Economic News

- (Adds further details) TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - The Bank of Japan's nine-member policy board agreed at a regular meeting last month that the central bank does not change interest rates based on a schedule set in advance and that it can maintain its "forward-looking" policy while being "data-dependent," the minutes of the Jan 17-18 meeting released today showed. The minutes also s ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Restrained by a worse-than-expected slump in housing, the economy will grow at the slowest pace in five years in 2007, leading economic forecasters say. They predict consumers will get a break on inflation from falling energy prices. The survey of 47 top forecasters, released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics, found a greater expected impact from the aili ...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japanese government bond prices ended the morning session mostly flat in directionless trade, with investors opting to wait out this week's upcoming government bond auctions and economic data releases, dealers said. At the break, the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was flat at 1.670 pct from Friday's close. The yield on the two-year note was also unchanged at 0.835 pct, an ...

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - The US dollar continued weaker against the yen and the euro in mid-afternoon trade here, extending Friday's sell-off led by concerns about Iran's nuclear program and the US housing market, dealers said. However with no significant data due out of the US until Tuesday's US durable goods data for January, the dollar is unlikely to see much more significant movement today. &quot ...

The outlook for the US economy in 2007 has improved, research has indicated, suggesting that interest rates may stay on hold all year. In a poll for the National Association for Business Economics, economists said they expected the economy to grow 2.7% this year, the slowest rate since 2002. But the picture has improved since late last year - when they foresaw a 2.5% rise - as inflationary pressures ease. They believe strong consumer spending will offset the slowing housing market. 'Soft lan ...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - The Bank of Japan's nine-member policy board agreed at a regular meeting last month that the central bank does not change interest rates based on a schedule set in advance and that it can maintain its "forward-looking" policy while being "data-dependent," the minutes of the Jan 17-18 meeting released today showed. The minutes also showed: "Some members  ...