Financial News: November 2013

Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Matterhorn Interview -- November 2013: Dimitri Speck (MAM GoldSwitzerland)

Precious Metals Dealers List

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Part Two: The Matterhorn Interview -- November 2013: Dimitri Speck (MAM GoldSwitzerland)

Precious Metals Dealers List

by MAM GoldSwitzerland

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Fed unlikely to redraw markers for rate hike

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers have cooled to the idea of explicitly raising the bar on future interest rate hikes, a sign the U.S. central bank is angling for a return to more subtle -- and familiar -- ways of explaining how it plans to steer the economy. The Fed, still struggling to boost the U.S. recovery from the Great Recession, remains intent on assuring investors that easy monetary policy is here for the long haul. Households and businesses, in the Fed's view, need low borrowing costs to get spending and investment back on a self-sustaining path. That's the reason the central bank took the unprecedented step last December of pledging to keep overnight interest rates near zero until unemployment falls to at least 6.5 percent, unless inflation threatens to rise above 2.5 percent.

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China's November factory growth clings to 18-month high

China's factory growth held at an 18-month high in November on firm domestic and foreign demand, defying expectations the economy faces a modest slowdown as 2013 draws to a close. Investors had expected the PMI, one of the earliest pieces of Chinese data released each month, to show China's economy decelerated in the fourth quarter on slacker credit growth, fragile global demand, and slower restocking of inventories by firms. "The export order data suggests that global demand - key to the outlook for China's manufacturing - improved a bit." Experts will welcome the unexpected PMI strength as a sign that China can press on with sprawling plans outlined last month to cut back central economic planning without fear of endangering growth.

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Day Trader Rock Star Talks about trading for a living (daytraderrockstar)

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Global recovery still too weak, South Korea data shows

Exports by industrial powerhouse South Korea showed virtually no growth last month, underlining a still fragile global economy squeezed by a depressed Europe as growth slows in emerging markets. Overseas shipments by the world's seventh-largest exporter rose just 0.2 percent in November from a year earlier in dollar value, government data showed on Sunday, smaller than a median gain of 2.8 percent tipped in a Reuters survey of 13 analysts. Growth of sales to China, the United States and the European Union all slowed whereas exports to Southeast Asia's 10-nation ASEAN bloc posted the worst decline since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, the data showed. "Some of the big economies, such as the United States, are recovering, but are not there yet to spur corporate investment for more production and boost global trade much," said Park Sang-hyun, economist at HI Investment & Securities in Seoul.

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Reuters poll of Japanese fund managers cutting US/Canada bond weighting while raising Eurozone weighting (ForexLive)

I posted Friday on Reuters poll of Japanese fund managers – Cut US/Canada bond weighting, raise Eurozone weighting

There’s more detail on the poll now:

Japanese fund managers maintained their assets allocated to equities at a 1-1/2-year high in November of 44.2%

For bonds – upped the euro zone weighting to the highest level since March 2011

Reduced allocations to U.S. and Canadian bonds to a record low, citing vulnerability given a stronger recovery in the United States

Cut back their bond allocations marginally to 48.9 percent from 49.0 percent in October while the cash weighting was raised slightly to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent.

Survey of eight Japan-based fund managers

Polled Nov. 18-27

More at Reuters

Originally Published on FX Times

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U.S. retail sales up at start of holiday season: ShopperTrak

(Reuters) - U.S. shoppers visited more stores and spent more money across Thanksgiving Day on Thursday and on "Black Friday" than they did in 2012, research firm ShopperTrak said on Saturday. When compared with Thanksgiving and "Black Friday" last year, ShopperTrak estimated that traffic at brick-and-mortar stores increased 2.8 percent, to more than 1.07 billion store visits. Retail sales also increased by 2.3 percent, as shoppers spent an estimated total of $12.3 billion across the two days, ShopperTrak said in a statement. For "Black Friday," brick-and-mortar shopper traffic fell 11.4 percent and retail sales were down by 13.2 percent.

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STAR Strategic Business Model [Video]

from Brent Threadgill

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East African trade bloc approves monetary union deal

The leaders of five East African countries signed a protocol on Saturday laying the groundwork for a monetary union within 10 years that they expect will expand regional trade. Heads of state of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, which have already signed a common market and a single customs union, say the protocol will allow them to progressively converge their currencies and increase commerce. In the run-up to achieving a common currency, the East African Community (EAC) nations aim to harmonize monetary and fiscal policies and establish a common central bank. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda already present their budgets simultaneously every June.

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[text] Gold endures worst November since 1978 - GOLD NEWS - Mineweb.com Mineweb

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/conte...0118&sn=Detail

"London prices for gold pushed higher in quiet trade Friday morning, on course for the largest November drop since 1978 in US Dollar terms.Down 5.9% from the last London Fix of October, Dollar gold this morning touched $1249 per ounce.That would be the lowest monthly finish since June's 3-year low."

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[text] FX Dealers Hammering Doors Shut to Social-Chat Rooms, UBS Latest to Ban Staff Access | Forex Magnates

http://forexmagnates.com/fx-dealers-...-staff-access/

"According to the internal memo to staff, the bank’s executive committee informed employees that, “All social related chat rooms are prohibited and must be closed immediately,” and specified that,“Multibank and dealer chat rooms” are also banned, but that specific exceptions “for business critical use only,” would need approval by the executive committee member and compliance officer responsible for the specific business, according to the memo as confirmed by Bloomberg with a UBS spokesperson who reportedly concurred with the validity of the memo contents.The banning of staff from social-chat rooms and dealer-chat rooms follows recent crack-downs from Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Citigroup, in wake of the ongoing Forex probe in recent weeks narrowing in on such chats and alleged collusion tied to rate manipulation."

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[video] Forex Peace Army|Sive Morten EUR Daily 12.02.13 (ForexPeaceArmyCOM)

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Three dead after police helicopter crashes into Glasgow pub (ForexLive)

It defies belief but a police helicopter crashed into a busy pub in Glasgow, Scotland, last night and the death toll has now reached 3 with over 30 seriously injured, and bodies still trapped 12 hours later.

As we always say on these tragic occasions it puts our little world of forex into perspective eh?

More from the BBC here and The Guardian here

Tragedy hits Friday night revellers

Originally Published on FX Times

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China may see IPO thaw in 2014 as regulator smoothes approval process

China's securities regulator could streamline its approvals process for some initial public offerings (IPO) by next January, the regulator said on Saturday, mapping out reform measures. But firms would still need to wait for China to restart the IPO market, frozen since October last year after authorities suspended listings in a bid to stamp out equity market fraud. "After the announcement of these opinions, there would need to be around one month of preparatory work before firms could complete the necessary procedures," the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on its website. There have been prior reports of the IPO drought coming to and end, but Saturday's statement gives the strongest hint that China is contemplating the resumption of mainland listings.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

Gold Stocks Analysis- 11/28 (DailyGoldPodcast)

Compare Precious Metals Dealers | BIG GOLD Research

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Viral Network Inc: Fishing in the Markets (Mickey Fulp)

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[video] Forex: NFPs and ECB Rate Decision Tap into Key Trades Next Week (Forex News by DailyFX)

from Forex News by DailyFX

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Thyssen announces capital increase as U.S. deal sealed

Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKA.DE) announced plans to for a much-needed capital increase after striking a deal to sell its U.S. steel plant to ArcelorMittal (MT.AS) and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp for $1.55 billion. ThyssenKrupp has been trying for more than a year and a half to find a buyer for its Steel Americas unit - comprised of the U.S. steel finishing plant and steel slab mill CSA in Brazil - which has drained billions from the company for the past few years and been an obstacle to raising fresh funds. While the deal to sell the U.S. plant in Calvert, Alabama leaves ThyssenKrupp with its 73 percent stake in Brazil's CSA, it removes at least one millstone from the company's neck. ArcelorMittal said it would source the remaining slab for the Calvert plant from its own facilities in the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

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Tiny island looking to mint physical Bitcoin (ForexLive)

The three-mile long British island of Alderney wants to mint physical Bitcoins.

It wants to launch itself as the first international centre for Bitcoin transactions by setting up a cluster of services that are compliant with anti-money laundering rules, including exchanges, payment services and a Bitcoin storage vault.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds, it would actually be a synthetic Bitcoin, represented by commemerative coins and held in a digital vault.

The company would put the Bitcoins in an escrow account at an agreed price.

Meanwhile, the Royal Mint would take customers’ orders for its minted Bitcoins and receive money from those coin sales.

The virtual Bitcoins backing the physical coins would be held in digital storage facilities by Alderney.

Originally Published on FX Times

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Market update and stock picks for the first week of December 2013 (daytraderrockstar)

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Concha Y Toro upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup

See the rest of the story here.

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Trina Solar announces JV with Yabang Group

HSBC's King: Fed to focus on assuring investors of low rates, Bloomberg reports

ICE Trade Vault Europe approved by by ESMA as Trade Repository

CME Group announces approval of CME European Trade Repository

Archer Daniels says 'disappointed' by rejection of GrainCorp application

Remy Cointreau downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup

Remy Cointreau downgraded to Sell from Hold at Societe Generale

Pembina Pipeline announces operational update, $1.5B capital spending plan

E.ON to sell its Italian business, Reuters reports

CSX announces that Willard evacuation lifted on 3PM on Thursday

Pan American Silver announces 7.57M normal course issuer bid

Alitalia fails to raise enough emergency cash, Reuters reports

Renren downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies

Amazon.com continues deals every ten minutes on Cyber Monday

Lloyds expected to name Blackwell as new chairman, Bloomberg reports

World shares near six-year high, euro firm ahead of inflation

The Nikkei in Tokyo notched up its best November since 2005 despite some late profit taking in Asia, as the yen, at a five-year against the euro and a six-month low versus the dollar, boosted hopes for its big exporting firms.

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Tepco to divert $7.2 billion from 10-year capex budget to Fukushima: sources

The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant plans to rechannel 740 billion yen ($7.24 billion) from its 10-year capital investment budget to address problems at the crippled facility such as a buildup of contaminated water, people involved in the matter said on Friday. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) will also divert another 790 billion yen from the 6.6 trillion yen capital spending plan to invest in promising businesses and secure overseas resource supplies, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity. A Tepco representative declined comment on the company's plans. Tepco, which has posted more than $27 billion in net losses since the Fukushima plant was wrecked by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, is racing to revise its business revival plan by next month to meet a deadline set by its lenders.

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Jobs and price growth offer hope for euro zone

The first fall in euro zone unemployment in almost four years coupled with rising prices gave fresh momentum to an economic recovery, but a growing rift between the bloc's haves and have-nots continued to widen. The improvement is a welcome sign that the euro zone's rebound is picking up steam, more than five years after a financial crisis erupted that forced five countries from Cyprus to Spain to seek emergency aid from their neighbors. The jobless rate in October fell to 12.1 percent, the first fall since February 2011, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said on Friday.

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Lloyds set to appoint Lord Blackwell as chairman: source

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) is on the verge of appointing Norman Blackwell, currently chairman of its Scottish Widows arm, as the company's new chairman, a person familiar with the matter said. Conservative peer Lord Blackwell is going through the bank's final approval processes and is set to replace outgoing chairman Win Bischoff as early next year, the source said. Lloyds declined to comment. Bischoff has said he plans to step down by next spring and Blackwell has been seen for some time as a leading candidate to succeed him.

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AbbVie's Humira approved by Health Canada for Ulcerative Colitis treatment

Experian downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman

UBS shakes up its forex unit, WSJ reports

CN invests $10M in program to enhance rail, wheel flaw detection capability

India investigates Ericsson's royalties, WSJ reports

Stocks to Watch: Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney are ‘Black Friday’ hot stocks

Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. are likely to take the spotlight during a holiday-shortened trading session on what’s known as “Black Friday.”

by via MarketWatch.com - Stocks to Watch

Santander Mexico annouces resolutions from board of subsidiary

China Ming Yang Wind Power enters into 200 MW EPC farm framework agreement

KKR, Gland Pharma announce partnership

Accenture acquires businesses from evopro group

Ericsson provides information regarding antitrust investigation in India

European firms size up Iran's post-deal potential

The phone hasn't stopped ringing at the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce since six world powers reached a deal with Tehran to curb its nuclear program, opening the prospect that Iran can begin to shake off its economic isolation. A strategically located country with massive oil and gas reserves, an urgent need to overhaul its creaking infrastructure, and a young population of 76 million is of particular interest to export champion Germany, once Iran's largest trade partner. "We are speaking to companies interested in doing business with Iran all day," said Michael Tockuss, director of the chamber of commerce. The preliminary accord struck in Geneva on Sunday, which brings up to $7 billion worth of sanctions relief to Iran, could still come unstuck after 10 years of distrust and rancor, leading to yet deeper sanctions that could sink any hasty investments.

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Euro zone has long way to go in climb out of crisis: ECB's Mersch

The euro zone is early on its climb out of economic crisis but it is on the right track, ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Friday. "The euro area is early on in the climb out of the crisis. ...

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London spearheads 11 percent jump in bankers earning 1 million euros

More than 3,500 bankers in Europe earned 1 million euros ($1.4 million) or more last year after a big jump across the continent and in Britain, which had 12 times as many high earners as any other country. The scale of bankers' bonuses remains a hot topic among politicians and the public. The latest data from the European Banking Authority (EBA) shows that 3,529 bankers in the EU earned at least 1 million euros in 2012, up 11 percent in 2011. Britain accounted for 2,714 of those top earners, up 11 percent on the year before, reflecting London's dominant position as Europe's financial center and home to major operations for banks from the United States, Switzerland and other countries outside the EU.

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General Motors appoints Matt Tsien as China president

General Motors Co said on Friday it has appointed Matt Tsien as president of GM China, replacing Bob Socia, who will retire on January 1, 2014. Tsien is currently vice president of Planning and Program ...

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[video] ForexPeaceArmy | Sive Morten Gold Daily 11.29.13 (ForexPeaceArmyCOM)

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Italy October jobless rate stable at 12.5 percent, youth unemployment at new high

Italy's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was stable in October at a record 12.5 percent, while the youth jobless rate rose to a new high of 41.2 percent, statistics office ISTAT said. Unemployment has followed an upward trend since early 2011 as Italy has languished in its longest post-war recession. Both overall unemployment and the youth jobless rate, measuring job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, have reached their highest levels since ISTAT began recording the data in 1977. Most analysts believe Italy is gradually moving towards a recovery but conflict between the partners in Enrico Letta's left-right governing coalition has complicated efforts to reform the economy and boost growth.

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Amazon Germany says more worried about snow than strikes

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) has no intention of bowing to pressure from striking workers in Germany, its second biggest market behind the United States, and is more worried about bad weather hurting Christmas deliveries, its country head said. "We are talking about a minority who take part in actions brought on by the union," Ralf Kleber told Reuters in an interview. "Amazon is a fair employer. Trade union Verdi has staged a series of strikes this year in a dispute over pay and conditions at distribution centers in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld and on Monday about 1,000 employees walked out, almost a fifth of the regular workforce there.

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South Korea to have preliminary talks on joining TPP - Yonhap

South Korea plans to enter into preliminary negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact and will inform the main countries involved of its intention, Yonhap news agency quoted the finance minister as saying on Friday. "We will express our interest in the TPP," Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok was quoted as telling reporters, referring to the trade negotiations. The TPP, which would include Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam in addition to the United States, would establish a free-trade bloc stretching across a region that makes up nearly 40 percent of the global economy. South Korea, the world's 15th-largest economy and seventh-largest exporter, has signed bilateral free trade agreements with both the United States and the European Union.

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Japan shippers plan to order 90 new LNG tankers worth $17.6 billion by 2020

TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japan's top shippers plan to order around 90 new liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers worth about 1.8 trillion yen ($17.61 billion) by 2020 as they gear up to transport rising volumes of the super chilled fuel from North America and Australia. The expansion plans reflect rising LNG demand in nuclear-free Japan to generate electricity and also in other Asian countries such as China and South Korea. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. , Japan's second-largest shipping company, plans to increase the number of its LNG carriers to 110 by 2020 from about 70 now, a spokesman said. Nippon Yusen KK , the No.1 shipper in the country, plans to raise its LNG tanker strength to 100 by 2020 from about 70 now while third-biggest shipper Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd aims to order about 20 new LNG tankers before the end of the decade.

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[video] ForexPeaceArmy | Sive Morten EUR Daily 11.29.13 (ForexPeaceArmyCOM)

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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Iran Nuke Deal May Bring War, East China Sea Dispute May Get Hostile, Another Obama Care Delay (Greg Hunter)

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Week of 12/11 Fed Balance Sheet to be released at 16:30

Week of 12/2 Money Supply to be released at 16:30

Stores open early on Thanksgiving but shoppers in no rush

She was frozen, but first in line when the Macy's Inc flagship store in New York opened for the first time ever on Thanksgiving Day. At 8 p.m., the 30-year-old teacher from Ireland raced into the store, arms linked with her sister-in-law, as shoppers cheered and employees stared. "Anything that's on sale that we can fit in our suitcases we're going to buy," said McCormack, who came to New York with empty luggage to fill with new purchases. While most in the United States spent the day bonding with friends and family over turkey dinners and football games, some were enticed by big discounts and open stores to begin their holiday bargain-hunting a day earlier than the traditional "Black Friday" sprees that follow Thanksgiving.

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Insight: No quick exit from West's economic malaise

Ending the Great Stagnation that is taxing Western policy makers may depend as much on the Chinese Communist Party as it does on the world's leading central banks. Six years after the global financial crisis erupted, there is any number of explanations why Europe cannot shake off a Japan-style balance-sheet recession and why the United States is experiencing sub-par growth and high unemployment. Firstly, there is an excess of global savings, which has lowered the natural real rate of interest that equalizes savings and investment. Even with interest rates near zero, monetary policy is like pushing on a piece of string.

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Similarities in 'Electronic Trading' and 'An automated electronic roulette machine'

Following are some of the similarities in electronic trading and an automated electronic roulette machine. While observing, we find:

- Roulette Spinning = Trend

- Roulette Stopping = Range

- Roulette Speed = Volatility

- Roulette Frequency = Liquidity

Considering price fluctuation as an automated roulette machine for some time, we may note that the number of times the roulette wheel revolves in a particular day or month becomes the liquidity of a particular instrument.

The speed at which the wheel revolves, sometimes slow, sometimes fast become volatility.

And depending on whether the wheel is currently Spinning or Stopped, it may be considered as a Trend or a Range for that particular instrument.

Conclusion

New Perspective = Price moving in circles (cycles and phases) instead of mere straight lines.

Result

Less Stress

Less Addiction

Less Analysis Paralysis

Wiser system designs.

Embracing cycling and oscillators

Embracing Trading Psychology

(Full Article : Similarities in ‘Electronic Trading’ and ‘An Automated Electronic Roulette Machine’ )

by Abhinav Asthana via InformedTrades

Nikkei pauses on profit-taking, yen hits 5-yr low vs euro

Investors also held back from chasing other regional equities higher, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific outside Japan index steadying after reaching its highest close in a week on Thursday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei (NIK:^9452) dipped 0.1 percent, though it is still up 9.7 percent this month as the yen slumped against the euro and dollar. Investors have been using the yen as a funding currency for carry trades with the Bank of Japan committed to keeping ultra-loose monetary policy to shore up growth -- in contrast to the U.S. Federal Reserve which is moving towards unwinding its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying campaign. The Japanese currency hit a five-year low versus the euro at 139.705 yen, and a six-month trough of 102.61 yen to the dollar.

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20101106 Business Television (BTV) Mining in South America (Mickey Fulp)

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UK data due at 0005GMT – GfK Consumer Confidence for November (ForexLive)

UK data due at 0005GMT:

GfK Consumer Confidence for November

*-10 expected

and -11 prior

Originally Published on FX Times

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Renault-Nissan to build second engine with AvtoVAZ

BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France (Reuters) - Renault-Nissan will build a second engine with Russian partner AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.ME) and aims to overcome a decline in Lada sales in a market set to overtake Germany within two years, Renault's (RNO.PA) regional boss said on Thursday. Production of a long-planned 1.6-litre engine begins this week at the AvtoVAZ plant in Togliatti and will soon expand to a second petrol engine, Bruno Ancelin said in an interview at the French carmaker's headquarters outside Paris. Renault and Japanese alliance partner Nissan are increasing local parts sourcing as they prepare to take control of the maker of Lada cars and defend a combined 30 percent market share against an encroaching Hyundai . But Renault expects the market to return to growth of about 3.5 percent next year after sliding between 6 and 7 percent to 2.8 million cars in 2013.

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CSA to streamline offering foreign securities for sophisticated Canadian investors

Eni may seek up to $10 billion from Statoil in gas dispute

Italian oil and gas group Eni (ENI.MI) said it may demand as much as $10 billion from Norway's Statoil (STL.OL) in arbitration in one of the biggest cases ever over expensive long-term gas contracts. Eni started arbitration proceedings against Statoil in August. Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said on Thursday that a recent Norwegian media report that it was demanding $10 billion was "probably true". The dispute stems from a 1997 supply agreement that ties natural gas prices to refined oil products, a common practice in the past that has proven expensive as European spot gas prices have fallen relative to oil prices.

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Co-op Bank loses customers after ex-chairman scandal

Britain's Co-operative Bank (CPBB.L) said it has lost current account customers as a result of a scandal involving its former chairman and a scheme that makes it easier for people to switch bank accounts. British police last week arrested the former Co-op Bank chairman Paul Flowers as part of an investigation into the supply of illegal drugs. Finance minister George Osborne has ordered an inquiry into the bank, just as its mutually owned parent attempts to push through a rescue plan that passes control of the lender to a group of hedge funds. Co-op Bank said its recent troubles, competition from other banks and the introduction of seven-day account switching may have contributed "to an increase the bank has seen in the switching out of current accounts."

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Central Bank News Link List - Nov 28, 2013: Bank of England cuts mortgage support to avoid housing bubble

Here's today's Central Bank News' link list,click through if you missed the previous link list. The list comprises news about central banks that is not covered by Central Bank News. The list is updated during the day with the latest developments so readers don't miss any important news.

Bank of England cuts mortgage support to avoid housing bubble (Reuters)

Philippine central bank sees higher CPI in Nov but policy still appropriate (Reuters)

Ibovespa rises on sign central bank to curb higher rates (Bloomberg)

Europe's banks face 280 bin euro capital shortfall in 2014 - PwC (Reuters)

Former Fed chief Greenspan sees no bubble in Dow 16,000 (Bloomberg)

Mexico rate cut unlikely as GDP gains, central banker says (Bloomberg)

South Africa central bank doesn't expect abrupt halt to inflows (Bloomberg)

Russia to miss 5-6% inflation target this year - central bank (RIA Novosti)

Hungary's cbank chief sees more room for rate cut (Reuters)

BoE's guidance has kept lid on rising market rates - economists (Reuters)

Negative rate experiment in Denmark may stretch into 2015 (Bloomberg)

Croatia's c.bank cuts reserve rate to 12 fro 13.5 pct to spur lending (Reuters)

Polish fin min wants to introduce staggered rate setting panel (Dow Jones)

African central banks turn hawkish, says Capital Economics (Barron's)

Zimbabwe Reserve Bank chief's future shrouded in mystery (Africa Report)

www.CentralBankNews.inf o

Go to Original Story

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Dutch privacy watchdog says Google in breach of data law

Google's practice of combining personal data from its many different online services violates Dutch data protection law, the country's privacy watchdog said on Thursday following a seven-month investigation. The Dutch Data Protection Authority asked Google to attend a meeting to discuss its concerns, after which it would decide whether to take any action against the cloud services, internet search and advertising giant, which could include fines. Google, responding to the Dutch authority's findings, said it provided users of its services with sufficiently specific information about the way it processed users' personal data. The Dutch decision reflects concerns across Europe about the volume of personal data that is held in foreign jurisdictions in so-called "cloud" storage services, where data is stored remotely via the Internet instead of on-site, giving individuals little control over their personal information.

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Tunisia holds rate, appeals for control of C/A, public deficit

Tunisia's central bank held its key interest rate steady at 4.0 percent and appealed for political stability and security along with measures to control the current account deficit, public finances and thus avoid "runaway inflation."

Although Tunisia's headline inflation rate was stable at 5.8 percent in October and September, the Central Bank of Tunisia said this should not obscure an acceleration of core inflation which rose to 6.9 percent in October from 6.8 percent the previous month.

Tunisia's central bank last raised its rate by 25 basis points in March to control inflation.

The central bank also said in a statement following its board meeting on Nov. 27 that a revision of economic growth estimates for 2013 to 3.0 percent from 3.6 percent now "remains somewhat optimistic since its achievement requires no less than a 3.7 percent growth over the fourth quarter of this year."

Tunisia's Gross Domestic Product expanded by an annual 2.4 percent in the third quarter, down from 3.2 percent in the second quarter, due to a contraction in agriculture and the mining sector while manufacturing essentially stagnated.

The central bank expressed its concern over a further increase in the unemployment rate of graduates with higher eduction in the third quarter to 33.5 percent, or 248,000, despite a slight decline in the overall unemployment rate to 15.7 percent from 15.9 percent in the second quarter.

The central bank also noted the current account deficit of 6.5 percent of GDP in the first 10 months of the year compared with 6.9 percent a year earlier despite higher exports and lower imports. This means foreign currency reserves have to be tapped.

Tunisia's foreign reserves rose to 11.673 billion dinars as of Nov. 25 - equivalent to 107 days of imports - compared with 9.486 billion on the same date in 2012.

Last week the Qatar National Bank, part-owned by the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, gave Tunisia a $500 million deposit to support its foreign currency reserves.

www.CentralBankNews.info

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS Nov 23 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank, part owned by the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, has given Tunisia a $500 million deposit to support its foreign currency reserves, a senior official in Tunisia's central bank said on Saturday.

The deposit was made as Tunisia's Islamist-led government faces pressure from lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to make reforms to trim its budget deficit and end a political crisis.

"Qatar National Bank gives a deposit of $500 to the central bank, which supports foreign currency reserves .. it is a shot of oxygen for the economy," the official told Reuters, asking not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the matter.

Qatar, which supports Islamist parties who rose after the Arab Spring revolts, gave similar deposits to Egypt during the rule of former Islamist President Mohamed Mursi before he was overthrown by the army in July.

Disagreements with the new government pushed Qatar to retreat from commitments to other deposits for Egypt.

Tunisia's deposit will shore up the economy and also help shippers of essential goods such as grain to find foreign currency to pay for imports.

The official said that the deposit will be paid back over five years with an interest rate of between 2.5 and 3 percent.

After months of crisis, Tunisia's Islamist-led government is in talks with secular opponents to hand over power to a caretaker administration that will govern until new elections are held early next year.

Nearly three years after its revolt ousted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, months of political deadlock have weakened the country's economic outlook. The African Development Bank or AFDB cancelled a loan for 500 million dinars or around $300 million because of instability, the government said last month. The government forecast 3 percent growth this year and 3 pct in 2014.

The budget deficit will be 6.8 percent of GDP for 2013. Tunisia is struggling to revive its economy because of a lack of security and political instability in a country heavily reliant on foreign tourism and remittances from Tunisians living overseas. Fitch cut last month Tunisia's sovereign rating two notches and warned it could cut further on political uncertainty and its potential damaging economic effects. (Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Patrick Markey and Ralph Boulton)

lease of the BCT Executive Board meeting held 30 October 2013

The Board started its works by reviewing recent developments in the international economic situation and considered updated forecasts of the IMF’s world economic growth for 2013 and 2014. These were reviewed downwards to 2.9% and 3.6%, respectively, mainly in line with worsening risks linked to economic activity slowdown in several emerging countries in addition to the repercussions of public expenses reduction in the United States and ongoing recession in the Euro Zone, though at a slower pace than that of the previous year.

On the national level, the Board examined economic growth recent estimates for 2013 and 2014 which should post 3.6 % and 4% in constant prices, respectively, against IMF forecasts of 3% and 3.7% for the same two years.

While considering trends in the latest conjunctural indicators, the Board noted the stagnation in the industrial production index over July and the ongoing upward trend of tourism main indicators over September 2013 for the second month in a row after the decrease recorded over July.

Besides, The Board noted the ongoing downward trend in consumer price index for the third month in a row, with an inflation rate coming back to 5.8% in annual shift over September 2013 against 6% over the previous year. On the other hand, the current balance deficit stood at a high level over the first nine months of the current year (6.1% of GDP against 6.6% a year earlier).

In the same framework, the Central Bank could maintain net assets in foreign currency at a satisfying level: 11,371 MTD corresponding to 104 days of import on 29 October 2013 against 9,688 MTD and 93 days on the same date of 2012.

In the same context, the Board noticed a certain attenuation of the bank liquidity deficit over October 2013. This helped to reduce BCT interventions on the money market, coming to 4,392 MTD till 29 October against 4,715 MTD for September on the whole. Besides, the average interest rate on this market dropped over the same period: 4.66% vs. 4.72%. The outstanding balance of deposits held in the banking system and the overall volume of financing of the economy grew at a slower pace over the first nine months of the current year compared to the same period of the previous year.

In light of these trends, the Board focused on the need for a careful follow up of both economic indicators and domestic and external financial balances, while calling for the establishment of the required reforms that are capable of curbing the risks which threaten these balances and helping the resumption of confidence in the national economy outlook, and decided to keep unchanged the Central Bank key interest rate.

Tunisia c.bank chief says ready to intervene vs inflation

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Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:34pm IST

(Reuters) - Tunisia's monetary policy is still in a tightening mode and the central bank will intervene with various tools, including interest rates, if inflation starts climbing again, Tunisian central bank governor Chadli Ayari said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Arab central bankers in Abu Dhabi, he also said the country's foreign exchange reserves had rebounded to about 103 days' worth of imports, which was a "more or less safe" level.

Tunisia has been struggling with high inflation and pressure on its foreign reserves as it negotiates a political crisis. The Islamist-led government agreed on Saturday to resign after talks with secular foes to form a caretaker administration, which will prepare for elections in an effort to safeguard the transition to democracy.

Inflation fell for the second month running to reach 6.0 percent in August, compared to March's 6.5 percent, which was the highest rate in at least five years. The central bank raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point in March, its second rate hike in seven months, to fight inflation.

According to official data, foreign currency reserves on Sept. 25 totalled 11.291 billion dinars, the equivalent of 103 days of imports, after inflows of foreign aid and an overseas bond issue. In June, reserves had dropped to 94 days.

In a statement on Thursday, an International Monetary Fund mission to Tunisia said: "Fiscal and external imbalances are continuing to worsen, and the reforms (most of which are already in progress) are facing some constraints and are proceeding more slowly than anticipated.

"The short-term risks are on the downside, and vigorous measures - including in the implementation of reforms - are essential, notwithstanding the constraints associated with political developments."

Ayari said on Sunday: "We will see if the increase of the rate of interest is justified or not. That depends on different factors including how inflation is behaving. So far we still have a rather high rate of inflation but it is starting to stabilise...and we expect it to decrease."

He added, "If by any bad luck we see inflation restart going up, which is also possible, we will intervene with different means including higher interest rates."

He predicted the inflation rate would be at 5.6-5.7 percent by the end of 2013, and around 4 percent by the end of 2014.

The government said this month that it expects the economy to grow 4.0 percent next year after an expected 3.6 percent expansion this year.

Ayari predicted on Sunday that gross domestic product would expand between 3.0 and 3.6 percent in 2013.

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Fiji holds rate steady, sees 2014 growth over 3 pct

Fiji's central bank maintained its overnight policy rate (OPR) steady at 0.5 percent, saying a soft global economic climate means growth has to be driven by domestic forces and the current policy stance remains appropriate and complementary to the government's policy initiatives.

The Reserve Bank of Fiji, which has maintained rates since December 2011, said consumption and investment activity remain buoyant, supported by adequate liquidity and low interest rates.

“The growth forecast for 2014 is now expected to be higher than the 3.0 percent estimated prior to announcement of the 2014 National Budget and commended Government for the increased capital expenditure and the continuation of the structural reforms,” said the bank's governor, Barry Whiteside.

In October the central bank revised upwards its forecast for growth this year to 3.6 percent, up from a forecast of 3.2 percent in August, and also raised its 2014 growth forecast to 3.0 percent from an earlier 2.5 percent. In 2012 Fiji's Gross Domestic Product grew by an estimated 2.2 percent.

Higher government spending will boost imports and this will pose a downside risk to Fiji's balance of payments next year, but Whiteside added that foreign reserves are at record highs and expected to remain comfortable.

Fiji's foreign reserves were US$1.870 billion, up from $1.783 billion in September, sufficient to cover 5.1 months of imports, the bank said.

Fiji's inflation rate rose to 3.3 percent in October from 3.1 percent the previous month, largely due to higher prices of certain food and alcohol items.

The Reserve Bank forecast year-end inflation of 3.0 percent in October.

www.CentralBankNews.info

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Albania cuts rate amid low inflation, fiscal tightening

Albania's central bank cut its benchmark repurchase rate by another 25 basis points to 3.25 percent to help stimulate economic growth and meet the bank's inflation target amid fiscal tightening.

The Bank of Albania, which has cut its rate by 75 basis points this year, said it expects inflationary pressures to remain weak due to low demand-side pressures as the Albanian economy continues to operate below its potential.

"Economic growth its expected to remain weak and not generate inflationary pressures," the bank said after meeting of its supervisory council on Nov. 27.

Albania's headline inflation rate was stable at 1.7 percent in October and September, below the central bank's target of end-year inflation of 3.0 percent, plus/minus one percentage point.

Albania's Gross Domestic Product expanded by 1.0 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter for annual growth of 1.1 percent, down from 1.8 percent in the first quarter.

The central bank said the government's fiscal stimulus faded significantly in the third quarter and high levels of public debt is limiting the ability of fiscal policy to support economic activity.

Next year the fiscal contraction is expected to continue, and while this will influence economic activity, lower public borrowing should also make more room for higher private sector borrowing.

"Given the expected direction for the next fiscal year, this action aims to maintain macroeconomic stimulus in the economy and create more favorable conditions for meeting our inflation target," the bank said, adding it considers "fiscal correction in the next year is necessary to restore the public debt to more sustainable parameters."

Demand for credit in Albania is low with credit to the private sector down by 2.6 percent at the end of September compared with last year and the banking system has adopted a conservative approach to lending in response to the growth of bad loans on their balance sheets and tighter policies imposed by parent banks.

www.CentralBankNews.info

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Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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