Economic News

LONDON (AFX) - European government bonds were slightly lower after this afternoon's weaker-than-expected headline ISM index on the US manufacturing sector was offset by the much stronger prices component within the survey. The monthly survey from the Institute of Supply Management said its main purchasing managers index for the sector fell to 50.9 in March from 52.3 in February, below expectation ...

(Adds quotes, details, reaction) LONDON (AFX) - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has backed Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's controversial decision in 1997 to scrap the tax credit on dividends against the advice of Treasury officials. Details of Brown's refusal to heed the advice of civil servants emerged last Friday, and he has since been in the centre of a storm with both the opposition  ...

LONDON (AFX) - US stocks look set for modest gains today with M&A activity just offsetting any nerves ahead of the release of key ISM manufacturing data, which should give investors fresh clues as to the health of the world's biggest economy, dealers said. Spread bettors IG Index currently expect the DJIA to open around 3 points firmer at 12,357. The US blue chip index closed 5.0 points high ...

LONDON (AFX) - Prime Minister Tony Blair has backed Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's decision in 1997 to scrap the tax credit on dividends against the advice of Treasury officials. Details of Brown's refusal to heed the advice of civil servants emerged last Friday, and he has since been in the centre of a storm with both the opposition Conservative Party and the business lobby group CBI ...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japanese government bond prices closed the day flat to slightly higher after stocks retreated following a strong session in the morning on worries over the outlook for the US economy, dealers said. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond slipped to 1.645 pct from 1.650 pct at Friday's close. The yield on the two-year note edged down to 0.805 pct from 0.810 pct, while the yield ...

China central bank to keep yuan stable, control credit - UPDATE BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China's central bank pledged to keep the yuan stable at a reasonable level and allow market forces to play a fundamental role in setting the exchange rate. The People's Bank of China said in its first-quarter monetary policy committee meeting statement that it will also "reasonably" control the growth ...

(adds analysts' comments) LONDON (AFX) - The euro zone's manufacturing sector is growing at its slowest rate in just over a year, sources said of a key survey. The purchasing managers index (PMI) for the euro zone manufacturing sector slipped to a 13-month low of 55.4 in March from 55.6 in February. Analysts polled by AFX News had predicted no change in the headline index. Despite the modest d ...

LONDON (AFX) - The Australian dollar pushed up to 10-year highs against the dollar after buoyant consumption and housing data raised expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may raise borrowing costs tomorrow. Most RBA watchers think the central bank will decide to keep its key cash rate unchanged at 6.25 pct but stressed that today's news that retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.9 p ...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - The Bank of Japan's latest survey of business sentiment, or Tankan, indicates that Japan is likely to continue its economic recovery at a steady but slower pace, with the central bank expected to hold off taking any rate action at least until much later in the year, economists said. The Tankan survey showed that improvement in business sentiment among large manufacturers, which ...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Confidence among large Japanese manufacturers fell from two-year highs in the three months to March, the first drop in four quarters, reflecting worries about the slowing US economy which may affect corporate earnings, according to the Bank of Japan's widely-watched survey of business sentiment or Tankan. The latest Tankan also showed that Japanese firms tweaked down their capi ...