Malaysia

Japanese Firms To Boost Investments In Malaysia. Japanese companies are increasing investments in Malaysia, despite concerns of high labour and energy costs, says Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry Malaysia (Jactim) president Shuichi Yoshida. "They are quite optimistic on Malaysia's growth. New investments will consider the transformation taking place currently, coupled with the fact that Malaysia is now considered an upper middle-income country," he told Business Times, here, recently. Japan is the top foreign investor in Malaysia with some 1,400 companies operating as investments in the manufacturing sector have reached US$22.2 billion (RM73.2 billion). They have been investing in Malaysia since the 1960s, especially in the automotive and electrical and electronics sectors. (BusinessTimes)

Asia

Japan Logs Record Current Account Deficit. Japan’s current account deficit in November tripled year-on-year to a record US$5.7 billion as a weak yen pushed up the country’s post-Fukushima energy bills, data showed yesterday. The shortfall in the current account hit 592.8 billion yen, easily eclipsing a deficit of 179.6 billion yen in the same month a year earlier. The data marked the largest monthly current account deficit based on comparable data stretching back to 1985, blowing past a 455.6 billion yen shortfall in January 2012, according to the Finance Ministry. (AFP)

USA

December Gain In Retail Sales Gives U.S. A Lift. Retail sales rose in December as frigid temperatures prodded Americans to buy discounted winter clothing and shop online for the holidays, capping what may have been the strongest quarter for consumer spending in three years. Purchases increased 0.2 %after a 0.4 %advance in November, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Excluding a drop in auto demand that vehicle makers also partly attributed to the bad weather, sales jumped by the most in almost a year. (Bloomberg)

US Businesses Boost Stockpiles 0.4% In November. U.S. companies continued to build up their stockpiles in November as their sales improved, a sign that businesses believe consumers will increase spending in the months ahead. The Commerce Department says business stockpiles grew 0.4 %in November. That follows a strong 0.8 %gain in October. Sales increased 0.8 %in November after a 0.5 % gain the previous month. (AP)

US Posts Record Budget Surplus In Dec. The U.S. government last month posted the largest budget surplus for any December on record, boosted by payments from government-controlled housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage-finance companies, which were propped up by $187.5 billion in taxpayer money after they were placed under government control in 2008, made hefty dividend payments last month in return for the support they received. Those payments helped the government take in $53 billion more in revenue in December than it paid out, the U.S. Treasury said on Monday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a surplus of only $44.0 billion.(Reuters)

Congress Unveils $1.1 Trillion Plan To Fund Government. House and Senate lawmakers agreed to a bipartisan compromise to fund the U.S. government through Sept. 30, unveiling the measure days before financing for federal agencies is scheduled to lapse. The $1.1 trillion measure includes $1.01 trillion for U.S. government operations, plus war financing known as overseas combat operations. Republican efforts to derail some regulatory initiatives and to deny funding for implementation of the 2010 health care law were left out to ensure passage and avoid a repeat of the 16-day partial government shutdown in October. (Bloomberg)

Europe

UK Inflation Falls To 2% Target Rate In December. The UK's inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, fell to 2% in December, down from 2.1% the month before. It is the first time inflation has been at or below the governmentset target of 2% since November 2009. The Office for National Statistics said the fall was caused by slower increases in the prices of food. Inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rose to 2.7% from 2.6% in November. (BBC)

IMF Sees Tepid Recovery For Emerging European Region. The central, eastern and southeastern Europe region is poised for just a "tepid" economic recovery this year, lagging behind other emerging markets even as major western trading partners rebound, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Monday. Aasim Husain, deputy director of IMF's European department, said countries with large current account and fiscal imbalances still risked market buffeting as central banks in advanced economies unwind extra-loose policy. Aasim said the emerging European region remains far removed from a robust recovery as capital flows are still below pre-crisis levels, foreign banks that dominate the region are hoarding capital and investment is weak. "I expect that growth will be in the ballpark of about 2.5 per cent this year, compared with an estimate of about 1.75 per cent for last year," he said. (Reuters)

Currencies

Dollar Above ¥104 As Retail Data Reassure Investors. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen Tuesday, coming off a nearly one-month low, as a stronger-than-expected report on U.S. retail sales reassured investors that the Federal Reserve could continue to slow the rate of its bond purchases. The dollar rose to ¥104.14 from ¥102.91 late Monday. That’s higher than the level seen late Friday of ¥104.08. Meanwhile, the euro inched up to $1.3679 versus $1.3670 late Monday. The British pound rose to $1.6444 from $1.6385 late Monday. The ICE dollar index , a measure of the greenback against six other currencies, edged up to 80.631 from 80.529 late Monday. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar slipped to 89.63 U.S. cents from 90.60 U.S. cents late Monday. (Market Watch)

Commodities

Brent Slips Towards $106 As Supply Outlook Brightens. Brent crude edged down towards $106 a barrel on Tuesday as Libyan supply picked up and as the restart of Iranian oil shipments appeared to get closer. February Brent crude had edged down 10 cents to $106.65 a barrel by 0249 GMT after closing down 0.47 %in the previous session. U.S. crude for February delivery was at $91.85, up 5 cents after settling at a two-session low on Monday. (Reuters)

Gold At One-Month High On Lower Stocks, U.S. Growth Fears. Gold rose to its highest level in a month on Tuesday due to a drop in equities and uncertainty over the U.S. growth outlook after a disappointing jobs report last week. Spot gold was up 0.1 %to $1,254.00 an ounce by 1536 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up 0.2 %at $1,253.70 an ounce. Silver was unchanged at $20.35 an ounce. Spot platinum was down 0.6 %at $1,431.49 an ounce, while palladium rose 0.1 %at $737.25 an ounce. (Reuters)