Global

 BRICs Agree Capital Structure For Development Bank. The BRICS bloc of large emerging economies have agreed on the capital structure for a proposed development bank that aims to reduce their reliance on Western financial institutions, the Wall Street Journal reported. Officials from Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa agreed to set up the bank with a total capital of $50 billion, shared equally among them, it quoted an unnamed senior Indian government official as saying. The decision was made at a meeting in New Delhi in the first week of August, the newspaper said. The move would likely end disagreements over the funding and management of the bank as China had earlier proposed total bank capital of $100 billion and sought a bigger share, it said. (Reuters)

Malaysia

 Govt To Consider Subsidy Rationalisation, GST And Review RPGT. The Government’s Fiscal Policy Committee is to consider implementing measures to improve the country’s fiscal position that will include subsidy rationalisation, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a review of the real property gains tax (RPGT). The committee, chaired by the Prime Minister and which includes officials from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and the Finance Ministry, will also look to tackle the narrowing current account surplus and carefully space out public sector projects to ease the impact on the national accounts. In the meantime, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlahsaid the Government was fully committed to continue BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Assistance) payments to the lower income groups. (The Star)

 Approved Investments Rise To RM97.4b In H1. Despite the weaker global economic growth, Malaysia has recorded RM97.4 billion in approved investments for the first half of 2013 compared with RM75 billion in the same period last year. For the rest of the year, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) is confident that the figure will exceed last year's RM167.8 billion. Its chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin said Mida is currently negotiating projects with potential investments of RM39.7 billion and are expected to be realised in the second half of this year. (Business Times)

Asia

 India Infrastructure Projects Set To Boost Economy. The Indian government has approved infrastructure projects worth 1.83tn rupees ($28.4bn) to revive the economy and boost the falling rupee. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said 36 stalled projects in oil, gas, power, road and railways sectors were cleared. "The message we are sending is that the investment cycle has restarted, and we are pushing it," he said. The announcement came on a day the rupee hit a new record low, touching 65.6 against the US dollar. Recent attempts to reduce volatility in currency markets have so far failed to have any result. (BBC)

 China Urban Migrants’ Cost Seen At Least $6.8 Trillion. China must spend at least 41.6 trillion yuan ($6.8 trillion) over two decades to integrate rural workers living in cities and towns so the country realizes benefits of urbanization, a United Nations report said. Spending may exceed 75 trillion yuan in a scenario with a higher rate of investment to improve living conditions and housing quality, according to the report released yesterday in Beijing. The study’s baseline assumptions are for the urban population to rise to 976 million in 2030 from 666 million in 2010 and integrate about 210 million migrant workers. (Bloomberg)

 Singapore Tightens Public Housing Policy. Singapore tightened the country's public housing policy by reducing tenures for new loans and restricting foreign permanent residents from buying government-built homes. Singapore will cut the maximum tenure for new housing loans to purchase homes built by the state to 25 years from 30 years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said on its website. Borrowers will receive as much as 30 % of their gross monthly income, down from 35 %, it said. Foreigners will be allowed to buy resold HDB flats three years after they obtain permanent residential status in the island city, the board said. (Bloomberg)

USA

 Pending Sales Of Existing Homes In U.S. Dropped 1.3% In July. Fewer Americans signed contracts in July to buy previously owned homes, a sign that rising mortgage rates are starting to slow momentum in the housing market. The index of pending home sales dropped 1.3 %, the most this year, after a 0.4 % decrease in June, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. Economists forecast no change in the gauge from the month before, according to a median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. (Bloomberg)

 Mortgage Applications Fall As Rates Hit 2013 High. Applications for U.S. home loans fell for a third straight week as average mortgage rates hit their highest level this year, although demand for purchase loans increased, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 2.5 % in the week ended August 23, after sliding 4.6 % the prior week. The decline came as 30-year mortgage rates rose 12 basis points to 4.80 %, the highest they have been so far this year, according to MBA data. The survey covers over 75 % of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA. (Reuters)

Europe

 Mark Carney: UK Economic Recovery Measured, Not Rapid. A "renewed recovery is taking hold" in the UK economy, but its pace will be "more measured than rapid", Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said. Mr Carney said the Bank was "removing uncertainty" with its guidance that interest rates would stay low until the unemployment rate had declined to 7%. But he said it could take some time for joblessness to fall that far. He also announced moves to ease capital controls on big banks that could boost bank lending by £90bn. (BBC)

 German Consumer Morale Eases From 6-Year High. German consumer confidence eased slightly heading into September, albeit remaining close to its highest level in nearly six years, as shoppers worried about creeping inflation. GfK market research group said on Wednesday its forward-looking sentiment indicator, based on a survey of around 2,000 people, fell to 6.9 going in to September from 7.0 in the previous month, its highest level since before the global financial crisis. That undercut the lowest forecast in a Reuters poll, for the index to hold steady at 7.0. (Reuters)

Currencies

 Indian Rupee Falls To New Low Against Us Dollar. The Indian rupee has dropped by nearly 4% to a new low of 68.7 to the US dollar amid growing concerns over the health of the country's economy. The decline comes a day after India approved infrastructure projects worth $28.4bn to try to revive the economy and prop up its currency. The rupee has lost 20% of its value this year and is one of the world's worst-performing currencies. It has also been hit by fears that the US will scale back stimulus measures. (BBC)

 Dollar Gains Broadly As Syria Concerns Continue. The dollar rose against major rivals Wednesday, holding on to gains against the pound after comments from the Bank of England governor, as investors continued to worry about a possible military strike in Syria. The British pound fell to $1.5526 from $1.5543 in late trade Tuesday. The U.S. dollar gained after taking losses on Tuesday, with the ICE dollar index — a measure of the U.S. unit against six rivals — rising to 81.415 from 81.137 late Tuesday. Among other major currency pairs, the Australian dollar fell to 89.46 U.S. cents from late Tuesday’s 89.92 cents, ahead of the country’s Sept. 7 general election. The euro dropped to $1.3341 from $1.3390 Tuesday. The Japanese yen edged lower, with the dollar buying ¥97.71, compared with ¥97.09 Tuesday in late U.S. trading. (Market Watch)

Commodities

 Brent Oil Hits Six-Month High, Gold Up On Syria Tension. Oil surged on Tuesday, with benchmark Brent crude hitting six-month highs, and gold rallied in safe-haven buying as the West mulled a military strike on Syria after U.S. accusations the country used chemical weapons on civilians. Brent crude settled up $3.63 at $114.36 a barrel, after an earlier high of $114.42. U.S. crude rose $3.09 to settle at $109.01 a barrel, after earlier hitting $109.32. (Reuters)

 Gold Ends Mixed, Hits 3-1/2 Month High On Syria Jitters. The spot gold price briefly rose above $1,430 an ounce to a three-and-ahalf-month high on Wednesday on safe-having buying as the United States and its allies looked set to launch military strikes on Syria. Spot gold was up 0.1 % at $1,416.86 an ounce by 3:29 p.m. (1929 GMT), having earlier hit $1,433.31, its highest price since May 14. Among other precious metals, silver prices dropped 0.7 % to $24.30. Platinum rose 0.8 % to $1,530.70 an ounce, while palladium edged up 0.2 % to $743.50 an ounce. (Reuters)