GLOBAL NEWS-
The Japanese economy grew faster than initially estimated in the fourth quarter as capital investment staged a quick recovery from a series of natural disasters in the previous quarter. However, despite the upward revision to growth, economists are likely to temper their optimism on the outlook given disappointing data on exports and factory output and with the economy expected to weaken due to the Sino-U.S. trade war.Japan’s gross domestic product rose an annualised 1.9 percent in October-December, more than the initial estimate of a 1.4 percent expansion and the median estimate for a 1.8 percent increase, data from the Cabinet Office showed. That followed a revised 2.4 percent annualised contraction in the third quarter, which was the biggest decline in more than four years.
Britain must not go soft on anti-money laundering standards to win trade deals after it leaves the European Union, a panel of lawmakers said on Friday.The report on economic crime from parliament’s Treasury Select Committee (TSC) also called for better estimates for such crimes, and for a single supervisor of Britain’s 25 bodies that enforce anti-money laundering rules.Britain’s tax and revenue service should ensure that all estate agents are registered with it to ensure compliance with rules aimed at stopping proceeds of corruption being stashed in property.
British employers held off from hiring permanent staff in February, adding to signs of growing nerves ahead of Brexit in the country’s otherwise strong labour market, a survey of recruiters showed on Friday.Britain’s unemployment rate sank to its joint lowest since 1975 at 4.0 percent in late 2018, a fall that some economists attribute to employers hiring staff rather than making longer-term commitments to investment in new equipment.
Mario Draghi revealed the biggest cut in the European Central Bank’s economic outlook since the advent of its quantitative-easing program as policy makers delivered a new round of stimulus to shore up growth.The ECB President said the euro-zone economy will now expand only 1.1 percent this year, a drop of 0.6 percentage point from the forecast given out just three months ago. A package of assistance from new loans for banks to a longer pledge on record-low rates is intended to expand the institution’s existing stimulus.ECB said it would hold interest rates at subzero levels at least through December, months longer than previously signaled.
India wants to keep buying Iranian oil at its current level of about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), as it negotiates with Washington about extending a waiver of U.S. sanctions past early May.India has reduced its purchases of Iranian oil, but has been in talks on extending a sanctions waiver, known as a significant reduction exception, a senior India official said in January.The talks come just as trade tensions rise between Washington and New Delhi. The United States is planning to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.India is the biggest beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences, which dates from the 1970s, and ending its participation would be the strongest punitive action that Washington has taken against the country since President Donald Trump took office.Amid this, New Delhi is asking Washington to be allowed to still buy Iranian oil at current levels of around 1.25 million tonnes per month, equal to about 300,000 bpd.
Indian inflation likely accelerated in February but remained well below the central bank’s target, economists said, as only modest rises in food and fuel prices failed to drive a bigger lift from January’s 19-month low.showed consumer price inflation, due to be released at 1200 GMT on March 12, is expected to have picked up to 2.43 percent last month from January’s 2.05 percent.An overwhelming majority of economists polled predicted inflation would average below 3 percent, with forecasts ranging from 2.15 percent to 3.20 percent.If inflation comes in as expected, it would be below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4 percent for the seventh month in a row and closer to the lower end of its 2-6 percent buffer range for a fourth month.
Asian stocks shuddered lower on Friday after shockingly weak export data from China heightened market fears about a global economic slowdown, a day after European policymakers slashed growth forecasts for the bloc.Beijing reported exports in February tumbled 20.7 percent from a year earlier, far beneath forecasts of a 4.8 percent drop and more than erasing January’s surprise jump.Analysts cautioned the timing of the Lunar New Year made it difficult to draw a true signal from the noise but the scale of the miss was alarming.Adding insult to injury, China’s leading brokerage Citic Securities issued a rare “sell” rating on the Shanghai-listed shares of People’s Insurance Group of China (PICC) sending them down almost 10 percent.Shanghai blue chips quickly extended early losses to be down 2.9 percent, the sharpest daily fall since October, while the dollar climbed on the yuan.
European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom urged the U.S. to negotiate removing tariffs on industrial goods, including vehicles, as a first step to rebuilding trust in their trade relationship before tackling thornier issues such as agriculture.“There is a lack of trust at this moment and that is why we’re proposing instead of increasing tensions between us, instead of having these tariffs, instead of saying that Europe is a security threat to the American economy, OK let’s rebuild that trust,” Malmstrom said at an event at Georgetown Law School in Washington on Thursday.
“If we start with industrial goods, which is much less complicated and which will be beneficial for both sides, we maybe can rebuild that trust,” she said, adding there’s no appetite in the EU right for a full-blown trade agreement with the U.S.Malmstrom said the EU is willing to discuss autos in the negotiations, but she repeated the bloc wants farm products kept out of talks. The EU still doesn’t have a negotiating mandate, but Malmstrom said she hopes official discussions will start “soon.”The U.S. has also cited a lack of goodwill in the relationship as a hindrance to negotiations.
China’s efforts to tighten oversight of its $20 trillion-plus wealth management industry are spurring foreign banks to speed up plans to enter the local market or expand there.China’s wealth-management industry is the fastest-growing in the world but has historically been linked to the sale of high-risk, illiquid products and lax regulatory oversight.Recently, however, officials have begun forcing domestic banks to separate their wealth-management businesses, a move sources said was aimed at improving governance as part of Beijing’s broader push to reduce debt and limit the sale of risky products.
China’s exports tumbled the most in three years in February while imports fell for a third straight month, pointing to a further slowdown in the economy despite a spate of support measures.Global investors and China’s major trading partners are closely watching to see how quickly its economy is cooling after growth slowed to a near 30-year-low in 2018.February exports fell 20.7 percent from a year earlier, the largest decline since February 2016, customs data showed on Friday.Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 4.8 percent drop after January’s 9.1 percent rise.Imports fell 5.2 percent from a year earlier, worse than analysts’ forecasts for a 1.4 percent fall and widening from January’s 1.5 percent drop.That left the country with a trade surplus of $4.12 billion for the month, much smaller than forecasts of $26.38 billion.
Gold was range-bound on Friday as investors awaited the U.S. jobs report for further cues on the economy, after the European Central Bank’s (ECB) dovish policy stance spurred the dollar against the euro, while the metal was on track for a second straight weekly decline.Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,286.91 per ounce as of 0408 GMT. The metal, earlier this week, hit an over five-week low and was down about 0.5 pct so far for the week.U.S. gold futures were also up 0.1 percent at $1,287.60 an ounce.
Oil prices fell on Friday amid growing investor jitters over the global economy, after the European Central Bank (ECB) warned overnight of continued weakness and as fresh data showed Chinese exports and imports slumped last month.With surging U.S. supply also unsettling markets, international benchmark Brent crude oil futures were at $65.83 per barrel at 0358 GMT, down 47 cents, or 0.7 percent from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $56.32 per barrel, down 34 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last settlement.Financial markets, including crude oil futures, took a hit after ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday the economy was in “a period of continued weakness and pervasive uncertainty”. Europe’s economic weakness comes as growth in Asia is also slowing down.A slowdown in economic growth would also likely result in stalling fuel demand, putting pressure prices.