Economic News November 8, 2012
Switzerland's unemployment rate rose slightly to 3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in October from 2.9 percent in September, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Inflation in the Netherlands, as measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), accelerated to a ten-year high in October, mainly due to a two percentage-point increase in the value-added tax, the latest figures from Statistics Netherlands showed Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
The French government still expects the economy to grow 0.8 percent in 2013, despite the European Commission's relatively downbeat forecasts released Wednesday, Labor Minister Michel Sapin said in an interview to France Info radio on Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Greece's unemployment rate increased further and hit a new record high in August, as the deepening financial crisis in the debt-stricken economy continued to weaken the labor market. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Global food prices decreased slightly in October, mainly due to a fall in international prices of cereals, oils and fats, data released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
While the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected drop by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 3rd, the data was likely skewed as a result of Hurricane Sandy. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
With the value of exports increasing at a faster rate than the value of imports, the U.S. Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing that the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in the month of September. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Forex Top Story
The unemployment rate in New Zealand jumped to 7.3 percent in the third quarter of 2012, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday, hitting a 13-year high. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Core machine orders in Japan fell a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent on month in September to 686.2 billion yen, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - falling for the second straight month. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Australia's unemployment rate jumped to a seasonally adjusted 5.4 percent in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Greek lawmakers have backed a crucial austerity bill by a thin majority in the 300-member Parliament, clearing the way for the country to secure the next bailout tranche worth EUR 31.5 billion. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Germany's exports declined in September at the fastest pace since December 2011, reflecting subdued demand from Europe and underpinned the assessment that the growth-engine of the single currency bloc will remain weak at the end of 2012. Exports declined 2.5 percent in September from a month ago, offsetting a 2.3 percent rise in August, Destatis said Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
The Bank of England decided not to provide another cash injection, as the economy exited a double-dip recession and the positive impact of the Funding for Lending Scheme is yet to fully filter into the economy. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee governed by Mervyn King maintained its quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive month on Thursday amid signs of an increasingly deteriorating euro area economy with record high unemployment. Policy makers chose to maintain the status quo as the ECB waits for Spain to seek help from international lenders, which will allow it to kick-start a fresh round of government bond buying. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Commodities
The price of gold was little changed Thursday morning as the US dollar was steady versus a basket of currencies ahead today's macroeconomic data. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
The price of crude oil was recovering from its yesterday's steep fall Thursday morning even as worries continued that US may not be able to avoid the deep spending cuts and tax hikes set to automatically take place in January. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Political News
The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened at the Great Hall of the People in capital Beijing on Thursday, thereby setting in motion a once-in-a-decade process to pick the country's next generation of leaders. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
A historic treaty to regulate global arms trade has won the backing of an overwhelming majority of states in the U.N. General Assembly. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday called upon ASEAN leaders to take more time to develop a regional Human Rights Declaration. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Currency Alerts
The Australian dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the early Asian session on Thursday as the country added more jobs than expected in October. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
In the early Asian session on Thursday, the New Zealand dollar fell sharply against other major currencies after a report showed that country's unemployment rate hit a 13-year high in the third quarter. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
The Japanese yen strengthened against other major opponents in the Asian session on Thursday amid risk aversion as traders turned their attention towards U.S. fiscal cliff after Obama's victory. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
General News
At least 48 people were killed when a powerful earthquake of 7.4-magnitude struck off Guatemala's Pacific coast on Wednesday, according to the country's President Otto Perez Molina. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
At least four people have been killed after a four-storey department store collapsed in Ghana's capital Accra, media reports citing officials said late on Wednesday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
At least two soldiers have been killed and 21 others injured in a suicide-bomb attack on a paramilitary base in the Pakistani city of Karachi, media reports citing officials said on Thursday. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
Ertharin Cousin, Executive-Director of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), on Wednesday thanked the Lebanese people and government for supporting hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have sought refuge in Lebanon after fleeing violence in their country. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
A U.S. federal judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday sentenced the man behind an anti-Muslim film that triggered violent protests across the Muslim world earlier this year to one year in prison for violating his probation linked to a 2010 bank fraud conviction. (Nov 8, 2012) Full Article
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