ECONOMY & MARKETS

Hong Kong's official foreign currency reserve assets has risen for four consecutive months to $207 billion in June, up $1.9 billion on May, the Monetary Authority said on Tuesday.

Next weeks G8 may shine the spotlight on the USD as the global standard

The assets of Hong Kong's Exchange Fund totaled HK$1.7601 trillion ($225.6 billion) in May, up HK$114.7 billion ($14.7 billion) on April, officials said on Tuesday.

The value of total goods exports slip to $204.4 billion in May, down 14.5% on the same month last year, Hong Kong's Census & Statistics Department said on Thursday.

Corporate sentiment surveys from Germany and Japan showed glimmers of hope on Monday, contrasting with grim global outlooks from the World Bank and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

As the downturn still hangs over Hong Kong, the number of bankruptcy petitions and orders surged 69.9% and 71.7% by May 2009, the Official Receiver's Office said on Thursday.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) has soared to become the second largest exchange in the world.

Asian shares fell for a second straight session on Tuesday as some of the confidence that fueled a rally in stocks to seven-month highs was undermined by reports highlighting economic weakness.

Asian shares rose to their highest in seven months while the safe-haven dollar extended its decline on Monday, but warnings about an impending turnaround are growing amid weak corporate results and views that any global recovery will only be gradual.

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Airline stocks were down Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 130 points to 8,001 after the Air Transport Association posted its March passenger revenue fell 23 percent in the United States.

General Electric Co said Friday its quarterly profit fell 36 percent; however, shares rose on analyst rates despite wobbly and high demand in loan in the economic environment.

Asian equity markets are likely to run out of steam after leading a one-month rally in global stocks, with the full brunt of the deep global recession yet to be fully felt on corporate earnings and balance sheets.

U.S. stock gains eased on Wednesday and risk aversion rose, driving bond prices higher, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed policy-makers worried about a steep drop in economic activity.

Stocks climbed on Tuesday, driving the S&P 500 to its best month since October 2002, as investors snapped up top-performing bank and technology shares as the first quarter came to an end.

Stocks fell sharply on Monday as the Obama administration raised the specter of bankruptcy for U.S. automakers General Motors and Chrysler and Spain had to rescue regional savings bank CCM.

European shares rose for a sixth straight session and oil bounced above $53 a barrel on Thursday as upbeat U.S. housing and durable goods data boosted expectations of an early return to global economic growth.

On March 18, London stocks lowered following the announcement that unemployment has risen above the two million mark for the first time in over 10 years.

On Wednesday U.S. stocks continued their rise after being boosted by banks renewing investor hopes in the financial sector.

The economic downturn will be deeper than previously thought this year and the recovery will be muted, the British Chambers of Commerce said on Monday.

On March 6, oil futures rose to above $45a barrel as dollar weakness and expectations of further output cuts by OPEC offset data showing that U.S. employment soared to the highest rate in more than 25 years.

On March 5, America saw its stocks plummet to their lowest levels in more than 12 years as one of the world's most well known banks, and an icon of American manufacturing traded like money on monopoly board game.

World stocks clawed their way back up from multi-year lows on Wednesday as investors sought bargains after three days of steep losses brought on by deep fears for the world economy and financial system.

Britain's leading share index fell 3.6 percent early on Monday, extending the previous session's sharp fall, with HSBC leading banks lower after it offered a deep discount rights issue.

Leaders of Southeast Asian nations have agreed to ease monetary policy and resist protectionism as they fight the financial crisis that is hurting their export-dependent economies, a draft statement showed.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for more rigorous supervision of the global banking system on Saturday, a day before EU leaders meet to thrash out ways to tackle the financial crisis.

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Stocks fell on Wednesday as President Barack Obama's first address to Congress shed little new light on how he plans to stabilize the economy and shore up banks, and gloomy home sales data fed the negative sentiment. Obama said in his speech on Tuesday night the United States would emerge stronger from the ongoing crisis, but investors found little in what he said to spur buying after the market...

European shares turned negative in afternoon trade on Wednesday, tracking weaker U.S. markets, as investors stayed concerned that measures taken by governments to revive the economy were insufficient.