Economic News

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japanese government bond prices ended the morning session mixed in directionless trade as investors await the outcome of today's auction of 10-year government bonds, dealers said. But longer tenors drew healthy buying, with investors heartened by the sharp gains of US Treasurys after the US Federal Open Market Committee pointed to easing inflationary pressure there, they said.  ...

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices opened higher in a rebound following yesterday's sharp drop, with a positive lead from the US aiding the recovery, dealers said. Wall Street gained overnight after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected and made some upbeat comments on the US economy and inflation outlook. The Hang Seng Index opened up 145.15 points or 0.72 pct at 20, ...

(AFX UK Focus) 2007-02-01 00:54 GMT: NEW YORK (AFX) - Stocks shot higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve answered two of Wall Street's major concerns, indicating that the economy remains healthy and that inflation pressures are easing. The Dow Jones industrials climbed nearly 100 points

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - The US dollar was higher against the yen and euro as traders bought back the greenback following a sell-off overnight on the Federal Reserve's unanimous decision to keep interest rates at 5.25 pct and its balanced outlook for rates ahead, dealers said. They said the Federal Open Market Committee's statement was viewed as more dovish than the expected hawkish outlook and that w ...

Almost 8,000 UK manufacturing jobs have been lost in the first month of 2007, figures from the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) have shown. The data showed the "fragile state" of the sector and made the outlook for the rest of the year "ominous", the organisation said. More than 2,000 of the cuts came at the Peugeot plant in Ryton near Coventry. The BCC said it feared another hike in interest rates - currently at 5.25% - would cause more difficulties. 'Struggling' David Frost, the BC ...

LONDON (AFX) - European government bonds were higher, helped by a weak Chicago PMI number and recovering gains lost after the publication of higher-than-expected US fourth quarter GDP. The Chicago business barometer slipped to 48.8 in January, down from 51.6 in December and against expectations for a rise to 51.8. "The January print was the first reading below breakeven (50) since April 200 ...

LONDON (AFX) - The UK economy looks 'vulnerable' in the medium term and could see an end to the stability enjoyed in recent years, a leading think-tank said. In its 'Green Budget' compiled in conjunction with Morgan Stanley, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that the benign economic conditions of the past decade has paradoxically created the conditions for greater instability in the years t ...

The US economy grew faster than expected in the last three months of 2006, as increased consumer spending offset a housing market slowdown. US gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 3.5% from October to December, the official data showed. It was the biggest quarterly increase since the start of 2006, and followed a 2% rise in the third quarter. While consumer spending rose 4.4% in the fourth quarter, the level of new home building declined 19%. The consumer spending figure is key,  ...

(Updated with analyst reaction and comments) WASHINGTON (AFX) - The US economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the last quarter of 2006, while a key measure of inflation fell for the first time in 45 years, the Commerce Department said today. The department estimated the economy grew at a 3.5 pct annualised rate between October and December, faster than the 3.0 pct economists had expect ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 PM TODAY EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 PM TODAY WASHINGTON (AFX) - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has urged the Chinese authorities to make rapid progress towards making its currency flexible. In testimony to the Senate Committee on banking, housing and urban affairs following the Treasury's publication of its report on international economic and exchange rate policies, Paulson sai ...