Global

More Than Half Of Consumers Globally Upbeat On Job Prospects: Nielsen. More than half of consumers globally expect job prospects to be good to excellent in the year ahead, a survey showed on Tuesday. That helped push global consumer confidence up in the second quarter to its highest since the first quarter of 2007, according to the survey by global information and insights company Nielsen. India overtook Indonesia as the most optimistic consumer market, while Portugal and Slovenia were the most pessimistic. Japan and Hong Kong saw the biggest declines in confidence from the previous quarter. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index rose 1 point in the second quarter to 97, according to the survey, conducted between May 12 and 30. The reading headed closer to the 100 mark that signals optimism among consumers. (Reuters)

Malaysia

Bank Negara Reserves At RM445Bil. Bank Negara has announced that its international reserves amounted to RM444.6bil as at Sept 30, 2013, equivalent to US$136.5bil. In a statement yesterday, the central bank said the reserves position was sufficient to finance 9.7 months of retained imports and was 3.9 times the short-term external debt. – (Bernama)

Total Vehicle Sales Up 6.3% In H1. Total vehicle sales grew 6.3% to 333,142 units in the first half of 2014, compared with 313,488 units in the previous corresponding period. The growth was driven by favourable economic conditions, said Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad at a press conference on Tuesday. In light of the good performance during the first half of the year, the MAA has revised upwards its total industry volume forecast for 2014 to 680,000 units from 670,000 units earlier. Aishah said consumers' sentiments are expected to remain positive for the remainder of 2014, owing to the stability of the employment market and aggressive promotional campaigns by car companies. (The Star)

Asia

Widodo Wins Indonesia Vote in Third-Biggest Democracy. Joko Widodo, a former furniture dealer who vaulted to political prominence with a hands-on approach, won Indonesia’s presidential vote by more than 6 % age points after a divisive race that led his opponent to plan a court challenge. Just hours after the results were announced, the campaign team of Widodo’s opponent, Suharto-era General Prabowo Subianto, said he will contest the vote in the constitutional court, the country’s highest. The move could create a month of further uncertainty for investors in Asia’s fifth-biggest economy and provides an early test for Jakarta Governor Widodo, known as Jokowi. (Bloomberg)

Japan Government Trims Economic Growth Estimate For This Year. Japan's government slightly lowered its growth forecast for the current fiscal year due to sluggish exports and a drop in demand after the April sales-tax hike, but the forecasts were largely in line with the Bank of Japan's projections. The government now sees real gross domestic product growth at 1.2 % in fiscal 2014/15, versus 1.4 % forecast earlier this year. Growth is expected to accelerate to 1.4 % in the following year, according to Cabinet Office estimates. The estimates are broadly in line with projections made by the Bank of Japan, which last week cut its economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 1.0 %. The BOJ expects growth to pick up to 1.5 % the following fiscal year. (Reuters)

USA

U.S. Consumer Inflation Rises On High Gasoline Prices. U.S. consumer prices rose in June as the cost of gasoline surged, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a gradual build-up of inflationary pressures. The Labor Department said on Tuesday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.3% last month, with gasoline accounting for two-thirds of the gain, after May's 0.4% rise. In the 12 months through June, the CPI increased 2.1% after a similar rise in May. (Reuters)

Previously Owned U.S. Home Sales Rise to Eight-Month High. Sales of previously owned U.S. homes climbed in June to an eight-month high as more listings helped prices cool, luring buyers into the market. Sales increased 2.6 % to a 5.04 million annual rate last month, led by gains in all four U.S. regions, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected sales would rise to a 4.99 million rate. Prices advanced at the slowest pace since March 2012 and inventories rose to an almost two-year high. (Bloomberg)

Europe

Euro Zone's Debt Rises In First Quarter, Set To Peak This Year. Euro zone public debt rose to 93.9 % of economic output in the first quarter of this year, approaching the peak it is expected to reach later in 2014, official data showed on Tuesday. Government debt of the 18 countries sharing the euro stood at 9.055tril euros ($12.21tril) in the first three months of this year, compared to 8.905trileuros in the last quarter of 2013, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said. (Reuters)

UK Factory Orders 'Slow Down In July', Says CBI. Manufacturing orders for the UK slowed down in July, but still remain robust, a survey by the CBI has suggested. In total, 2% of UK manufacturers reported an increase in orders, or an above normal level of orders this month, compared with 11% last month. Just under a sixth of manufacturers saw a fall in export orders in the month. The numbers complement official UK figures for July, which found a surprise drop in UK factory orders. (BBC)

U.K. Deficit Goal In Doubt As Spending Offsets Tax Jump. Britain’s budget shortfall was little changed in June as increased spending offset a jump in tax receipts, casting doubt over whether Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne can meet his deficit-reduction goal. Net borrowing was 11.4 bil pounds ($19.5 bil) compared with 11.5 bil pounds a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said today. That compares with a forecast of 11.1 bil pounds in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Government revenue rose 4.7% and spending grew 3.9%. (Bloomberg)

UK House Sales In June Highest Since 2007, Says HMRC. UK property sales in June hit their joint highest monthly total since the financial crisis began, figures show, but sales among young adults are low. There were 109,580 sales in June, the same as in November last year, and the highest since the end of 2007, HM Revenue and Customs' data shows. This gives a further indication of a recovery in the housing market spurred, in part, by government schemes. (BBC)

Currencies

Euro Falls To 8-Month Low Against The Dollar. The euro fell to an eight-month low against the dollar Tuesday, its lowest level since the European Central Bank surprised the market with a 25 basis point rate cut in November 2013. Jonathan Lewis, chief investment officer at Samson Capital Advisors, said the ICE dollar index, which measures the dollar’s performance against six other currencies, is skewed to make the dollar look stronger than it really is, as it’s weighed nearly 60% toward the euro. The index was at 80.7790 Tuesday, up from 80.5600 late Monday. The euro was trading at $1.3467 Tuesday, down from $1.3524 late Monday. The pound was at $1.7060 against the dollar, down from $1.7072 late Monday. Among other currencies, the dollar bought 1024.0300 South Korean won Tuesday, down from 1027.0300 won Monday night. The Australian dollar rose to 93.94 cents, up from 93.65 cents Monday. The dollar was also down against the Brazilian real, trading at 2.2104 real Tuesday, down from 2.2212 real Monday evening. (MarketWatch)

Commodities

China's President Xi Jinping Signs Venezuela Oil Deal. Chinese President Xi Jinping has signed a series of oil and mineral deals with Venezuela. They include a $4bn (£2.34bn) credit line in return for Venezuelan crude and other products. The agreements came on the latest stop of a four-country visit to Latin America. Mr Xi has already signed key deals in Argentina and Brazil. He has now departed from Venezuela and will visit Cuba next. In Argentina the Chinese leader agreed to an $11bn currency swap providing much needed money for the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Argentina has been locked out of the international capital markets since a default in 2001. Chinese trade with Latin America has grown rapidly. It is now the second-largest trading partner in Argentina and Cuba, and has been Brazil's largest since 2009. China is the second-largest market for Venezuelan oil after the United States. (BBC)

Oil Slips As Supplies Flow Despite Conflicts. Brent and U.S. crude settled lower after a choppy trading session on Tuesday as oil supplies remained unaffected by continuing violence in Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza. The European Union threatened Russia on Tuesday with harsher sanctions over Ukraine following the downing of a Malaysian airliner. Brent crude for September delivery fell by 35 cents to settle at $107.33 a barrel, after swinging between $107.20 and $108.40.

U.S. oil for August delivery fell 17 cents to settle at $104.42 a barrel, down from a session high of $105.25. The U.S. August contract expired on Tuesday. U.S. crude oil for September settled at $102.39, down 47 cents. (Reuters)

Gold Slips As Tensions Over Malaysia Jet Disaster Ease. Gold fell on Tuesday as tensions eased in Ukraine after pro-Russian rebels handed the flight recorder and victims' remains from a downed Malaysian passenger jet to international authorities. The spot price of gold was down 0.4% at $1,306.35 an ounce by 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT). The most-active U.S. gold futures contract, for August delivery, settled down 0.6% at $1,306.30 an ounce. In other precious metals, palladium dipped 0.2% to $872.25 an ounce. Platinum was flat at $1,481.75 an ounce. Silver rose 0.1% to $20.92.