Malaysia

 Malaysia Slightly Behind But Confident Of AEC Achievements. Malaysia slightly still has two years to improve its Asean Economic Community (AEC) 2015 scorecard, according to International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (pic). The official AEC scorecard is expected to track the implementation of measures and the achievement of milestones committed in the AEC Strategic Schedule. “As of July, we are at 80%. We are a bit behind but we still have two more years to go. We are confident that we can increase our achievements,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Shell Innovation Summit yesterday. The AEC’s main objective is to transform all 10 members of Asean into a one-stop global investment centre by 2015. (Bernama)

USA

 Demand For U.S. Capital Goods Climbs Less Than Forecast. Orders for goods such as computers and machinery rose less than forecast in August, showing a pickup in U.S. business spending will take time to develop. Bookings for non-military capital equipment excluding aircraft increased 1.5 % after a 3.3 % drop in July, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 2 % gain. Another report showed sales of new houses over the past two months were the weakest of the year. (Bloomberg)

 Sales Of New U.S. Homes Rose In August Following July Plunge. Purchases of new U.S. homes rose in August, capping the weakest two months this year, showing the fallout from mortgage rates at a twoyear high is cooling the real-estate rebound. Sales increased 7.9 % to a 421,000 annualized pace following a 390,000 rate in the prior month that was less than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Demand slumped 14.1 % in July. The median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 420,000. (Bloomberg)

 Americans In Poll Doubt Economy Rebound. Americans are losing faith in the nation’s economic recovery even as forecasters expect growth to accelerate, according to a Bloomberg National Poll. Fewer people anticipate improvement in the economy’s strength over the next year than in the last survey in June, with 27 % saying the expansion will be more robust, down from 39 % who expected improvement three months earlier. (Bloomberg)

 US To Hit Debt Ceiling By 17 October, Says Treasury Secretary Lew. The US will hit its debt ceiling by 17 October, leaving the government with half the money needed to pay its bills, the Treasury Secretary has warned. Jack Lew said that unless the US is allowed to extend its borrowing limit, the country will be left with about $30bn to meet its commitments. "Net expenditures on certain days can be as high as $60bn," he said. The US government and Republicans are at stalemate over extending the credit limit needed to avoid default. (BBC)

 Household Net Worth In U.S. Increases By $1.3 Trillion. Household wealth in the U.S. increased from April through June, supported by gains in the stock and housing markets that are improving Americans’ finances. Net worth for households and non-profit groups climbed by $1.34 trillion in the second quarter, or 1.8 % from the previous three months, to $74.8 trillion, the Federal Reserve said today from Washington in its financial accounts report, previously known as the flow of funds survey. (Bloomberg)

Europe

 Spain May Deepen Labor Overhaul To Reduce Jobless: Rajoy. Spain’s government may deepen the overhaul of labor laws that prompted a general strike last year after taking advice from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television, Rajoy said the government is assessing the impact of the 2012 overhaul and will submit the review to the OECD. The Paris-based organization has repeatedly proposed more radical steps to reduce the country’s 26 % unemployment rate, such as moving toward a single contract for all types of job. (Bloomberg)

 Italy Consumer Confidence Rose To Two-Year September High. Italian consumer confidence increased more than economists forecast in September to the highest in two years amid optimism that the economy is emerging from recession. The confidence index rose to 101.1 from a revised 98.4 in August, the Italian statistics office Istat said in Rome today. That was the highest since June 2011. The median estimate of 11 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a reading of 98.5. Istat questioned 2,000 Italians in the first half of this month. (Bloomberg)

 France Public Debt To Hit Record In 2014. France has said its public debt will hit a record 95.1% of GDP in 2014, above previous estimates, and up from 93.4% in 2013. The figure was revealed as the country unveiled its budget for next year. But it said debt should fall back in 2015, and repeated its aim to bring the public deficit below 3% that year, the EU's deadline for doing so. But debt servicing costs will rise to 46.7bn euros, compared with 45bn euros in 2013. The 2014 budget is based on a growth forecast of 0.9%, lowered from a previous 1.2% forecast, with just 0.1% in growth forecast for this year. (BBC)

Currencies

 Dollar Slips Vs. Some Rivals, But Gains Vs. Aussie. The U.S. dollar fell against some rivals on Wednesday, but continued its recovery against the Australian dollar. The Aussie dollar traded just above levels seen before the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to maintain its monthly bond buys last week, giving up most gains that had propelled the currency to a three-month high on Sept. 18. The Aussie fell to 93.70 U.S. cents in recent trade from 93.92 U.S. cents late Tuesday. Among other majors, the British pound rose to $1.6082 from $1.6004 late Tuesday, while the euro increased to $1.3526 from Tuesday’s level of $1.3474. The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, slipped to 80.32 on Wednesday from 80.573 late Tuesday. Meanwhile, the dollar bought ¥98.45, less than ¥98.80 late Tuesday. (Market Watch)

Commodities

 Brent Edges Lower, Iran Diplomacy In Focus. Crude oil prices edged lower in choppy trading on Wednesday as comments from the Iranian foreign minister revived hopes that talks over Tehran's nuclear program could see progress, and as U.S. crude oil inventories posted a large build. Brent crude oil futures fell 32 cents to $108.32 a barrel. Earlier, Brent rose more than $1 to reach a session high of $110.09. U.S. crude fell 47 cents to $102.66 a barrel in a fifth day of losses. On Tuesday, U.S. crude hit a seven-week low. (Reuters)

 Gold Rises On Worries Over U.S. Budget Talks. Gold rose almost 1 % on Wednesday, boosted by some safe- haven buying caused by uncertainty over U.S. budget talks. Spot gold was up 0.8 % at $1,332.60 per ounce at 4:03 p.m. EDT (2003 GMT). Silver was up 0.4 % at $21.76 an ounce. Among other precious metals, platinum rose 0.3 % to $1,422.49 an ounce and palladium gained 0.4 % to $720.22 an ounce. (Reuters)

Source: Kenanga