Economic News August 31, 2012
European
Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the central
bank is set to downgrade its economic outlook for 2012 and 2013. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
Slovenian economy contracted in the second quarter, after remaining
stagnant in the previous quarter, data released by the Statistical
Office of the Republic of Slovenia showed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Italy's
EU measure of inflation eased in August, after remaining unchanged in
the previous month, preliminary data from ISTAT showed Friday. The
harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose 3.5 percent yea-on-year,
slower than 3.6 percent in June and July. Economists had forecast the
figure to hold steady for a second straight month. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Croatia's
economy shrunk for the third quarter in a row in the three months to
June, preliminary data released by the Bureau of Statistics revealed
Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
European Central Bank's bond purchases in debt markets should be
subject to strict conditionality, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure
said Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Forex Top Story
South
Korea's industrial production contracted a seasonally adjusted 1.6
percent on month in July, matching expectations following the downwardly
revised 0.6 percent fall in June. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Industrial
production in Japan contracted a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on
month in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in
Friday's preliminary reading. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Consumer
confidence in the United Kingdom remained at a low level in August,
contrary to economists' forecast for an improvement, as a modest uplift
from the Olympics was offset by the grim economic outlook, latest data
showed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
Indian economy grew at a faster than expected pace during the June
quarter, help by construction and services activity, data from the
Central Statistics Office showed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
German
retail sales unexpectedly dropped for the first time in three months in
July amid a continued rise in unemployment, raising concerns that
consumer spending may fail to underpin growth of the biggest Eurozone
economy grappling with the sovereign debt crisis and the threat of a
possible recession in the currency-bloc. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Residential
property prices in the United Kingdom rebounded strongly in August
after falling for two months in a row, indicating that the housing
market remains stable despite continuing weakness in consumer sentiment
and the grim economic outlook, results of survey revealed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Eurozone
unemployment rose to a record high and inflation accelerated more than
expected, suggesting that household spending will remain muted going
forward and weigh further on economic activity. According to Eurostat
data, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at a
record 11.3 percent in July, in line with forecast. The June rate was
revised up from 11.2 percent. About 18 million people were out of work
in July, the highest on record. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
divide between the European Central Bank and Germany's Bundesbank
apparently widened as a rumour began circulating that German central
bank chief Jens Weidmann considered quitting his job in the last few
weeks. He mulled resigining over the ECB's plan to start a new round of
sovereign bond purchases and discussed such a move with the Bundesbank
board several times in recent weeks, the German tabloid Bild reported
Friday, citing unidentified sources. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Commodities
The
price of gold was steady near its four-month high Friday morning as the
U.S. dollar was trading lower versus a basket of currencies ahead of a
key speech from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
price of crude oil was moving higher Friday morning as traders await
comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who is expected to
speak at the central bank's gathering in Jackson Hole later today. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Political News
The
U.N. Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of its
peacekeepers in southern Lebanon until August 31, 2013 and urged all
parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to ensure the safety
of U.N. staff. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost to Enrique Pena Nieto in last month's
Mexican Presidential election, failed in his bid to overturn the poll
results, as the country's highest electoral court dismissed his legal
challenge against the outcome. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Afghan government to drop
reported plans to appoint a senior official linked to torture as head of
the country's main intelligence service. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Tokyo
Governor Shintaro Ishihara told reporters on Friday that he conveyed to
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda the provincial government's
willingness to let the central government take ownership of a disputed
island in the East China Sea. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Police
in Russia's Volga city of Kazan have arrested a man on suspicion of
murdering two women whose bodies were found beneath a scrawled message
demanding the release of three jailed members of the anti-Putin female
punk group Pussy Riot. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Currency Alerts
The Japanese yen edged higher across the board on Friday morning in Asia (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
In
early European trading on Friday, the euro recovered from its late
Asian session's losses against most major currencies ahead of speech by
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
U.S. dollar slipped against most major currencies in the European
session on Friday as traders await speech by Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke later in the day. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
General News
The
United Nations and the European Union have strongly condemned the
recent executions of 26 people in Iraq, 21 in a single day, and urged
the Iraqi government to declare a moratorium on death penalty. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
An
explosive threat forced a Chinese airline to divert a flight and make
an emergency landing in Central China on Thursday, reports said. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
Japanese government plans to study possible effects of radiation on the
genes of people affected by last year's Fukushima nuclear accident. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The
death toll from a gas explosion at a colliery in south-west China has
risen to 26 as rescue workers continued efforts to pull out another 21
still trapped underground, state media reported on Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
German
flag carrier Lufthansa on Friday canceled more than 100 flights
following an eight-hour strike by its flight attendants, the company
said in a statement posted on its website. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
No comments:
Post a Comment