Asia's rapid economic growth will moderate slightly in 2011 even as policymakers combat rising prices with higher interest rates and try to keep local currencies from appreciating too sharply, a Reuters quarterly poll showed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will reshuffle his cabinet on Wednesday in a mid-term effort to refresh a coalition government snared by corruption scandals and year-high food inflation as it faces key state elections.
German precious metals refinery group Heraeus reports massive demand for bars and coins, even as ETF trust funds and Comex futures contracts saw considerable profit-taking driven liquidations by institutional traders.
Extensive reconstruction after Australia's floods risks fuelling a wages blow-out, as flooded states and the booming resource sector bid for scarce workers, which will in turn push up inflation and add pressure for a tightening of interest rates.
Gilts and short sterling futures slid on Tuesday after data showed UK consumer price inflation rose faster than forecast in December, fuelling concerns the Bank of England may be forced to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed on Tuesday to slam the brakes on a credit surge at the start of this year, following reports that the central bank has cut the 2011 lending target for banks by 10 percent.
Gold priced in US dollars rose for a second day on Tuesday. Reflecting the improved consumer appetite for gold in Asia, premiums for gold bars rose on Monday to hit another two-year high as jewelers from China rushed to buy ahead of the Lunar New Year, while purchases from the electronics sector helped stir up physical trading in Japan, dealers said.
The People’s Bank of China could hike interest rates in the first quarter of the year, an adviser to the central bank said on Tuesday.
Trade Minister Anand Sharma said on Tuesday monetary policy may not be the right tool to fight high food inflation, in a strong political signal against a rate hike in next week's Reserve Bank policy review.
Mid-cap banks are likely to report another strong quarter of healthy profits in Oct-Dec on robust credit growth, but stressed liquidity in a rising interest rate environment could obstruct growth going forward.
RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao shares with IBTimes some of his views on the Indian economy and financial system.
Algeria bought 600,000 tonnes of wheat, traders said on Monday, snapping up grain at a time of high prices and tight supply even as neighbouring countries take measures to head off Tunisia-style unrest over food inflation.
Investors remain preoccupied by the threat of further monetary tightening in China, writes Marc Ground at Standard Bank in London today. This is weighing on precious metal prices, encouraged further by a stronger Dollar off the back of lingering Eurozone debt concerns.
Chinese President Hu Jintao urged an end to a zero sum Cold War relationship with the United States and proposed new cooperation, but resisted U.S. arguments about why China should let its currency strengthen.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief said on Monday the country is facing surging inflation and it needs to calibrate monetary policy in order to manage inflation and also support growth.
Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington this week for a summit. The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of issues including global trade and currency valuations.
Gold rebounded slightly on Monday from a one-percent fall in the previous session, after China further tightened its monetary policy to curb inflation, and holdings in the gold-backed exchange-traded fund continued falling.
Chinese President Hu Jintao urged an end to a zero sum Cold War relationship with the United States and proposed new cooperation, but resisted U.S. arguments about why China should let its currency strengthen.
China's central bank raised lenders' required reserves on Friday for the fourth time in just over two months, stepping up the fight against inflation that it has vowed will be a top priority for the year.
Ethiopia's annual inflation rate jumped to 14.5 percent last month from 10.2 percent in November following an almost 17 percent devaluation of its currency last year.
Sales at U.S. retailers rose slightly less than expected in December while underlying inflation remained calm, government reports showed on Friday.
Inflation risks in the euro zone could well move to the upside and the 17-country region's economic outlook has clearly improved, European Central Bank Governing Council Axel Weber said on Friday.
