Economic News August 31, 2012
European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the central bank is set to downgrade its economic outlook for 2012 and 2013. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The Slovenian economy contracted in the second quarter, after remaining stagnant in the previous quarter, data released by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia showed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Italy's EU measure of inflation eased in August, after remaining unchanged in the previous month, preliminary data from ISTAT showed Friday. The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose 3.5 percent yea-on-year, slower than 3.6 percent in June and July. Economists had forecast the figure to hold steady for a second straight month. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Croatia's economy shrunk for the third quarter in a row in the three months to June, preliminary data released by the Bureau of Statistics revealed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The European Central Bank's bond purchases in debt markets should be subject to strict conditionality, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Forex Top Story
South Korea's industrial production contracted a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent on month in July, matching expectations following the downwardly revised 0.6 percent fall in June. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Industrial production in Japan contracted a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on month in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Friday's preliminary reading. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Consumer confidence in the United Kingdom remained at a low level in August, contrary to economists' forecast for an improvement, as a modest uplift from the Olympics was offset by the grim economic outlook, latest data showed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The Indian economy grew at a faster than expected pace during the June quarter, help by construction and services activity, data from the Central Statistics Office showed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
German retail sales unexpectedly dropped for the first time in three months in July amid a continued rise in unemployment, raising concerns that consumer spending may fail to underpin growth of the biggest Eurozone economy grappling with the sovereign debt crisis and the threat of a possible recession in the currency-bloc. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Residential property prices in the United Kingdom rebounded strongly in August after falling for two months in a row, indicating that the housing market remains stable despite continuing weakness in consumer sentiment and the grim economic outlook, results of survey revealed Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Eurozone unemployment rose to a record high and inflation accelerated more than expected, suggesting that household spending will remain muted going forward and weigh further on economic activity. According to Eurostat data, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at a record 11.3 percent in July, in line with forecast. The June rate was revised up from 11.2 percent. About 18 million people were out of work in July, the highest on record. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The divide between the European Central Bank and Germany's Bundesbank apparently widened as a rumour began circulating that German central bank chief Jens Weidmann considered quitting his job in the last few weeks. He mulled resigining over the ECB's plan to start a new round of sovereign bond purchases and discussed such a move with the Bundesbank board several times in recent weeks, the German tabloid Bild reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Commodities
The price of gold was steady near its four-month high Friday morning as the U.S. dollar was trading lower versus a basket of currencies ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The price of crude oil was moving higher Friday morning as traders await comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who is expected to speak at the central bank's gathering in Jackson Hole later today. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Political News
The U.N. Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon until August 31, 2013 and urged all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to ensure the safety of U.N. staff. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost to Enrique Pena Nieto in last month's Mexican Presidential election, failed in his bid to overturn the poll results, as the country's highest electoral court dismissed his legal challenge against the outcome. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Afghan government to drop reported plans to appoint a senior official linked to torture as head of the country's main intelligence service. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara told reporters on Friday that he conveyed to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda the provincial government's willingness to let the central government take ownership of a disputed island in the East China Sea. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Police in Russia's Volga city of Kazan have arrested a man on suspicion of murdering two women whose bodies were found beneath a scrawled message demanding the release of three jailed members of the anti-Putin female punk group Pussy Riot. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
Currency Alerts
The Japanese yen edged higher across the board on Friday morning in Asia (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
In early European trading on Friday, the euro recovered from its late Asian session's losses against most major currencies ahead of speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The U.S. dollar slipped against most major currencies in the European session on Friday as traders await speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
General News
The United Nations and the European Union have strongly condemned the recent executions of 26 people in Iraq, 21 in a single day, and urged the Iraqi government to declare a moratorium on death penalty. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
An explosive threat forced a Chinese airline to divert a flight and make an emergency landing in Central China on Thursday, reports said. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The Japanese government plans to study possible effects of radiation on the genes of people affected by last year's Fukushima nuclear accident. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
The death toll from a gas explosion at a colliery in south-west China has risen to 26 as rescue workers continued efforts to pull out another 21 still trapped underground, state media reported on Friday. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
German flag carrier Lufthansa on Friday canceled more than 100 flights following an eight-hour strike by its flight attendants, the company said in a statement posted on its website. (Aug 31, 2012) Full Article
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