Global

Trans-Pacific Free Trade Deal Agreed Creating Vast Partnership. The world's biggest ever trade deal was signed into existence on Monday. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) cuts trade tariffs and sets common standards in trade for 12 Pacific rim countries, including the US and Japan. It marks the end of five years of often bitter and tense negotiations. The deal covers about 40% of the world economy and was signed after five days of talks in Atlanta in the US. Despite the success of the negotiations, the deal still has to be ratified by lawmakers in each country. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the deal was a "major outcome not just for Japan but also for the future of the Asia-Pacific" region. (BBC)

Extreme Poverty 'To Fall Below 10%' – World Bank. The World Bank has said that for the first time less than 10% of the world's population will be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2015. The bank said it was using a new income figure of $1.90 per day to define extreme poverty, up from $1.25. It forecasts the proportion of the world's population in this category to fall from 12.8% in 2012 to 9.6%. The bank says the downward trend was due to strong growth rates in developing countries and investments in education, health, and social safety nets. And the bank warned that poverty is "becoming deeper and more entrenched in countries that are either conflict ridden or overly dependent on commodity exports". (BBC)

Malaysia

World Bank Sees Malaysia GDP Growth Slowing Down. Ongoing political noise has weighed on sentiment regarding Malaysian financial assets and the ringgit, with a risk of this further constraining policy space and filtering into the real sector economy, especially productive investment, says the World Bank. It said on Monday Malaysia's economic growth is expected to moderate to 4.7% this year and 2016 on weaker external outlook, before picking up mildly towards 5.0% in 2017 as exports strengthen. World Bank said the urgency had increased for Malaysia to continue making structural reforms and investments necessary to shift towards a more skilled intensive, high productivity economy. (The Star)

Asia

China Weighs on Developing East Asia as World Bank Cuts Outlooks. Developing East Asian economies are feeling the weight of China’s growth slowdown, with the World Bank cutting the region’s growth forecasts through 2017. China’s growth will cool to 6.9% in 2015, slower than the 7.1% rate predicted in April, the World Bank said in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released Monday. Expansion will ease to 6.7% next year and 6.5% in 2017, it said. Developing East Asia will expand 6.5% this year, slower than the 6.7% predicted in April. Slower-than-expected growth in China will put pressure on commodity exporters, as well as trade, foreign direct investment and tourism in the region. (Bloomberg)

South Korea 2015 Growth Will Be Near 2.8%. South Korea's central bank chief said on Monday economic growth this year will be near the 2.8% level the bank had forecast in July. The central bank will revise its forecasts later this month. "Domestic consumption is considered to be in recovery and although I cannot pinpoint what our forecast revision will be, it will unlikely diverge largely from (our previous forecast)," Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol told lawmakers in parliament. (Reuters)

Japan Services Grow at Much Slower Pace - PMI. Japan's services sector expanded in September at a much slower pace compared with the previous month as new business slackened in a sign that domestic demand ended the third quarter on a soft note. The Markit/Nikkei Japan Services PMI fell to a seasonally adjusted 51.4 in September from 53.7 in August, which was the highest since October 2013. The index remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction for the sixth consecutive month. (Reuters)

Japan’s Slow Wage Growth Dents Consumption Outlook. Japanese wage growth slowed in August and summer bonuses stood lower than last year, government data showed, boding ill for consumer spending needed to rev up the flagging economy. Real wages, adjusted for inflation, rose just 0.2% YoY, slowing from a revised 0.5% gain in July, as nominal wages are slow to keep up with price increases of food and daily necessities, undermining the purchasing power of households. Total cash earnings rose 0.5% YoY in August to 272,382 yen ($2,268), up for two straight months. (Reuters)

Indonesia to Help Smaller Firms Stay Afloat. Indonesia will provide loans at lower interest rates to labor-intensive small and medium-size companies, to help them maintain operations and avoid layoffs, a minister said Monday. Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that the loans will be given by the state-owned export financing agency, also known as Indonesian Exim Bank. The policy will be part of the next economic package that the government will unveil in the near future. (WSJ)

USA

US Services Growth Slows in September as Orders Plunge. Growth in the U.S. services sector slowed in September as sales fell and new orders plunged, evidence that stock market volatility may have hit consumer confidence and limited spending. The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its services index fell to 56.9 last month from 59 in August, which was the second-highest reading in a decade. A measure of sales fell to 60.2 from 63.9. A gauge of new orders, however, dropped nearly 7 points to 56.7. That suggests sales growth may continue to cool in the coming months. The ISM's measure of hiring rose in September, indicating that companies actually added jobs at a faster pace. (AP)

Despite 'Weak' Jobs Report, Fed's Rosengren Still Sees 2015 Rate Hike. Eric Rosengren still expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year despite what the head of the Boston Fed called a "weak" September jobs report. In an interview, Rosengren said if the economy grows at less than a 2% pace, or if unemployment rises from 5.1% now, he would prefer to wait until next year for the rate hike. Rosengren, a dovish Fed official who regains a vote on policy next year, said the labor market, which is much improved since the recession, is key. "If we wait too long then we run the risk of raising rates more abruptly, and I think that just increases the probability that we make more mistakes," he said. (Reuters)

Europe

Euro-Area Growth Seen Slowing. The euro region’s economic recovery risks faltering after growth momentum eased in September, Markit Economics said. A PMI for manufacturing and services fell to 53.6 in September from 54.3 in August, the London-based company said in a report on Monday. That’s below a September 23 preliminary reading of 53.9. The euro-area inflation rate fell to minus 0.1% in September. Even so, the region’s economy probably expanded 0.4% in the three months through September, Markit said in the report. New business increased last month and backlogs of work rose at the fastest pace in more than four years. (Bloomberg)

U.K. Services Expand at Slowest Pace in More Than Two Years. U.K. services growth faltered in September, highlighting the breadth of the fallout from weakness in the global economy. An index of activity fell to 53.3, the lowest since April 2013, from 55.6 in August, Markit Economics said on Monday. That compares with an expectation for an increase to 56, according to a survey of economists. Services had the slowest growth in new business for more than two years in September. Some firms were hesitant to place new contracts because of global economic uncertainty, Markit said. Employment rose at the strongest level in three months. (Bloomberg)

Spain to Get European Warning on Budget. The European Union's executive arm is to warn Spain over its draft budget plans for this year and next. Pierre Moscovici, the European Commission's top economy official, said Monday that the plans point to the Spanish government missing fiscal targets by 0.3 percentage point in 2015 and 0.7 percentage points in 2016. As such, he said the Commission will on Tuesday invite Spain's center-right government to make sure the budget plans comply with euro rules. In joining the euro currency, countries signed up to a set of rules to keep their budgets within certain parameters. (AP)

Currencies

Dollar Gains against Major Currencies on Risk Appetite. The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Monday on renewed risk appetite in the wake of a disappointing U.S. jobs report that suggested the Federal Reserve would hold off on raising interest rates for longer. The U.S. dollar index was last up 0.26% at 96.081, marking a recovery from a nearly two-week low of 95.218 hit Friday. The dollar was last up 0.46% against the yen at 120.450 yen, and was up 0.41% against the Swiss franc at 0.97570 franc. (Reuters)

Ringgit Stronger on Weak US Economic Data. The ringgit closed stronger against the greenback today as traders shifted their focus to emerging currencies following the release of sluggish US economic data. At 5 pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.3780/3835 against the US dollar from 4.4100/4180 registered on Friday. A dealer said the weak US jobs data sparked renewed concerns over the strength of the world’s largest economy and curbed appetite for the greenback. Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of other major currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.0678/0731 from 3.0747/0811 on Friday, strengthened versus the yen to 3.6423/6474 from 3.6704/6783. (Bernama)

Commodities

Crude Up Over 2% as Gasoline Jumps, Russia Mulls Oil Talks. Crude oil prices settled up more than 2% on Monday, bolstered by a rally in U.S. gasoline and Russia's willingness to meet other major oil producers to discuss the market. Brent settled at $49.25 a barrel, up $1.12 or 2.3%. U.S. oil's benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 72 cents, or 1.6%, to finish at $46.26. Russia, one of the world's top three oil producers, said it was prepared to meet OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers to discuss the market if such a gathering is called. (Reuters)

Saudi Aramco Cuts Crude to Asia, U.S. amid Weak Demand. Saudi Arabia cut pricing for November oil sales to Asia and the U.S. as the world’s largest crude exporter seeks to keep its barrels competitive with rival suppliers amid sluggish demand. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. reduced its official selling price for Medium grade crude to Asia next month to a discount of $3.20 a barrel below the regional benchmark, compared with a $1.30 discount for October sales, the company said Sunday. The company trimmed November pricing for its Light, Medium and Heavy grades to the U.S. by 30 cents a barrel each. Medium crude will sell at a discount of 85 cents a barrel to the regional benchmark, the widest since March. (Bloomberg)

Gold Steadies on Profit-Taking, Silver Holds Firm Momentum. Gold was little changed on Monday, as profit-taking set in after rallying on U.S. economic data that pushed back expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate rise to early 2016. Spot gold had turned down 0.1% at $1,136.11 an ounce by 1849 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled up 0.1% at $1,138.10. Silver rallied 5.4% on Friday then extended gains on Monday on technical buying to its highest in nearly 3 months at $15.71 an ounce, before paring gains to a rise of 2.5% at $15.62. Platinum was trading up 0.3% at $907.99. Palladium turned down 0.8% to $689.72. (Reuters)