Economy
China's Accelerating Inflation May Spur Zhou to Raise Rates 'Within Weeks' China’s inflation probably
accelerated and exports climbed in February, according to
surveys of economists, increasing the likelihood of the central
bank raising interest rates from a five-year low.
Japan's Machinery Orders Fall 3.7%; Business Spending Revival May Be Slow Japan’s machinery orders slipped
in January after the biggest jump since 2000, indicating a
subdued appetite among the nation’s companies to ramp up
capital spending even as manufacturing passed its worst.
Australian Economy Will Grow Faster Than Average, Reserve Bank's Lowe Says Australia’s economy is likely to
expand at or above its average pace over the next few years,
stoking inflation pressures and house prices, central bank
official Philip Lowe said.
Papandreou Says Obama Is `Supportive' of Measures to Stem Deficit Crisis Greek Prime Minister George
Papandreou said U.S. President Barack Obama expressed support
for measures being taken to deal with Greece’s financial crisis.
Bank of Japan's Suda Says Risks for Japan Economy Becoming More Balanced Bank of Japan board member Miyako
Suda said upside and downside risks for growth are almost
balanced, sticking with the bank’s view that the economy will
continue to expand gradually.
New Zealand Has Little Scope for Rate Increase as Consumer Spending Slows New Zealand’s central bank has
little scope to raise borrowing costs before June as rising
unemployment curbs consumer spending and housing demand,
according to economists.
Obama Joblessness Poised to Turn on 300,000 March Payrolls: Morgan Stanley The U.S. may add as many as 300,000
jobs in March, the most in four years, setting the stage for
what some economists say will be sustained employment gains.
Fed's Evans Says Low Rates Needed for `Some Time' as Unemployment Lingers Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
President Charles Evans said low interest rates are likely to be
needed “for some time” as high unemployment lingers and
inflation stays below his goal.
Bank of Korea's Lee, Under Pressure at Final Meeting, May Keep Rate at 2% Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong
Tae will probably keep interest rates unchanged at his final
meeting as he faces “intense” political pressure to spur
investment and cut unemployment.
Philippines May Keep Benchmark Rate at 4%, Unwind More Stimulus Measures The Philippine central bank will
probably keep borrowing costs at a record low to support the
economy’s recovery even as it prepares to pull back more
stimulus measures.
Derivatives Regulation Urged by EU, Merkel as Greece Takes Plea to Obama The European Union’s top regulatory
official said the bloc will consider banning “purely
speculative” credit-default swaps as German Chancellor Angela
Merkel called for a crackdown on derivatives trading to prevent
a rerun of the Greek financial crisis.
Sack Says Fed Selling Assets Would Risk Sudden Increase in Long-Term Rates Brian Sack, the New York Federal
Reserve Bank’s markets chief, said shrinking the central bank’s
$2.3 trillion balance sheet quickly through sales of assets
risks a sudden rise in long-term interest rates.
New Normal Becomes Old Normal With Exports Spurring Growth in New U.S. Mix The “new mix” is out to topple the
“new normal” as the paradigm for America’s economic future.
Fed May Lose Supervision of Small State Banks to FDIC, Senator Reed Says The Federal Reserve, which is urging
Congress to let it keep its bank supervising role, may lose
oversight of smaller state banks to the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp., Democratic Senator Jack Reed said.