We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
China consumer inflation rises to 2.0% in August: govt
Consumer inflation in China rose to 2.0 per cent in August, the government said Thursday, its highest level in a year as the threat of deflation receded further in the world's second-largest economy.
PHOTO: AFP
[BEIJING] Consumer inflation in China rose to 2.0 per cent in August, the government said Thursday, its highest level in a year as the threat of deflation receded further in the world's second-largest economy.
The reading for the consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), was higher than July's 1.6 per cent and the strongest since a similar 2.0 per cent in August last year.
But producer prices fell at their fastest for nearly six years.
The NBS said the producer price index - a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate and a leading indicator of the trend for CPI - declined 5.9 per cent in August, the worst since a 7.0 per cent fall in September 2009.
It was steeper than a 5.4 per cent retreat in July and marked the 42nd consecutive monthly drop.
Moderate inflation can be a boon to consumption as it pushes consumers to buy before prices go up, while falling prices encourage shoppers to delay purchases and companies to put off investment, both of which can hurt economic growth.
Slowing economic growth and declines in commodity prices have helped keep China's consumer inflation in check, with some some economists even voicing concerns about possible deflation.
The CPI figure compared with the median estimate of 1.8 per cent in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News.
Hong Kong watchdog says Moody's broke code of conduct with 'red flags' report
An advertising board (left) showing a Chinese stone lion is pictured near an entrance to the headquarters (right) of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), in Beijing, China, on Sep 7, 2015.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[HONG KONG] The Hong Kong unit of ratings agency Moody's Corp breached the regulator's code of conduct in the publication of a 2011 report on Chinese companies, a Hong Kong appeals tribunal heard on Thursday.
The allegations were heard during Moody's Investors Services HK Ltd's appeal against a decision by Hong Kong's markets watchdog to fine the company US$3 million for a July 2011 report that raised concerns about corporate governance at 49 Chinese Hong Kong-listed companies.
Moody's said the regulator overstepped its mark in claiming the report was akin to a credit rating, which would fall under the regulator's code of conduct.
A man (C) performs to pedestrians passing by along the pavement in central Sydney on July 9, 2015.
PHOTO: AFP
[SYDNEY] Australia's unemployment rate fell to 6.2 per cent in August with thousands of new jobs created, official data showed Thursday, as the economy continues to shift away from a massive resources investment boom.
A total of 17,400 jobs were added to the economy last month, 11,500 full-time and 5,900 part-time, the figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
The improved reading, from 6.3 per cent in July, matched analysts' forecasts, but the jump in positions was above expectations for a 5,000 increase.
The Australian dollar, which has been struggling to remain above 70 US cents in the past week, strengthened on the back of the new jobs, gaining a quarter of a US cent to 69.70 US cents.
"Generally the picture is still of companies hiring, which contrasts with the weak GDP result," Barclays' chief economist for Australia Kieran Davies told AFP.
"This survey is showing a strengthening in business conditions, so I think that companies are feeling more confident to put more staff on and historically that also signals a pick up in non-mining (capital expenditure)."
Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a slower-than-expected 0.2 per cent in April-June for an annual rate of 2.0 per cent, reflecting the economy's wobbles as it transitions away from an unprecedented mining investment boom that has helped it avoid recession for more than two decades.
The unemployment rate has hovered around a decade-high of 6.0 per cent over the past year, while spending by firms in non-resources industries has yet to fill the gap left by the mining sector.
To boost growth in the non-mining sectors such as housing, the central bank has cut interest rates over the past four years to a record low of 2.0 per cent.
At the same time, tumbling commodity prices have hit government revenue, amid concern about the softening economy of China, Australia's largest trading partner.
China says senior official visited Interpol to push graft fight
President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping campaign against graft since assuming power in late 2012, but has been hampered to an extent by difficulty in getting corrupt officials and assets back from overseas.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[BEIJING] A deputy head of the Chinese Communist Party's graft watchdog visited Interpol as part of a trip to France to push for greater international cooperation in China's fight against corruption, state media said on Thursday.
The government earlier this year unveiled an initiative called "Sky Net" to better coordinate its fight to return corrupt officials and published a list of 100 suspected corrupt people believed to be abroad and subject to an Interpol "red notice".
Officials say only about 10 people on that list have been returned to China so far, from countries with close ties to Beijing.
Xinhua news agency said that Zhao Hongzhu, a deputy head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, met French government officials, including the justice minister, and then went to Interpol headquarters in Lyon on a trip that ended this week. "The main point (of the Interpol visit) was to increase international cooperation in fighting corruption and exchange views on recovering dirty assets and corruption suspects (from overseas)," Xinhua said, without elaborating.
Interpol, in a statement on its website, said that Secretary General Jürgen Stock told Zhao he valued its cooperation with China.
President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping campaign against graft since assuming power in late 2012, but has been hampered to an extent by difficulty in getting corrupt officials and assets back from overseas.
China does not have extradition treaties with the United States or Canada - the two most popular destinations for suspected economic criminals.
Western countries have baulked at signing extradition deals with China, partly out of concern about the integrity of its judicial system and treatment of prisoners. Rights groups say Chinese authorities use torture and that the death penalty is common in corruption cases.
China exports to see positive growth this year: ministry
China's exports will see positive growth this year while the decline in imports will ease, state media quoted the commerce ministry as saying on Thursday.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[BEIJING] China's exports will see positive growth this year while the decline in imports will ease, state media quoted the commerce ministry as saying on Thursday.
The fundamentals of China's foreign trade have not changed, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Dongtang, deputy director of the ministry's Foreign Trade Department of as saying.
China's imports shrank far more than expected in August, falling for the 10th straight month and adding to global investors' concerns that the world's second-largest economy may be slowing more sharply than earlier expected.
Exports in August dropped 5.5 per cent from a year earlier, slightly less than a 6.0 per cent decline forecast in a Reuters poll, but improving from an 8.3 per cent drop in July.
Li says China still has policy tools as growth faces pressures
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said growth is still in a reasonable range while it faces downward pressure and difficulties, vowing to press ahead with reforms and to gradually open the nation's capital account.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[BEIJING] Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said growth is still in a reasonable range while it faces downward pressure and difficulties, vowing to press ahead with reforms and to gradually open the nation's capital account.
If the economy were to "show signs of slipping out of the reasonable range, we have sufficient capability to respond," Mr Li said Thursday at the World Economic Forum's "Summer Davos" meeting in Dalian, China. "China will not see a hard landing." As long as there's sufficient employment, incomes expanding in tandem with economic output, China can accept such growth as seen in the first half, he said yesterday at the event while speaking with a group of entrepreneurs. His remarks echo People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, who said over the weekend that the rout in Chinese equities is close to ending and that state intervention stopped a free-fall.
Mr Li's plan to keep growth at about 7 per cent this year is at risk after a stock market rout and sluggish global demand. Downward pressure on the economy has increased, with exports falling 5.5 per cent in August from a year earlier and the nation's official factory gauge falling to a three-year low.
Malaysia's ringgit led losses early in Asia as a renewed decline in stocks and a downgrade in Brazil's credit rating reignited concerns capital will flow out of emerging markets as the US prepares to raise interest rates.
PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
[SINGAPORE] Malaysia's ringgit led losses early in Asia as a renewed decline in stocks and a downgrade in Brazil's credit rating reignited concerns capital will flow out of emerging markets as the US prepares to raise interest rates.
The ringgit fell below the 3.07 level to one Singapore dollar, for the first time, on Thusrday morning (Sept 10), touching 3.0788 at 8:12 am. It was trading at 3.0698 as of 8:37 am, down from Wednesday's close of 3.0590.
The Malaysian currency also sank to a new 1998 low against the US dollar. It was down 1.1 per cent to 4.3770 per US dollar as of 8:13 am in Kuala Lumpur, the lowest level since January 1998, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg."The drop in US equities, the rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and cutting Brazil's rating to junk should push emerging markets down," said Masashi Murata, vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in Tokyo. "All Asian currencies are likely to drop with risk-off trading."
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will address the Annual Meeting of the New Championsin Dalian on Thursday, 10 September at 10.55 CST (GMT+8, EST+12).
A live video stream of his appearance will be available on the player below and the key points of the address further down the page.
On Wednesday, Premier Li met with global CEOs and answered their questions on the Chinese economy. You can read highlights from the discussion below.
Background:
Following the recent fluctuations in Chinese financial markets, the Premier’s address will be much anticipated. Here’s a reminder of some of the Premier’s recent comments on the economy.
“Facing the new normal state of the Chinese economy, we have remained level-headed and taken steps to tackle deep-seated challenges. We focused more on structural readjustment and other long-term problems, and refrained from being distracted by the slight short-term fluctuations of individual indicators.”
“The moderation of growth speed in China reflects both profound adjustments in the world economy as well as the law of economics.”
“With a larger base figure, growth even at 7 percent will produce an annual increase of more than 800 billion US dollars at current price, larger than a 10 percent growth five years ago.”
“The good news is that in the past couple of years we did not resort to massive stimulus measures for economic growth, We still have more tools in our toolbox.”
“We have the responsibility and the capacity to firmly safeguard stability”
All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Indonesia president unveils economic stimulus moves
Indonesian President Joko Widodo unveiled a series of policies on Wednesday as part of a stimulus package intended to support the rupiah, prop up growth and restore investor confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
PHOTO: SPH
[JAKARTA] Indonesian President Joko Widodo unveiled a series of policies on Wednesday as part of a stimulus package intended to support the rupiah, prop up growth and restore investor confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
The package included extending a scheme to provide rice for the poor and adjustments to 89 regulations seen as overlapping with other rules, Mr Joko said.
He said the government would complete its deregulation steps by October.
Standard and Poor's cuts Brazil sovereign credit rating to junk
Standard and Poor's cut Brazil's sovereign rating to junk Wednesday, citing the struggle by President Dilma Rousseff's government to master growing debt and political turmoil.
PHOTO: AFP
RIO DE JANEIRO] Standard & Poor's cut Brazil's sovereign credit rating to junk Wednesday, citing the struggle by President Dilma Rousseff's government to master growing debt and political turmoil.
"We are lowering the long-term foreign and local currency ratings on Brazil to 'BB+' and 'BBB-' respectively," the agency said in a statement.
The junk rating is a blow to Brazil's foundering economy because it could drive off investors just when Ms Rousseff and her finance minister, Joaquim Levy, are battling to balance the books.
Analyst Andre Leite at TAG Investimento noted that Brazil now finds itself rated lower than Russia, which is under painful international sanctions over its support for separatists in neighboring Ukraine.
"If another rating agency also lowers Brazil, then very probably we're going to see institutional investors obliged to pull their money out," Mr Leite said.
Last month Mr Levy, who has tried to steer Brazil to health with austerity measures, presented the country's first ever deficit budget for 2016 and he is now under pressure to raise taxes despite heavy opposition in Congress.
The government also announced in August that the economy was officially in recession and that the contraction could extend through 2016, becoming the longest recession since 1931.
"The political challenges Brazil faces have continued to mount, weighing on the government's ability and willingness to submit a 2016 budget to Congress" consistent with economic targets, Standard & Poor's said.
"The negative outlook reflects what we believe is a greater than one-in-three likelihood of a further downgrade due to a further deterioration of Brazil's fiscal position," the agency said in its statement.
Other risks in Brazil include "potential key policy reversals given the fluid political dynamics, including a further lack of cohesion within the president's cabinet or due to greater economic turmoil than we currently expect."
Standard & Poor's reasoning reads like an investor horror show, starting with "spillover effects" from the still-unfolding corruption scandal centered on state-owned oil giant Petrobras.
Petrobras lost US$2.1 billion in a scheme where top Brazilian executives and politicians are said to have robbed the company by cooking up inflated construction contracts in exchange for bribes.
That scandal, which continues to grow, has badly hurt investor confidence and contributed to rock-bottom approval ratings for Ms Rousseff, with some in Congress pushing for her impeachment.
Ms Rousseff has not been accused, but she chaired the board at Petrobras between 2003 and 2010, when much of the alleged corruption was flourishing.
As her political stock dwindles, Ms Rousseff has found it harder to push unpopular reforms that had been hoped would bring order to an economy suffering badly from the worldwide drop in commodities prices.
Last week, markets were shaken by rumors - later denied - that Mr Levy was resigning.
Standard & Poor's said the political situation did not augur well.
"The series of events leading to the budget proposal suggests to us diminished cohesion within President Rousseff's cabinet and contributes to our assessment of a weaker credit profile." "Ongoing investigations of corruption allegations against high-profile individuals and companies... have led to increased near-term political uncertainty," the ratings agency said.
Brazil saw boom years peaking with 7.5 per cent economic growth in 2010. But analysts say Latin America's biggest country - the host of next year's Summer Olympics - now faces a prolonged downturn.
UK employers raise growth view on strength in services, spending
A pedestrian passes ''closing down'' signs displayed in a gentlemen's outfitters store window in the financial district of London, U.K., on Monday, Sept 17, 2012. The British Chambers of Commerce raised their forecast for the country's economic growth in 2015 and over the following two years because of strength in the country's huge services sector and booming consumer spending.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[LONDON] The British Chambers of Commerce raised their forecast for the country's economic growth in 2015 and over the following two years because of strength in the country's huge services sector and booming consumer spending.
The BCC upgraded its growth forecast for this year to 2.6 per cent - bringing it in line with the average forecast in a Reuters poll of economists published on Wednesday - compared with a previous forecast of 2.3 percent made in June.
For 2016 and 2017, growth was likely to reach 2.7 per cent, up from the previous forecast of 2.6 per cent - a slightly faster growth rate than forecast by most other economists, including those at the Bank of England.
BCC Director-General John Longworth said services would grow nearly four times more quickly than manufacturing this year, and Britain's export performance would again fall short.
To make the recovery longer-lasting, the Bank of England should keep interest rates low for as long as possible and the government should improve skills training, infrastructure and access to finance, he said.
Data published on Wednesday showed a sharp fall in manufacturing in July and a sharp widening of the trade deficit, underscoring the reliance of Britain's economic recovery on the services sector.
Economists say consumer spending will help drive the economy in the months ahead as inflation remains close to zero and wage growth picks up.
The BCC said it expected growth in total earnings, including bonuses, would average 2.5 per cent in 2015 and rise to 4.3 per cent in 2017.