Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.456 trillion yen in October, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday - down 13 percent from a year earlier. That beat forecasts for a surplus of 2.318 trillion yen and was up from 1.717 trillion yen in September. Exports were up 2.9 percent on year at 9.365...
Overall bank lending in Japan was up 3.0 percent on year in November, the Bank of Japan said on Monday - coming in at 626.923 trillion yen. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.6 percent, which would have been unchanged from the October reading. Excluding trusts, lending was up an annual 3.3 percent to...
The Taiwan stock market on Friday halted the four-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 1,000 points or 4.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 23,200-point plateau although its likely to bounce higher again on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher on...
The Indonesia stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 280 points or 3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,380-point plateau and it may open in the green again on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian...
Consumer prices in China were down 0.6 percent on month in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. That missed expectations for a decline of 0.4 percent following the 0.3 percent drop in October. On a yearly basis, inflation was up just 0.2 percent - again shy of forecasts for an increase of...
The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and its likely to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Monday. The global forecast...
A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 30th. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 224,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous...
Reflecting a steep drop by the value of imports, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by slightly more than expected in the month of October. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit shrank to $73.8 billion in October from a revised $83.8 billion in September. Economists had...
The U.S. dollar fell against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, after a data showed that the nations weekly jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended November 30. Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims rose to 224,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous...
European stocks closed on a positive note on Thursday with investors closely following the developments in France, and digesting the latest batch of regional economic data. French President Emmanuel Macron seeks a way out of Frances political crisis as Prime Minister Michel Barnier has been ousted in a no-confidence vote over a budget dispute. That...