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)
ECB sees modest impact from China slowdown if spillovers limited
China's slowdown won't have a major impact on the euro-area economy unless it sparks a global economic downturn, according to the European Central Bank.
PHOTO: AFP
[FRANKFURT] China's slowdown won't have a major impact on the euro-area economy unless it sparks a global economic downturn, according to the European Central Bank.
"Trade spillovers from a continued slowdown of economic activity in China are likely to have only a modest impact" on euro-area gross-domestic product, the central bank said in an article to be included in its Economic Bulletin. The impact on the euro area of a potential further slowdown in China ultimately hinges on the extent to which this slowdown spills over to other emerging markets more generally, and the degree to which the resulting loss of confidence affects global financial markets as well as global trade."
The currency bloc's recovery is proving resilient to turbulence in emerging markets, with a gauge of economic activity by Markit Economics signaling growth of 0.4 per cent for the final quarter of the year. Even so, with inflation stuck at zero, President Mario Draghi has left the door open to an expansion of the ECB's quantitative-easing program.
China accounted for about 6 per cent of euro-area exports in 2014, up from only 2 per cent in 2008. Germany, the region's largest economy, relies on China for almost 10 per cent of its overseas sales.
"Products are shipped to China for further processing or assembly and then re-exported to another destination for final consumption," the ECB said. "Hence, a slowing of Chinese activity is likely to have less of an impact than would be suggested by gross trade flows."
The ECB said it calculates that a 1 percentage-point loss in Chinese GDP would lead to a decline of 0.1 percentage point to 0.15 percentage point in euro-area economic activity after two to three years.
Chairman of China Southern Airlines probed for suspected graft: watchdog
[BEIJING] The chairman of China Southern Airlines, Si Xianmin, is being investigated for "serious discipline violations," the ruling Communist Party's graft watchdog said on Wednesday.
Si is also the general manager of China Southern Air Holding Company, the parent of the listed entity.
"Discipline violations" is often used as a euphemism for corruption.
China cabinet says to deepen interest rate reform: state radio
[BEIJING] China will deepen interest rate reform, including making better use of short-term repo and medium-term lending facilities, state radio reported on Wednesday, citing the State Council, the country's cabinet.
China will establish a financing guarantee fund to help small firms lower their borrowing costs, according to the broadcast, and accelerate reconstruction of so-called zombie firms.
The cabinet also said that the approval process for highway projects would be streamlined, state radio reported.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on October 23 it was freeing the interest rate market by scrapping a ceiling on deposit rates, after cutting interest rates for the sixth time in less than a year.
Liberalising China's interest rates is a key element of financial reform, the country's central bank has said.
US private sector adds 182,000 jobs in October: ADP
[NEW YORK] US private employers added 182,000 jobs in October, a tick above economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 180,000 jobs.
Private payroll gains in September were revised down to 190,000 from an originally reported 200,000 increase.
The report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics.
The ADP figures come ahead of the US Labour Department's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.
Economists polled by Reuters are looking for total US employment to have grown by 180,000 jobs in October, compared to the 142,000 created in September.
The unemployment rate is forecast to remain at 5.1 per cent.
New Canadian PM Trudeau to name Morneau as finance minister: source
[OTTAWA] Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will name political newcomer Bill Morneau as finance minister when he unveils his Cabinet later on Wednesday, a government source told Reuters.
Morneau, 53, is a former corporate executive who also headed a major public policy think tank. He was elected to Parliament for the first time in the Oct 19 election that brought Trudeau's Liberals to power.
US auto sales surged past expectations once again, and remained at the highest levels in a decade.
According to Autodata, sales rose at an annualized pace of 18.24 million in October. The consensus forecast was an annualized pace of 17.7 million.
Throughout Tuesday, US auto-sales data for October rolled in on the heels of the fastest pace for sales in 10 years in the prior period.
Auto sales rose to an annualized pace of 18.2 million vehicles in September.
The strength of auto sales reflects the continued resilience of consumer spending that has sustained US economic growth this year.
In a client note, Barclays economists wrote: "The auto sector has continued to outperform expectations over the past few quarters as consumer spending on durable goods has grown at a robust pace. Today's results are the earliest reliable indicator of October consumption and suggest that private spending remains healthy."
Tesla came in a little light on earnings while revenue was right in line with expectations in its report after the market close on Tuesday.
In the third quarter, Tesla reported an adjusted loss per share of $0.58 against expectations for a $0.56 loss.
Revenue was $1.24 billion, as expected.
Following the report, shares of the electric-car maker were up as much as 9% in early trading on Wednesday.
Vehicle deliveries came in at 11,603 in the third quarter, and the company expects it will deliver between 17,000 and 19,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, a better-than-expected outlook that seems to be driving shares higher after hours.
Tesla now expects full-year vehicle deliveries will total between 50,000 and 52,000. The company said earlier that it had expected to deliver between 50,000 and 55,000 vehicles in 2015.
And so while Tesla's full-year outlook might a bit light compared to what it was looking for previously, investors had perhaps been fearing the worst.
Tesla also had good things to say about China, writing in its release that Model S orders "increased substantially" from the prior quarter in Q3.
As for its capital outlays, Tesla expects it will invest $500 million in the fourth quarter, bringing this year's capital expenses to $1.7 billion. The company cited accelerating investments in its Gigafactory for the increased capital investments. The company invested $392 million in the third quarter.
With regard to its new and upcoming cars, Tesla said it remains "highly confident" it will produce and deliver, on average, 1,600 to 1,800 vehicles per week between its Model S and Model X cars next year.
Additionally, Tesla expects to unveil its Model 3 car in March 2016.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionXi Jinping (left) and Ma Ying-jeou will discuss stronger ties, Taiwan says
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday - the first ever meeting between leaders of the two sides.
Both said the talks would focus on relations across the Taiwan Straits.
China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when the Nationalist government fled to the island after defeat by the Communists.
However, ties have improved since President Ma took office in 2008.
The Chinese government threatens to use military force against Taiwan if it attempts to gain outright independence.
Taiwanese spokesman Chen Yi-hsin said President Ma's aim was "to promote peace cross the Taiwan Strait and maintain status quo".
Analysis: Cindy Sui, BBC News, Taipei
This meeting, less than three months before Taiwan's elections, is a sign of how concerned China is that the significantly improved ties of recent years could be jeopardised if the pro-independence opposition party's candidate becomes president. Opinion polls show Tsai Ing-wen is leading - a big worry for Beijing.
Ms Tsai has said she welcomes dialogue with Chinese leaders, but Beijing has refused to meet her, indicating it does not trust her.
She was a minister in charge of developing policy toward mainland China under the previous administration, which angered Beijing by trying to work towards formal independence.
Mr Xi may believe he can sway Taiwanese voters but this could backfire. While some voters who want to maintain stable relations may heed his words, they may offend Taiwanese voters who are already worried that Beijing will have increasing influence over Taiwan if the candidate from President Ma's party is elected.
And this could hurt, rather than help, the party favoured by Beijing.
The two leaders are expected to handle the meeting in a delicate manner. Mr Ma's office has emphasised no agreements will be signed and no joint statement will be issued.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionThousands of Taiwanese students protested in 2014 against a trade agreement with China
"No agreement will be signed, and no statement issued," he said, adding that Mr Ma would hold a news conference on Thursday to explain his decision to hold the talks.
Taiwan's mainland affairs council is also to hold a news conference on the meeting later on Wednesday, officials said.
China's official Xinhua news said the two sides would "exchange views on promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations".
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US welcomed any steps to reduce tensions and improve relations, but added: "We'll have to see what actually comes out of the meeting."
The BBC's John Sudworth in Beijing says Saturday's meeting will mark a significant break with the long established diplomatic stance.
Contact of any kind between the two sides has been extremely limited and China has resisted anything that might be seen to be giving Taiwan equal status, he says.
In a sign of how politically sensitive the meeting is, the leaders will address each other as Mr Xi and Mr Ma, rather than president, one Chinese government official has said.
Ties with China have improved under President Ma, whose Kuomintang (KMT) party is seen as pro-Beijing.
Taiwan-China key dates
1949: Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists form their own government in Taiwan after Mao Zedong's communists take power in Beijing
1971: Taiwan loses its seat at the UN to China
1979: The US establishes diplomatic relations with China while at the same time committing itself to defending Taiwan
1993: First direct talks between the two sides take place in Singapore
2005: Beijing brings in a law that makes secession by Taiwan illegal, at the risk of military action
2008: High-level talks between the two sides resume after Ma Ying-jeou is elected president
In July 2009 the two leaders exchanged direct messages for the first time in more than 60 years, albeit in their respective party functions, and not as national leaders.
A year later, the two countries signed a historic trade pact.
However, correspondents say growing fears over China's influence has led to widespread dissatisfaction in Taiwan.
The KMT suffered a crushing defeat in local elections last year, a result that was widely seen as a rejection of President Ma's push for closer ties with China.
President Ma steps down next year having served two terms and earlier this month the KMT dropped its candidate for January's presidential election following a series of poor ratings in opinion polls.
Analysts say China is likely to see a meeting between the two leaders as a final chance to press its case for improved ties, in case the KMT loses the election.
China has insisted that countries cannot have official relations with both China and Taiwan, with the result that Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with only 21 UN member states.
Taiwan also has no seat at the UN, having lost it to China in 1971. Repeated attempts to regain representation at the UN have been blocked.
Another day, another monster run for bitcoin traders.
Bitcoin was trading around $240 in the beginning of October. Now — after a gain of 10% on Tuesday added to its earlier run — it's closer to $400.
Now, bitcoin traders are looking for answers as to why the cryptocurrency is skyrocketing in value.
"You're seeing more and more institutional investors moving into the space," said Brendan O'Connor, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin broker.
Demand has been coming from China. O'Connor said the daily volume of bitcoin trades from China has been two to three times the ordinary amount over the past two weeks.
It's not just the value of bitcoin that's increasing; it's also the prevalence of use.
"We are seeing unprecedented volume globally," said Michael Sonnenshein of Grayscale Investments, which manages the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a publicly listed vehicle that tracks bitcoin. Bitcoin Investment Trust hasn't been public very long, but it enjoyed a run-up of more than 7% on the good news Tuesday.
Neither O'Connor nor Sonneshein centered on a single factor that is boosting bitcoin's value. Sonneshein pointed out that as bitcoin auctions run by the US Marshals draw closer (only in a handful of instances), the cryptocurrency tends to see increased trading activity.
The next government auction of seized bitcoin is November 5.
Here's a graph tracking bitcoin:
Blockchain.infoBlockchain.info captures the run-up in bitcoin prices.
[HONG KONG] DBS Bank has mandated Barclays, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale CIB to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings from Friday for a sterling covered bond.
The proposed transaction will be the second offshore covered deal from the bank after it priced Singapore's first such offering in July, a US$1 billion three-year bond that priced at 37bp over mid-swaps.
The bank's dollar debut was rated Aaa/AAA/AAA and was issued from a US$10 billion multicurrency programme.
