http://www.rttnews.comGlobal financial news, market analysis, economics and forex newsen-usFri, 20 Nov 2009 20:40:01 GMTFriday, the European Central Bank's Governing Council decided to amend the rating requirements for asset-backed securities to be eligible for use in Eurosystem credit operations. http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136538Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:47:43 GMTFriday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it would be premature to say that the economy has overcome the crisis, hence, it would be too early to remove stimulus measures now.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136505Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:32:22 GMTIt is too early to declare that the global crisis is over and the current non-standard monetary policy measures will have to be progressively phased out, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated Friday.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136482Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:17:08 GMTMalaysia's economic contraction eased in the third quarter, in line with the global economic recovery, suggesting that the economy is likely to recover from the recession soon.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136343Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:02:10 GMTMalaysia's gross domestic product or GDP fell 1.2% year-on-year in the third quarter after falling 3.9% in the second quarter, the Bank Negara Malaysia said Friday.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136294Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:15:36 GMTChina's low interest rate would not encourage lending, People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Friday. He also said a net interest spread should be maintained between lending and deposit rates.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136278Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:08:47 GMTThe British government must bring down budget deficit, said Richard Lambert, director general of the Confederation of British Industry.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136214Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:24:16 GMTFriday, Japan's Cabinet Office declared that the economy is in deflation, the first official announcement of deflation since mid-2006. The government also said the economy remains in a difficult situation, while maintaining its overall economic assessment.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136176Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:57:48 GMTFriday, the Bank of Japan announced its decision to maintain its key interest rate at a level close to zero and raised its economic assessment given the recent improvements in the economic conditions. Meanwhile, the economy is in deflation, the government announced for the first time in nearly three years.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136154Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:24:00 GMTEuropean Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Thursday that the central bank will unwind its unconventional monetary policy in a timely and gradual manner.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136146Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:47:13 GMTThe number of building permits for dwellings in Finland rose 62% compared to the previous year to 3,235 in September, Statistics Finland reported on Friday. This was largely driven by a surge in permits for blocks of flats, which grew 200%.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136133Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:29:03 GMTMajor statistical reports scheduled for release on Friday include producer price inflation report from Germany and industrial orders data from Italy.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136082Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:15:57 GMTSwedish central bank Governor Stefan Ingves reiterated on Thursday that the central bank was expecting to keep interest rates at a low level until autumn next year. In its last rate setting meeting on October 22, the policy board of the Sveriges Riksbank had left the repo rate unchanged at a record low 0.25% for the second straight session.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136068Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:10:40 GMTFriday, the policy board of the Bank of Japan unanimously decided to retain the overnight call rate at 0.1%, in line with the expectations of economists. The last change in the rate was a 0.1% cut in interest rates at the December 2008 meeting.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136049Thu, 20 Nov 2009 03:03:43 GMTMalaysia's leading index, which measures economic performance for the next few months, fell 0.5% month-on-month in September, the Department of Statistics reported on Thursday. The six-month smoothed growth rate declined to 6.6% from 8.4% in the previous month.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136036Thu, 20 Nov 2009 02:03:42 GMTThursday, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey lowered its borrowing rate to 6.50% from 6.75% as expected, and slashed the lending rate to 9.00% from 9.25%.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136031Thu, 20 Nov 2009 01:46:59 GMTTotal credit card billings in New Zealand fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% year-on-year in October after the 2.3% decrease in the previous month, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reported on Friday. This is the eleventh annual decline recorded in credit card billings in the past 12 months.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1136013Thu, 20 Nov 2009 01:20:32 GMTThe Bank of Japan will wrap up its two-day monetary policy meeting on Friday, and then will announce its decision on interest rates to headline a modest day in Asian economic activity. The BoJ is widely tipped to keep rates on hold at the current record low of 0.10 percent, although analysts will be watching the commentary for clues on future monetary policy.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135892Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:18:10 GMTDallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said Thursday that full global financial stability would not be achieved until the issue of "too-big-to-fail" is addressed. Speaking at the conclusion of the Cato Institute's 27 annual Monetary Policy Conference, Fisher said that misperceptions of risk caused last year's financial crisis to "metastasize" in large financial institutions and spread throughout the entire financial system.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135786Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:50:19 GMTActivity in the mid-Atlantic region's manufacturing sector is picking up in November, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday, with the index of activity in the sector increasing by much more than expected. The Philly Fed said its index of regional manufacturing activity rose to 16.7 in November from 11.5 in October, with a positive reading indicating growth in the manufacturing sector.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135425Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:12:44 GMTWhile the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a continued increase in its leading economic indicators index in the month of October, the increase by the index was slightly smaller than economists had been anticipating. The report showed that the leading indicators index rose 0.3 percent in October following a 1.0 percent gain in September and a 0.4 percent increase in August. While the index rose for the seventh consecutive month, economists had expected 0.4 percent growth.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135371Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:28 GMTSingapore's total external trade decreased 21% year-on-year in the third quarter, compared to the 27% fall in the previous quarter, a report from International Enterprise Singapore showed on Thursday.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135306Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:59:09 GMTThe world economy will continue its recovery in the current quarter and the following months, the Bundesbank said Thursday.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135246Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:26:16 GMTThursday morning, the Labor Department released its report on first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended November 14th, showing that initial jobless claims came in unchanged. The report showed that jobless claims for the week came in at 505,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised figure. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge up to 504,000 from the 502,000 originally reported for the previous week.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135224Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:18:50 GMTBritish companies are facing an increase in fraud among middle managers, PricewaterhouseCoopers said Thursday. Some 47% of all economic crimes in the UK were perpetrated by middle managers, as opposed to junior or senior staff, up from 32% in 2007.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135167Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:56:28 GMTRetail sales in the UK rose at their fastest pace in seventeen months in October, suggesting that the British economy may exit from the recession in the fourth quarter. Separate data showed that public sector net borrowing surged in October.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135103Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:25:50 GMTThursday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development sharply raised its combined growth forecast for its 30 member nations.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1135039Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:54:56 GMTLending to UK businesses by resident banks and building societies contracted by GBP 4.6 billion in September after falling GBP 1.1 billion in August, the Bank of England said Thursday. Compared to the previous year, this represents a decrease of 6%, the lowest since records began in 1999.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1134933Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:52:40 GMTVisitor arrivals to the United Kingdom fell a seasonally adjusted 3% quarter-on-quarter to 7.4 million in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday. Total spending by overseas visitors decreased 1% to GBP 4.1 billion.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1134837Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:05:21 GMTUK retail sales rose 0.4% month-on-month in October, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. Economists had forecast 0.5% rise. In September, retail sales rose 0.4%, upwardly revised from zero growth reported previously.http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1134832Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:58:17 GMT