Most Asian stock markets turned higher Friday as modestly positive reports about the U.S. economy underpinned optimism about the global recovery.
Markets fluctuated earlier in the day before trading largely green. Oil prices slipped below $82 a barrel, and the dollar gained against the yen and weakened against the euro.
Helping confidence were U.S. data released overnight showing inflation remains in check and manufacturing is growing, adding to the broader impression of recovery in the world's largest economy, a major export for Asian countries.
Still, the advance was constrained by worries about Greece's debt crisis. This week has brought new signs European indecision and discord were hampering a quicker resolution to the country's fiscal crisis. Amid the uncertainty, Greece said it could be forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund for aid if European leaders can't agree on a bailout plan next week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average reversed early losses to climb 80.69 points, or 0.8 percent, to 10,824.72. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.7 percent at 1,681.15 and Hong Kong's market rose 0.1 percent to 21,352.24.
Elsewhere, Shanghai's market added 0.4 percent, Australia's index ticked 0.2 percent higher and Taiwan's market rose 0.2 percent.
In currencies, the dollar gained to 90.43 yen from 90.35 yen. The euro was higher at $1.3614 from $1.3603.
Oi prices were lower in Asia, the benchmark contract shedding 33 cents to $81.87 a barrel. The contract lost 73 cents overnight.
U.S. market futures were up slightly, pointing to a stronger opening on Friday.
Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. markets pushed to another higher finish.
The Dow rose 45.50, or 0.4 percent, to 10,779.17. That marks the highest close since Oct. 1, 2008. The Dow last rose for eight straight days in the period ended Aug. 27.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.38, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,165.83.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Five Tips for the New Credit Card Era
Consumers will face new realities under the provisions of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure, or CARD, Act, which was signed into law May 22, 2009. Two provisions went into effect that August, while most will take hold Feb. 22, 2010. A final phase rolls out next August.
iStock
Credit Cards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are a few tips for navigating key loopholes and protections in the new law.
1. Beware the advance notification exceptions.On Aug. 20, 2009, a provision that required 45 days' advance notification of "significant" terms changes took effect. It applies to fees and finance charges, as well as some rate increases. Loopholes in the law leave consumers unprotected in some situations.
For instance, the law doesn't require 45 days' advance notification for credit limit decreases. Consumers must keep abreast of their card limits each month. A silver lining: As of Feb. 22, consumers can't be zapped with overlimit fees for breaching a new, lower limit unless they have opted in to allow overlimit transactions.
Issuers also don't have to provide 45 days' advance notice of rate hikes triggered by a 60-day late payment, expiration of a promotional rate, termination or completion of a workout agreement, or shifts in a variable-indexed interest rate. If you have a variable APR, for example, your rate can ride increases in the index to which it is tied, such as the prime rate as published in The Wall Street Journal. Consult your card agreement to find out how your rate is calculated.
RELATED LINKS
Current DateTime: 01:45:10 11 Mar 2010
LinksList Documentid: 35523199
Do You Carry a Balance? Here's How the New Law Helps YouHow Card Issuers React to the New lawUnder 21? Cards Are Now Harder to Get
Read notices from your issuers, and verify the rate and credit limit each month when you get your monthly statement, especially before making a large purchase. Going near your credit limit can hammer your credit score.
Required advance notices must include an opt-out clause. Consider whether it makes sense to opt out if you dislike the proposed change. Opting out will close the account but ensures a "beneficial" repayment plan.
2. Don't fall into retroactive rate-hike loopholes.Come Feb. 22, existing balances will be protected in most circumstances from a rate increase. If you miss the due date by two months or more, however, the APR applied to that debt can skyrocket. Owe a balance after a promotional rate expires and your rate can increase up to the regular APR. If you hold variable-rate cards, your rate will inch up with upticks in the index. The prime rate is the index for most variable-rate credit cards.
You can't control the index if you have a variable-rate card, but you can make sure your payment arrives on time. Issuers now have to keep the same due date every month and send statements at least 21 days before the bill is due. They also can't charge a fee to pay by phone, Internet, mail or any other means, except to expedite a payment through a service representative. Use whatever method you find convenient to pay bills in a timely manner. Late fees ranged from $15 to $39 in a 2009 survey by Consumer Action, a San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group, which included 39 cards from 22 financial institutions.
iStock
Credit Cards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are a few tips for navigating key loopholes and protections in the new law.
1. Beware the advance notification exceptions.On Aug. 20, 2009, a provision that required 45 days' advance notification of "significant" terms changes took effect. It applies to fees and finance charges, as well as some rate increases. Loopholes in the law leave consumers unprotected in some situations.
For instance, the law doesn't require 45 days' advance notification for credit limit decreases. Consumers must keep abreast of their card limits each month. A silver lining: As of Feb. 22, consumers can't be zapped with overlimit fees for breaching a new, lower limit unless they have opted in to allow overlimit transactions.
Issuers also don't have to provide 45 days' advance notice of rate hikes triggered by a 60-day late payment, expiration of a promotional rate, termination or completion of a workout agreement, or shifts in a variable-indexed interest rate. If you have a variable APR, for example, your rate can ride increases in the index to which it is tied, such as the prime rate as published in The Wall Street Journal. Consult your card agreement to find out how your rate is calculated.
RELATED LINKS
Current DateTime: 01:45:10 11 Mar 2010
LinksList Documentid: 35523199
Do You Carry a Balance? Here's How the New Law Helps YouHow Card Issuers React to the New lawUnder 21? Cards Are Now Harder to Get
Read notices from your issuers, and verify the rate and credit limit each month when you get your monthly statement, especially before making a large purchase. Going near your credit limit can hammer your credit score.
Required advance notices must include an opt-out clause. Consider whether it makes sense to opt out if you dislike the proposed change. Opting out will close the account but ensures a "beneficial" repayment plan.
2. Don't fall into retroactive rate-hike loopholes.Come Feb. 22, existing balances will be protected in most circumstances from a rate increase. If you miss the due date by two months or more, however, the APR applied to that debt can skyrocket. Owe a balance after a promotional rate expires and your rate can increase up to the regular APR. If you hold variable-rate cards, your rate will inch up with upticks in the index. The prime rate is the index for most variable-rate credit cards.
You can't control the index if you have a variable-rate card, but you can make sure your payment arrives on time. Issuers now have to keep the same due date every month and send statements at least 21 days before the bill is due. They also can't charge a fee to pay by phone, Internet, mail or any other means, except to expedite a payment through a service representative. Use whatever method you find convenient to pay bills in a timely manner. Late fees ranged from $15 to $39 in a 2009 survey by Consumer Action, a San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group, which included 39 cards from 22 financial institutions.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Concerns a bubble was forming in China's hot property market was one of the reasons why policymakers have repeatedly drained excess cash from the financial system and tried to cool off borrowing, and on Tuesday raised the amount banks must keep in reserve by a half percentage point.
Shanghai's composite index fell 3 percent and led Asian equities lower, with investors caught off guard by how quickly the central bank acted. Banks and property developers were especially hard hit by fears borrowing costs in China's booming economy would rise.
China's banking regulator warned of the risks of excessive borrowing among land developers, and a housing official said property prices in the rich coastal cities were too high, indicating the government remained concerned about asset price inflation.
"We must recognize that housing prices in some major Chinese cities, especially in coastal big cities, are excessively high," Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qi Ji said.
HIGHER LENDING RATES COMING?
This week, official statistics are expected to show a marked drop in year-on-year growth of money supply and credit in December. However, bank lending surged in the first week of January, sources told Reuters on Monday, suggesting uneven loan demand.
The market is also expecting figures for 2009 foreign exchange reserves, forecast to have grown to $2.4 trillion from $1.95 trillion at the end of 2008. Economists say further growth in reserves this year and associated with it rise in money supply will force the central bank to further tighten its policy.
Meanwhile, housing demand could simmer down after the central bank's increase in the reserve requirement ratio to 16 percent, the first rise since June 2008 when it peaked at 17.5 percent, though lending rates will play a decisive role for the market.
"It will be an interest rate hike, especially on mortgage rates, that will be the most determinant factor on whether the property market will be driven down as a result," said Eric Wong, head of Asia real estate research at UBS in Hong Kong.
"In the meantime, I think demand will likely take the back seat while people wait for a stream of policies to stabilize."
Loan quality among China's biggest banks so far continued to improve, especially compared with U.S. and European peers, where bad debts triggered the financial crisis.
Wang Zhaoxing, vice chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said the amount of non-performing loans in Chinese institutions was stable though he said there are risks if property-related lending continues to grow quickly.
"Until now, loans to developers and to mortgage borrowers combined account for about 20 percent of China's new lending as well as the outstanding loans," he said.
The State Council, China's cabinet, on Sunday warned of the negative impact of letting hot money flow into domestic real estate markets and inflating prices further. The housing ministry has also called for stricter rules on mortgage lending to second-home buyers and is discussing eliminating discount financing for buyers who already own a home.
BATTLING BUBBLES
However, doubts persist whether the authorities will manage to prevent an asset bubble after last year's borrowing spree when Chinese banks probably doubled lending to some 10 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion), complementing Beijing's 4 trillion yuan fiscal stimulus.
"The Chinese government is trying to use administrative measures to contain it," Credit Suisse Equity Strategists Vincent Chan and Peggy Chan said in a research note. "But our experience in the last few years tells us that while such measures can contain the issue for a while, they have never been able to fundamentally resolve it."
Shanghai's composite index fell 3 percent and led Asian equities lower, with investors caught off guard by how quickly the central bank acted. Banks and property developers were especially hard hit by fears borrowing costs in China's booming economy would rise.
China's banking regulator warned of the risks of excessive borrowing among land developers, and a housing official said property prices in the rich coastal cities were too high, indicating the government remained concerned about asset price inflation.
"We must recognize that housing prices in some major Chinese cities, especially in coastal big cities, are excessively high," Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qi Ji said.
HIGHER LENDING RATES COMING?
This week, official statistics are expected to show a marked drop in year-on-year growth of money supply and credit in December. However, bank lending surged in the first week of January, sources told Reuters on Monday, suggesting uneven loan demand.
The market is also expecting figures for 2009 foreign exchange reserves, forecast to have grown to $2.4 trillion from $1.95 trillion at the end of 2008. Economists say further growth in reserves this year and associated with it rise in money supply will force the central bank to further tighten its policy.
Meanwhile, housing demand could simmer down after the central bank's increase in the reserve requirement ratio to 16 percent, the first rise since June 2008 when it peaked at 17.5 percent, though lending rates will play a decisive role for the market.
"It will be an interest rate hike, especially on mortgage rates, that will be the most determinant factor on whether the property market will be driven down as a result," said Eric Wong, head of Asia real estate research at UBS in Hong Kong.
"In the meantime, I think demand will likely take the back seat while people wait for a stream of policies to stabilize."
Loan quality among China's biggest banks so far continued to improve, especially compared with U.S. and European peers, where bad debts triggered the financial crisis.
Wang Zhaoxing, vice chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said the amount of non-performing loans in Chinese institutions was stable though he said there are risks if property-related lending continues to grow quickly.
"Until now, loans to developers and to mortgage borrowers combined account for about 20 percent of China's new lending as well as the outstanding loans," he said.
The State Council, China's cabinet, on Sunday warned of the negative impact of letting hot money flow into domestic real estate markets and inflating prices further. The housing ministry has also called for stricter rules on mortgage lending to second-home buyers and is discussing eliminating discount financing for buyers who already own a home.
BATTLING BUBBLES
However, doubts persist whether the authorities will manage to prevent an asset bubble after last year's borrowing spree when Chinese banks probably doubled lending to some 10 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion), complementing Beijing's 4 trillion yuan fiscal stimulus.
"The Chinese government is trying to use administrative measures to contain it," Credit Suisse Equity Strategists Vincent Chan and Peggy Chan said in a research note. "But our experience in the last few years tells us that while such measures can contain the issue for a while, they have never been able to fundamentally resolve it."
Monday, November 30, 2009
Dubai debt plea sends fear around world
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai's explosive growth, the city is now so swamped in debt that it's asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills — causing a drop on world markets Thursday and raising questions about Dubai's reputation as a magnet for international investment.
The fallout came swiftly and was felt globally after Wednesday's statement that Dubai's main development engine, Dubai World, would ask creditors for a "standstill" on paying back its $60 billion debt until at least May. The company's real estate arm, Nakheel — whose projects include the palm-shaped island in the Gulf — shoulders the bulk of money due to banks, investment houses and outside development contractors.
In total, the state-backed networks nicknamed Dubai Inc. are $80 billion in the red and the emirate needed a bailout earlier this year from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)