil prices will only start to bounce back from first-quarter lows during the US summer holiday driving season when demand for gasoline peaks.

afp/zr

nt/zr

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

 

[surf4sports]

Japan Govt: Dec Consumer Sentiment Index 38.0 Vs Nov 39.8

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 05:04 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu

Japan Govt: Dec Consumer Sentiment Index 38.0 Vs Nov 39.8

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Consumer sentiment in Japan worsened in December from the previous month, falling for the third straight month, the government said Friday.

The index for the Cabinet Office's consumer confidence survey, which measures consumers' economic outlook for the coming six months, fell 1.8 points to 38.0 in December, even worse than November's four-year low of 39.8.

The result bodes ill for domestic consumer spending, which makes up about 55% of Japan's gross domestic product.

-By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2008 00:04 ET (05:04 GMT)


Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

 

[surf4sports]

Japan PM Fukuda:To Achieve 2011 Primary Budget Balance Goal

Fri, Jan 18 2008, 05:19 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu

Japan PM Fukuda:To Achieve 2011 Primary Budget Balance Goal

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday pledged to achieve his goal of a primary budget surplus in the fiscal year starting April 2011 by cutting expenditures and boosting the economy further.

Fukuda said in his keynote address to Parliament that he will drastically reform the tax system, including the consumption tax, as early as possible so as to secure stable revenue sources for social security as Japan's population rapidly ages.

A primary balance surplus occurs when tax revenues exceed expenditures minus debt-servicing costs.

The prime minister struck a slightly cautious note on the economic outlook, saying it is necessary to monitor the impact of recently higher crude oil prices and global market confusion about the economy.

"While aiming for stable economic growth, we will keep trying to restore the fiscal health by carrying out thorough reforms of revenues and expenditures," Fukuda said in prepared remarks to Parliament, whose ordinary session kicked off Friday. "We will certainly attain a primary budget surplus" in fiscal 2011.

Fukuda vowed to try to make the economy more open to the world, as well as encourage innovation and productivity growth in order to make recent economic growth sustainable. He also promised to implement policy to stimulate small and medium-sized enterprises and local economies.

The prime minister, however, may have a rocky road ahead in achieving his goal.

An estimate released recently by the Cabinet Office said that Japan could fail to meet its goal of balancing the primary budget in three years without tax hikes because government revenue may not grow fast enough as the economy is slowing down.

Even if Tokyo slashes expenditures by Y14.3 trillion in the five years through this fiscal year - a policy target set in 2006 - revenue shortfalls could swell, tipping the primary budget to deficit of Y700 billion, the office said Thursday.

The Cabinet Office already downgraded its nominal economic growth forecast for fiscal 2011 to 3.3% from last year's estimate of 3.9%.

"We need to keep an eye on how recently rising crude oil prices and the downturn in (global) stocks will affect the (Japanese) economy and respond to that," Fukuda said.

In addition, tax hikes, which would be the only way to attain the fiscal policy goal, might not come soon as ruling coalition lawmakers appear reluctant to take such steps with possible snap elections looming.

Analysts have become skeptical about whether the government could pave the way for a primary budget surplus in the remaining three years.

In the speech, Fukuda also said he will establish a public body to strengthen consumer administration and set up a new minister in charge of the issue. The move is likely in response to scandals such as the mislabeling of food products that have recently been reported upon in Japan.

-By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2008 00:19 ET (05:19 GMT)


Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.