Global

IMF Raises Global Outlook As Advanced Nations Accelerate. The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for global growth this year as expansions in the U.S. and U.K. accelerate, and urged advanced economies to maintain monetary accommodation to strengthen the recovery. The global economy will grow 3.7 % this year, compared with an October estimate of 3.6 %, the IMF said in revisions to its World Economic Outlook released in Washington today. U.S. gross domestic product will expand 2.8 %, compared with 2.6 %; Japan will gain 1.7 % versus 1.2 %; and the U.K. will increase 2.4 % from 1.9 %, the report showed. (Bloomberg)

Investors Most Upbeat In 5 Years With 59% Bullish In Poll. International investors are the most upbeat about the global economy than at any time in almost five years, buoyed by the U.S.-led revival of industrial nations, according to the Bloomberg Global Poll. On the eve of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, 59 % of Bloomberg subscribers surveyed last week said the economic outlook is improving. That’s up from 33 % in November and marks the most optimistic result since the poll began in July 2009. (Bloomberg)

Malaysia

Malaysia Says Pacific Trade Pact Hard To Complete This Year. “It’s tough,” Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia’s international trade and industry minister, said in an interview at his office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. “It’s difficult to say when” talks could be wrapped up, he said. “You cannot rush into things. This is a very big trade pact, going beyond the conventional areas of tariffs. It’s natural that it’s taken quite some time.” The TPP would create a free-trade zone linking an area from Australia to Peru with about $28 trillion in annual economic output. Malaysia has expressed wariness over some parts of the deal, including those related to state-owned enterprises and government procurement. Leaders from the U.S. to Malaysia and Japan must deal with opposition to the pact from lawmakers at home, obstacles that will have to be overcome for the agreement to be ratified. (Bloomberg)

Nov Unemployment Rate At 3.4% On-Month, Up 0.1 Percentage Point. The unemployment rate in the country went up 0.1 percentage point to 3.4% from October to November 2013 with the rise of unemployed persons to 484,600 persons, an increase of 22,300 persons from the previous month, according to the Department of Statistics “Year-on-year comparison indicated that the unemployment rate was comparatively higher by 0.5 percentage point from 2.9% in November 2012. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was estimated at 3.5%, remained unchanged from the previous month. Meanwhile the labour force participation rate remained unchanged at 69.1% in the same period. However, there was a slight decrease in the number in the labour force by 1,800 persons to 14.16 million. (The Star)

Asia

Indonesia Sees Record US$33b Foreign Deals. Foreign investment in Indonesia can rise to a record US$32.8 billion this year, a government agency projected, even though the pace of increase last year slowed. For 2013, foreign commitments rose to 270.4 trillion rupiah (RM73 billion), an increase of 22.4 % compared with the previous year’s 26 % gain in rupiah terms. Last year’s performance appeared little improved from 2012 in US dollar terms, as the 2013 total is equivalent to about US$22 billion at the rupiah’s current exchange rate. The rupiah weakened more than 20 % against the dollar last year. (Reuters)

China Injects Fresh Cash Into Banks. China's central bank has injected fresh liquidity into the country's large commercial banks ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month. The bank did not say how much cash it injected, but said the move was aimed at ensuring the "stability" of the monetary market ahead of the holidays. The Lunar New Year is China's most important festival and sees increased demand for cash among consumers. The move also comes as China's key interbank lending rate rose on Monday. The seven-day repurchase rate, a key gauge of liquidity among banks, rose to nearly 6.5% on Monday, up from 4% earlier this month. (BBC)

USA

U.S. Yields And Dollar Up On Outlook On Fed Tapering. U.S. Treasury prices edged down and the dollar rose on Tuesday while gold posted its largest decline since the start of the year on speculation the Federal Reserve will further pare its bond-buying stimulus at its policy meeting next week. U.S. stocks mostly rose, with the S&P 500 snapping a twosession decline as the materials sector rallied, though the Dow fell on disappointing quarterly results by three of its components. A report in The Wall Street Journal said the Fed is on track to trim its bond-buying program for the second time in six weeks as a lacklustre December jobs report failed to diminish the U.S. central bank's expectations for solid economic growth this year. The Fed's policy-setting committee will meet on January 28-29. (Reuters)

Europe

EU Halts Investment Talks With US. The European Commission has suspended talks on part of a far-reaching EU-US free trade deal amid concern that hard-won social protections in Europe might be undermined. The trade negotiations began last year but now the Commission has launched a three-month public consultation on the proposed investment rules for firms. The aim is to close legal loopholes. The proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could bring huge benefits for Europe and America, the Commission says. An EU study last September estimated it could boost the size of the EU economy by 120bn euros ($162bn) - equal to 0.5% of GDP - and the US economy by 95bn euros (or 0.4% of GDP). But several European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and MEPs have questioned the investment rules, fearing that they could tie governments' hands in the face of powerful US corporations. (BBC)

Germany’s ZEW Investor Confidence Unexpectedly Falls. German investor confidence unexpectedly fell for the first time in six months, signaling caution over the outlook for the euro area’s economic recovery. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months in advance, slid to 61.7 in January from a seven-year high of 62 in December. Economists predicted an increase to 64, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. (Bloomberg)

U.K. Manufacturers Boost Spending Plans As Orders Rise, CBI Says. U.K. manufacturers’ investment intentions rose in the past quarter as demand for goods increased to the highest in almost three years, according to the Confederation of British Industry. The CBI’s index of manufacturers’ plans for capital expenditure on buildings in the next year climbed to minus 1 in the three months through January from minus 20, the London-based business lobby group said today. Manufacturers’ forecasts for spending on plants and machinery rose “sharply,” it said. The report showed that a quarterly gauge of new orders at factories advanced to 13 from 6, the highest reading since April 2011. Bank of England policy maker Ben Broadbent said last week that business investment will probably accelerate this year as the economy recovers. (Bloomberg)

Currencies

Dollar Up Broadly As Week’s Data Outweigh Jobs Shock. The U.S.dollar gained against most rivals Friday, as a week of data reassured investors that December’s dismal employment report wasn’t indicative of a broader shift in the economy. The ICE dollar index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against six rivals, rose to 81.245 from 80.904 late Thursday. The pound rose to $1.6410 from $1.6359 late Thursday. For the week, it fell 0.4% against the greenback. The euro fell to $1.3528 from $1.3619 late Thursday. The dollar traded at ¥104.26 versus ¥104.29, and was up 0.1% against the yen on the week. In other forex action, the Australian dollar dropped to 87.74 U.S. cents from 88.15 U.S. cents late Thursday. (Market Watch)

Commodities

Oil Rises On Strong Demand Forecast, Libya Security Concerns. Oil prices clung to modest gains on Tuesday after a swift early rally fuelled by a bullish global demand forecast and new concerns over Libyan oil exports succumbed to profittaking. Brent crude settled 38 cents higher at $106.73 a barrel after rising earlier in the session to $108 per barrel. Frontmonth U.S. February crude, which expired at the close of trade, ended 62 cents higher at $94.99. U.S. crude oil for March delivery, which will become the front-month contract Wednesday, rose 37 cents to $94.97. (Reuters)

Gold Falls About 1 Pct On Fed Tapering Speculation. Gold fell about 1% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day drop so far in 2014, hit by widespread speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve might announce a further cut in its bond-buying program at a meeting next week. Spot gold was down 0.9 % at $1,241.76 per ounce by 2:11 p.m. EST (1911 GMT), having fallen as much as 1.4% to a one-week low of $1,235.68. Among platinum group metals, platinum fell 1 % to $1,447.99 an ounce, while palladium edged down 0.1% at $745 an ounce. Silver was down 2.2 % at $19.82 an ounce, also its biggest one-day drop this year. (Reuters)