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    South Korean FX controls loom

    South Korea’s government, alarmed by the wild swings of the won in turbulent markets, is close to slapping new controls on currency trading, though a news report that banks will get two years to comply calmed investors nerves. As Europe’s debt crisis unfolded, the won’s gyrations exceeded swings of most other currencies and officials in Seoul have made it plain they would act to limit volatility that was hurting the world’s ninth-biggest exporter. Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo threw his weight behind the plan saying it would not run counter to Seoul’s commitment to opening up its economy. “We have never retreated in terms ...
    On June 10, 2010 / By
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    Germany, France press EU over ban on short selling

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have urged European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to consider an EU-wide ban on short selling of shares and state bonds. In a letter published by the German government on June 9, the pair said the Commission should step up efforts to introduce tougher controls for credit default swaps on sovereign bonds and short selling, and present measures in the next few weeks. “In particular we think it’s imperative to improve the transparency of short selling positions on shares and bonds, particularly sovereign bonds,” the two said. “The work of the European Commiss...
    On June 9, 2010 / By
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    The age of the atom

    One of the founding principles of traditional economic theory, is that when making economic decisions, we are independent. Like self-contained atoms in a gas, we only interact by bumping up against each other in the marketplace. In the 19th century, neoclassical economists such as William Stanley Jevons and Léon Walras were directly inspired by the atomic theory of physics. Individuals or firms were equated with atoms. Later, economists would compare the apparent random walk of the marketplace with the so-called Brownian motion of tiny particles of dust or pollen as they are buffeted around by colliding atoms. The ultimate realisation of thi...
    On June 8, 2010 / By
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    Cameron says Britain must heed Greek warning

    Prime Minister David Cameron has told Britons the scale of the country’s budget problems is even worse than he had anticipated and cited crisis-hit Greece as an example of the risk of failing to act. Cameron painted a bleak backdrop two weeks ahead of an emergency budget in which his coalition government will give more details of measures to cut a deficit running at 11 percent of national output. Giving few details of where cuts will come, he attacked the previous Labour government for economic mistakes over the past decade that he said had left the legacy of a debt crisis. “Greece stands as a warning of what happens to countries that los...
    On June 7, 2010 / By
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    BREAKING NEWS: Orban ready to restucture

    The Hungarian government’s economic action plan to be published after a release of its report on the budget will contain steps to improve the financial situation and structural changes, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said recently. “It cannot be about…an adjustment, about patching up (the economy)…measures aimed at improving the financial situation must be linked with deep structural changes,” Orban told TV2 television over the phone from Brussels....
    On June 4, 2010 / By
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    Hungary govt plans steps to improve economy

    The Hungarian government’s economic action plan to be published after a release of its report on the budget will contain steps to improve the financial situation and structural changes, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced. “It cannot be about…an adjustment, about patching up (the economy)…measures aimed at improving the financial situation must be linked with deep structural changes,” Orban told TV2 television over the phone from Brussels....
    On June 4, 2010 / By
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    Canada GDP growth seen at 3.3% this year

    “There is no firm plan to go forward this year with respect to interest rates. We just have to watch and wait and see,” Flaherty told reporters in an interview in Shanghai. He said Canada’s GDP was expected to grow 3.3 percent this year, up from an expectation of around 2.9 percent previously. The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate on June 1, the first G7 industrialised economy to do so after the global recession, but said the European debt crisis made its next move highly unpredictable. The rate hike, to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent, was a response to two quarters of extraordinarily strong growth. Flaherty added that inflatio...
    On June 2, 2010 / By
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    UK firms’ foreign takeovers hit record low in Q1

    The number of foreign firms bought by British companies fell to its lowest in more than 20 years in the first three months of 2010, official data shows. The Office for National Statistics said spending by UK firms on foreign acquisitions fell to £192m in the three months to March, the lowest since records began in 1987. There were only 10 acquisitions abroad by UK companies with values of £1m or more, also the lowest since records began. Foreign takeovers of British companies also fell, to £14.3bn from £15.1bn in the previous quarter, but came in higher than in preceding quarters. The largest transaction was the acquisition of Cadbury Plc...
    On June 2, 2010 / By
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    Euro rates at 0900 GMT

    Current High Low USD 1.2135 1.2309 1.2116 JPY 109.94 112.26 109.77 GBP 0.839 0.8474 0.8385 CHF 1.4171 1.4221 1.4158 DKK 7.439 7.4399 7.4386 NOK 7.9468 7.9662 7.9305 SEK 9.6366 9.643 9.579 AUD 1.4625 1.4666 1.4504 CAD 1.2766 1.2852 1.2769 HKD 9.4542 9.583 9.4423 RUB 38.0455 38.098 37.9 SGD 1.7178 1.7241 1.7163...
    On June 1, 2010 / By
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    Eurozone factory PMI sinks, output growth slows

    The 16-nation bloc and its common currency have been hit by waves of investor insecurity churned up by the region’s debt crisis and fears that troubles in Greece may be spreading to other peripheral eurozone economies. “There has been a slowdown in growth globally and in the eurozone there is subdued domestic demand due to the austerity measure implemented in some countries,” said Luigi Speranza at BNP Paribas. The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May sank to 55.8 from 57.6 in April, nudged down from an earlier flash estimate of 55.9. This is its eighth month above the 50.0 mark that divides growth from con...
    On June 1, 2010 / By