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☆ China has U-turned on almost all major policies it put in place in the last 3 years — and it's not surprising, given the state of its economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But the country reversed some major policies in response to the abysmal GDP growth. China's GDP grew by 3% in 2022 — the worst since the chaotic Cultural Revolution ended. Most recently, after three years of pandemic lockdowns and isolation, China abruptly reversed course and abolished its zero-COVID policy — leaving the world guessing why. China's GDP grew only 3.0% in 2022 — the worst in nearly half a century since the chaotic Cultural Revolution ended. China's GDP growth is vital because it is the world's second-largest economy after the US, so it's a driving force for global investment and trade.

☆ Malaysia surprises by holding rates as economic risks loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( A. Ananthalakshmi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bank Negara Malaysia held the overnight policy rate at 2.75%. "Today's decision allows the monetary policy committee to assess the impact of the cumulative past overnight policy rate (OPR) adjustments, given the lag effects of monetary policy on the economy," Bank Negara Malaysia said in a statement. Future monetary policy moves would depend on both domestic inflation and the growth outlook, it said. The central bank has said growth in 2022 likely surpassed the government's 6.5%-7% forecast, but would drop to 4%-5% this year. Capital Economics said it now expects the Malaysian central bank to hold interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year, and begin cutting in 2024.

☆ Malaysia central bank to hike rates to 3.00% on Thursday: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sujith Pai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) became in May last year one of the first Asian central banks to hike rates in the current cycle and has added a cumulative 100 basis points. Median forecasts in the poll showed inflation to average 3.0% this year, an upgrade from the 2.8% predicted in October. All but one of 27 economists in the Jan. 10-16 Reuters poll forecast the central bank to hike its overnight policy rate (MYINTR=ECI) to 3.00%, where it was before the pandemic, at its meeting on Jan. 19. While a slim majority of respondents, 13 of 24, expected rates to still be 3.00% at end-March, 10 of them had a 3.25% forecast. Nearly 60% of economists, 14 of 24, expected rates to reach 3.25% or above by end-June, a quarter point higher from a November poll.

☆ Dollar stays bullish on resilient U.S. jobs market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A separate report also revealed that private employment increased by 235,000 jobs last month, far exceeding expectations for a 150,000 increase. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index jumped 0.9% to a nearly one-month peak of 105.27 overnight. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar rose 0.6% to hit a one-week top of 134.045 yen overnight, and last bought 133.44 yen. December's flash inflation figures for the euro zone will also be out on Friday, where expectations are for an annual inflation rate of 9.7%. Data from Germany, France and Spain have already showed a slowdown in inflation last month, suggesting that euro zone inflation could come in below expectations.

☆ China protests send global stocks lower as strategists see Covid disruption persisting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGlobal stocks pulled back on Monday after rare protests erupted across China over the weekend amid growing unrest over the country's zero-Covid policy. An apparent easing earlier this month had fueled hopes of a gradual easing of the country's strict Covid controls. Meanwhile, profits at China's industrial companies fell 3% from January to October as Covid curbs stymied activity. "While the setback to sentiment from protests in mainland and tightening of Covid restrictions in several cities are unlikely to bode well for sentiment, we are cautious not to interpret these as overly bearish."

☆ Reaction to Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as Malaysian prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Malaysia's king appointed long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister on Thursday, ending five days of unprecedented post-election crisis after inconclusive polls. Anwar's appointment caps a three-decade long political journey from a protege of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad to protest leader, to a prisoner convicted of sodomy, to opposition leader and, finally, prime minister. The former finance minister and deputy prime minister will have to address soaring inflation and slowing growth, while calming ethnic tension that has flared since a Saturday election. ADIB ZALKAPLI, DIRECTOR AT POLITICAL RISK CONSULTANCY BOWERGROUPASIA:"With the appointment of Anwar as the 10th prime minister, this is a closure to the longest-running political crisis in Malaysia that began 24 years ago when he was sacked by the prime minister Mahathir Mohamad .... So it's an important closure, Anwar has been the longest-serving potential prime minister candidate.

☆ US and Indian troops are teaming up for tough training in the Himalayas near a tense border with China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US soldiers are training with Indian troops in the Himalayas this month for exercise Yudh Abhyas. This year's version of the exercise is being held near India's disputed border with China. An Indian army convoy on a highway leading to Ladakh, in Kashmir's Ganderbal district in June 2020. REUTERS/Danish Ismail"The US and India probably anticipated that conducting the exercise near the Chinese border would draw Beijing's ire. Indian soldiers during Yudh Abhyas in Alaska in October 2021.

Hong Kong/Tokyo CNN Business —A quarter of a century ago, a major financial crisis ripped through Asia, shaking its economies to the core. “I do not expect a repeat of the [1997] Asian Financial Crisis this time,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ Research. “Importantly, there is not the same build up of foreign denominated debt in recent years, which was one of the triggers of the Asian Financial Crisis,” Goh added. China and Japan have the world’s two biggest foreign exchange reserves, holding $3 trillion and $1.3 trillion respectively. “Asia’s resilience in the face of the current global storm is partly the result of reform that the Asian Financial Crisis prompted,” Neumann from HSBC said.

☆ Explainer: What's inside China's toolbox to rein in excess yuan weakness?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The local currency also looks set for the biggest annual loss since 1994, when China unified official and market exchange rates. The rapid yuan declines prompted the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to lower the amount of foreign exchange financial institutions must hold as reserves to rein in weakness. The PBOC has been setting firmer-than-expected daily yuan midpoint fixings since late August to prevent excess yuan weakness, as the onshore spot yuan can only trade in a 2% narrow range around the midpoint. The central bank adjusted the methodology a few times before suspending it in October 2020. "The yuan exchange rate level itself is not the most important, the nature of the issue is whether China's cross-border capital flows remain stable," said Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist at Ping An Securities.

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