Japan Slashes GDP Forecast
August 12, 2011--Japan cut its growth forecast for this year after a record earthquake disrupted output and depressed consumer spending.
Gross domestic product will increase 0.5percent in the year started April 1, compared with a January forecast for a 1.5 percent expansion, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. GDP will increase 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent in the following year as the nation rebuilds from the March 11 catastrophe, according to the report.
Source: Bloomberg
New Zealand -Government releases draft securities bill
August 11, 2011--Commerce Minister Simon Power today released the draft version of a bill that stems from the comprehensive review of securities law.
"I'm releasing this bill in draft form to ensure that decisions from this once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-write our securities law are enduring for years to come," Mr Power said.
The new legislation will play a crucial role in restoring confidence in our financial markets by providing better protections for mum and dad investors, and clearer rules for companies looking to raise capital.
"The draft bill takes into account the work of the Capital Market Development Taskforce, the effects of the global financial crisis, and the failure of finance companies, and aims to be a one-stop shop for securities law."
The Financial Markets (Conduct) Bill reflects Cabinet decisions announced in March and June of this year, which include:
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Source: Yahoo News NZ
China urges action on EU and US debt, to keep yuan policy
August 11, 2011--China is worried about challenges that the European Union faces in the next two months and urged the bloc as well as the United States to hold down government debt, its trade minister said on Friday.
Speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian trade ministers, Chen Deming called on governments in the United States and Europe, China's top two trading partners, to act responsibly and get their fiscal houses in order. "We support stabilizing measures taken by relevant countries, but we hope these countries will take measures to control their government debt proportion and take bigger responsibilities," Chen said. "We are also concerned about new challenges facing European countries in August and September," he said, but did not elaborate.
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Source: Today's Zaman
Renminbi’s rise fuels talk of China policy shift
August 11, 2011--A sharp appreciation in the renminbi against the dollar in recent days – at a time when most other emerging market currencies have been falling – has prompted traders to ask whether Beijing has adopted an aggressive new stance on its currency.
Over the past four days the renminbi strengthened 0.7 per cent against the dollar – a small move by the standards of most currencies but a large one for the Chinese currency, which is tightly controlled by the government.
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Source: FT.com
China inflation rises to 6.5% in July
August 9, 2011--Chinese inflation accelerated in July as consumer prices rose 6.5 per cent from a year earlier, up from 6.4 per cent in June and the fastest increase since June 2008.
The price rise was driven mostly by volatile and politically sensitive food prices, which soared 14.8 per cent in July from a year earlier, up from a 14.4 per cent annual increase in June, according to data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
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Source: FT.com
Asia stock sell-off deepens
August 9, 2011--Fear gripped Asian markets following a rout in the United States stock market overnight, sending equities and currencies tumbling as investors grew increasingly pessimistic about the outlook for the global economy.
The FTSE All World Asia Pacific excluding Japan index was down 5.2 per cent by mid-morning in Hong Kong, entering bear market territory having now dropped more than 20 per cent since its peak in May.
The Hang Seng was the biggest decliner among Asia's top stock indices, down 7.2 per cent - taking its lead from the sharpest fall in US stocks since the panic that followed the Lehman collapse in 2008.
Mr Kevin Lee, head of Korea at Newedge, said: "When the fear in 2008 was a degree of 10, we feel now it is 8. It is a major tumble."
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Source: Today Online
Australian stocks in stunning turnaround
August 9, 2011--Australian stocks staged a stunning turnaround on Tuesday, bouncing back from a more than 5.5% slump to end in the black on hopes the US Federal Reserve may outline plans for a new stimulus package.
The market plunged sharply at the open in reaction to carnage in New York and Europe linked to the US debt downgrade by Standard & Poor's, and continued to fall as fear took hold, hitting new two-year lows.
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Source: FIN24
TOCOM Gold Price Hit Record High Since Its Launch
August 9, 2011--Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc, announced that its June 2012 Gold futures contract (back contract month) temporarily reached 4,399 yen/gram during today's session. This is the highest price seen since the listing of gold futures contract at TOCOM on March 23, 1982.
On August 9, trading volume of Gold futures (standard) totaled 144,475 contracts, including 113,047 contracts traded for June 2012 contract.
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Source: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM)
Launch of first gold bullion MINI on ASX
August 8, 201-- BetaShares today announced the launch of a leveraged trading tool on the BetaShares Gold Bullion ETF (A$ Hedged).
The Macquarie QAU Mini Long (ASX Code: QAUKMA) allows investors to access leveraged exposure to gold without margin calls. For a fraction of the outlay of buying the ETF outright, investors can now access pure gold bullion exposure that is unaffected by currency movements, leveraged at 65% at inception.
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Source: BetaShares
DB - Equity Research - Asia Pacific ETF Weekly Review: $5bn washed away from ETP AUM on market downturn
August 8, 2011--Market Review
Asia-Pacific market tumbled last week on the concerns over weakening global economic recovery. From north to south, Japan (Nikkei 225) dropped by 5.42%, Korea (KOSPI2) sank by 9.1%, China (CSI 300) decreased by 2.51%, Hong Kong (HSI) lost 6.66%, Singapore (FSSTI) declined by 6.10% and Australia (S&P/ASX 200) plunged by 7.21%.
New Launch Review
In terms of new product launch activity, the Asia-Pacific market remained quiet in the last week and no new product was listed in any of the exchanges in the region.
Turnover Review: Floor activity soars
Declining markets triggered a sell-off in the last week and turnover activity was up by 73.1% on a week-over-week basis totaling $8bn as equity market volatility continued to trend higher. South Korea topped the turnover ranking with a record $3.1bn (up 135.8%) followed by Hong Kong ($2bn, up 68.8%), Japan ($1.2bn, up 84.8%), China ($809m, down 13.4%), and Taiwan ($454.9m, up 176.4%). Among Equity ETPs, Emerging Country and Asia Pac Developed Country ETPs experienced $1.3bn (62.4%) and $994m (100%) rise in turnover over the previous week. On the Commodities section Gold ETPs activity also increased by 45.4% totaling $230m for the last week.
Assets Under Management Review
Amid sinking global markets, Asia-Pacific ETP AUM lost $5bn and ended at $90.3bn last week. However, on a year to date basis, Asia-Pacific ETF market is still $6.1bn or 7.3% above last year's closing.
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Source: Deutsche Bank - Equity Research - Asia
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