Dec 31, 2010 12:00 AM GMT+0800
Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s Goh Choon Phong, who takes over as chief executive officer tomorrow, may shed the last major remains of the carrier’s global expansion strategy as he confronts rising competition in Asia.
Goh, 47, may get offers for the airline’s 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic after the U.K. carrier said this month it had received tie-up inquiries. Outgoing CEO Chew Choon Seng called the investment “underperforming” two years ago and has said the airline would consider a sale.
In Asia, Goh faces low-fare competition on long-haul routes from Jetstar and AirAsia X Sdn., as well as renewed efforts by Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Korean Air Lines Co. to lure lucrative business-class travelers. Middle East carriers Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways Ltd. and Etihad Airways have also ordered close to 300 planes since 2007 as they build hubs linking Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Virgin, 51 percent owned by billionaire Richard Branson, hired Deutsche Bank AG to explore options as British Airways Plc boosts cooperation with American Airlines across the Atlantic and completes a merger with Madrid-based Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA. Singapore Air bought its stake in a 600 million-pound ($930 million) investment concluded in 2000.
Singapore Air would consider “interesting opportunities” for the stake, Nicholas Ionides, a spokesman, said in an e-mail. Goh, who joined the carrier as a cadet administrative officer in 1990 after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, declined interview requests, he said.
Virgin Offer
Whether Singapore Air will sell the Virgin stake will largely depend on what price is offered since the carrier isn’t short of funds, said Rohan Suppiah, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities Pte in Singapore.
“SIA isn’t in a hurry to sell, but if they get a fair price they will,” he said. “Virgin hasn’t provided any significant synergies over the years.”
Delta Air Lines Inc. and Middle East airlines are among carriers exploring a Virgin tie-up, Sky News reported this month, without saying where it got the information from. Singapore Air’s stake complicates a deal as local ownership rules limit non-European investors to minority stakes.
“Either Singapore Air sells or Branson loses effective control by selling part of his stake,” said Andrew Miller, chief executive officer of CAPA Consulting LLC, which advises airlines.
Very Supportive
Singapore Air is “very supportive of our business strategy including the review by Deutsche Bank,” Greg Dawson, a Virgin spokesman, said without elaborating. Virgin operates 38 twin- aisle planes, according to its website.
Chew’s predecessor, Cheong Choong Kong, bought stakes in Virgin and Air New Zealand Ltd. to expand overseas. The value of the Air NZ investment was written down in 2001, and the remaining holdings were sold off three years later. Virgin was expected to hold an initial public offering within three to five years of Singapore Air’s investment, Chew said in 2006.
Shares Trailing
Singapore Air, which operates 110 planes, has trailed the 15-stock Bloomberg Asia Pacific Airlines Index this year amid rising competition for premium and low-cost travelers. The shares have climbed 4 percent, compared with the index’s 27 percent gain.
Competition is intensifying in the premium market, which accounts for about 40 percent of Singapore Air’s sales. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is working on a HK$1 billion ($128 million) business-class upgrade to lure executive travelers.
Korean Air, which aims to get 50 percent of passenger sales from premium classes by 2019, will receive its first five Airbus SAS A380s next year. The superjumbos will each be fitted with 94 business-class seats, compared with the 60 found in Singapore Air’s A380s. Emirates is building a fleet of 90 A380s.
Budget Competition
Singapore Air has responded to budget competition through a 33 percent stake in Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. The low-cost affiliate, which operates from Singapore and Australia, plans to form a budget airline in Bangkok next year with Thai Airways International Pcl.
Tiger, Qantas Airways Ltd.’s Jetstar and AirAsia Bhd. are leading discount carriers’ market share gains in Asia as they add new planes. Budget airlines accounted for about 22 percent of passengers in the first 10 months of the year at Singapore’s Changi airport. That compares with 12 percent in 2008, according to data from operator Changi Airport Group.
Low-fare carriers are also adding intercontinental routes. Jetstar started flights to Melbourne from Singapore this month, touting fares 30 percent cheaper than full-service airlines. It plans to add more long-haul services next year. AirAsia’s long- haul affiliate is offering flights to Australia, London and Japan from its base in Kuala Lumpur.
Singapore Air’s corporate travel base and reputation will be an asset as Goh faces the new competition, said Steven Lim, who manages about $200 million at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Singapore. The carrier, among six airlines with Skytrax’s highest five-star rating, has also been profitable every year since going public in 1985.
“As a business hub, Singapore Air does enjoy the advantage of business travel,” Lim said. “Goh’s immediate challenge is to continue Chew’s good work, keep the company’s profit record intact and maintain the reputation Singapore Air has as a premium airline.”
Source : Bloomberg
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
UK Retails Up by 30% during Christmas Week
LONDON:
Sales in the week to Christmas Day had risen by 30.6% compared to the same period last year, to reach 97.1 million pounds ($149.9 million). Britain's retailers are hoping that shoppers will have turned out in force for the traditional Christmas holiday sales period, despite weather and transport problems.
However, most UK retailers are expecting lower sales in 2011 on the back of weak consumer demand and inflationary pressures, a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Monday.
The BRC's survey said nearly two-thirds of retailers it had contacted expected sales to worsen from 2010, and many also expected next year's rise in the VAT (value added tax) levy to impact consumers' spending.
"Our snapshot shows retailers expect a difficult December to be followed by a tough 2011. They believe the VAT rise will contribute to higher prices and, with fears about government cuts and the wider economy, people will be put off spending," BRC director general Stephen Robertson said in a statement.
The BRC added that retailers were still expected to create new jobs in 2011, although 24% of those surveyed said they expected to employ fewer people.
- Reuters
Sales in the week to Christmas Day had risen by 30.6% compared to the same period last year, to reach 97.1 million pounds ($149.9 million). Britain's retailers are hoping that shoppers will have turned out in force for the traditional Christmas holiday sales period, despite weather and transport problems.
However, most UK retailers are expecting lower sales in 2011 on the back of weak consumer demand and inflationary pressures, a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Monday.
The BRC's survey said nearly two-thirds of retailers it had contacted expected sales to worsen from 2010, and many also expected next year's rise in the VAT (value added tax) levy to impact consumers' spending.
"Our snapshot shows retailers expect a difficult December to be followed by a tough 2011. They believe the VAT rise will contribute to higher prices and, with fears about government cuts and the wider economy, people will be put off spending," BRC director general Stephen Robertson said in a statement.
The BRC added that retailers were still expected to create new jobs in 2011, although 24% of those surveyed said they expected to employ fewer people.
- Reuters
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
US QE2 "Stop Press"
- $600 billion purchase of Treasury continue
- The benchmark interest rate unchange for an “extended period.”
- Gains in manufacturing, retail sales and inflation.
- Dollar Strengthern
$600 billion purchase
The central bank has bought $114.1 billion of Treasuries since Nov. 12, when it began purchases under the program dubbed QE2 for the second round of so-called quantitative easing.
The Fed bought $1.7 trillion of mortgage debt and Treasuries in the first round through March 2010.
Interest Rate Target
Fed officials left their target for the federal funds rate, which covers overnight interbank loans, in a range of zero to 0.25 percent, marking two years of the policy.
Munufacturing and Retail Sales
Sales at U.S. retailers last month rose more than forecast, a government report showed today. Manufacturing expanded for a 16th consecutive month in November, and a measure of consumer confidence increased in December to a six-month high
Inflation
Inflation excluding food and fuel costs, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index, fell to 0.9 percent in October, the slowest pace since records began in 1960.
Central bankers prefer a long-run rate of 1.6 percent to 2 percent for the so-called core PCE gauge.
Inflation expectations for the next five years, as measured by the breakeven rate between nominal and inflation-indexed bonds, rose to 1.58 percent yesterday from 1.47 percent on Nov. 3.
Dollar Effect
Dollar strengthening has defied skeptics who said the policy would weaken the currency. Dollar has climbed 3.8 percent against a basket of six currencies.
Note On ... from Fed
The recovery “is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring down unemployment,” the Fed statement said. “Household spending is increasing at a moderate pace, but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit.”
Friday, December 10, 2010
US Latest Deficit Figure And Its Major Export Countries ...
The major US exporters this year are China, India, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and the rest of the Emerging Market from Latin America and Asia.
The trade deficit in the U.S. shrank more than forecast in October as a weaker dollar and growing economies overseas propelled exports to a two-year high.
The gap narrowed 13 percent to $38.7 billion, less than the lowest estimate of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the smallest since January, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Exports were the strongest since August 2008 as Mexico and China bought record amounts of U.S. products.
China, Brazil and South Korea are among the top-10 buyers of American-made goods. Imports stagnated in October as U.S. demand for crude oil plunged, an outcome that may prove to be temporary as the world’s largest economy picks up.
The trade gap was projected to be little-changed at $43.8 billion from an initially reported $44 billion in September, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed. Estimates ranged from deficits of $39.5 billion to $46.6 billion. The Commerce Department revised the September shortfall up to $44.6 billion.
After eliminating the influence of prices, which are the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the trade deficit fell to $45.2 billion, the lowest since April, from $50.3 billion. The figure was smaller than the third-quarter average, indicating trade will contribute to growth this quarter.
Sales Overseas
Exports increased 3.2 percent to $158.7 billion, boosted by sales of foods, automobiles, engines and industrial supplies like fuel oil and natural gas.
Growing overseas economies are also contributing to demand for U.S. goods. China, set to become the world’s second-largest economy this year, had a 9.6 percent gain in third-quarter gross domestic product from a year ago. Singapore, in the running to be the world’s fastest-growing economy this year, expanded 10.6 percent while Brazil, South America’s biggest economy, grew 6.7 percent.
Manufacturers Benefit
General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, Virginia, is seeing “strong international order activity and interest, particularly in the emerging markets,” Chief Executive Officer Jay Johnson said in a Dec. 2 industry conference presentation.
St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M, the maker of Scotch tape and films to brighten television screens, is expanding in emerging markets, which make up one-third of its sales and may climb to as much as 45 percent by 2015, according to company estimates.
“These opportunities continue to grow,” George W. Buckley, chief executive officer, said in a Dec. 7 conference call. Overseas sales will benefit from “India and Latin America, gathering momentum in sort of China-like style.”
Less Crude Oil
Imports fell 0.5 percent to $197.4 billion from $198.4 billion in the prior month. The value of crude oil purchases fell to $18.9 billion from $21 billion in September as the lowest volume since February swamped an increase in the fuel’s cost.
The trade gap with China shrank to $25.5 billion from $27.8 billion.
Improving U.S. demand and the need to restock inventories led to gains in imports that swamped the rise in exports over the past two quarters. A widening deficit subtracted 1.76 percentage points from GDP in the third quarter as the economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate.
(Source : Bloomberg)
The trade deficit in the U.S. shrank more than forecast in October as a weaker dollar and growing economies overseas propelled exports to a two-year high.
The gap narrowed 13 percent to $38.7 billion, less than the lowest estimate of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the smallest since January, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Exports were the strongest since August 2008 as Mexico and China bought record amounts of U.S. products.
China, Brazil and South Korea are among the top-10 buyers of American-made goods. Imports stagnated in October as U.S. demand for crude oil plunged, an outcome that may prove to be temporary as the world’s largest economy picks up.
The trade gap was projected to be little-changed at $43.8 billion from an initially reported $44 billion in September, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed. Estimates ranged from deficits of $39.5 billion to $46.6 billion. The Commerce Department revised the September shortfall up to $44.6 billion.
After eliminating the influence of prices, which are the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the trade deficit fell to $45.2 billion, the lowest since April, from $50.3 billion. The figure was smaller than the third-quarter average, indicating trade will contribute to growth this quarter.
Sales Overseas
Exports increased 3.2 percent to $158.7 billion, boosted by sales of foods, automobiles, engines and industrial supplies like fuel oil and natural gas.
Growing overseas economies are also contributing to demand for U.S. goods. China, set to become the world’s second-largest economy this year, had a 9.6 percent gain in third-quarter gross domestic product from a year ago. Singapore, in the running to be the world’s fastest-growing economy this year, expanded 10.6 percent while Brazil, South America’s biggest economy, grew 6.7 percent.
Manufacturers Benefit
General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, Virginia, is seeing “strong international order activity and interest, particularly in the emerging markets,” Chief Executive Officer Jay Johnson said in a Dec. 2 industry conference presentation.
St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M, the maker of Scotch tape and films to brighten television screens, is expanding in emerging markets, which make up one-third of its sales and may climb to as much as 45 percent by 2015, according to company estimates.
“These opportunities continue to grow,” George W. Buckley, chief executive officer, said in a Dec. 7 conference call. Overseas sales will benefit from “India and Latin America, gathering momentum in sort of China-like style.”
Less Crude Oil
Imports fell 0.5 percent to $197.4 billion from $198.4 billion in the prior month. The value of crude oil purchases fell to $18.9 billion from $21 billion in September as the lowest volume since February swamped an increase in the fuel’s cost.
The trade gap with China shrank to $25.5 billion from $27.8 billion.
Improving U.S. demand and the need to restock inventories led to gains in imports that swamped the rise in exports over the past two quarters. A widening deficit subtracted 1.76 percentage points from GDP in the third quarter as the economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate.
(Source : Bloomberg)
Monday, December 6, 2010
World's Most Innovative Country by 2020
China is set to become the world's most important centre for innovation by 2020, overtaking both the United States and Japan, according to a public opinion survey to be published on Monday.
China is already the world's second-largest economy, after establishing itself as the global workshop for manufacturing. Now it wants to move up the value chain by leading in invention as well.
Today, the United States ranks as the world's most innovative country, with 30 percent of people surveyed taking that view, followed by Japan on 25 percent and China on 14 percent.
Fast-forward 10 years, however, and 27 percent of people think China will be top dog, followed by India with 17 percent, the United States 14 percent and Japan 12 percent, according to the survey of 6,000 people in six countries done by drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The shift is not because the United States is doing less science and technology, but because countries like China and India are doing more - a fact reflected in a spike-up in successful Asian research efforts in recent years.
A study last month from Thomson Reuters showed China was now the second-largest producer of scientific papers, after the United States, and research and development (R&D) spending by Asian nations as a group in 2008 was $387 billion, compared with $384 billion in the United States and $280 billion in Europe.
Asian confidence
Working out just how fast the world's new emerging market giants are developing their know-how is critical to many technology-focused companies in the West, as they seek to redeploy R&D resources.
The pharmaceutical industry, in particular, has been anxious to tap into China's science base and many companies, including AstraZeneca, have established Chinese centres as they try to reignite R&D productivity in laboratories at home.
The survey across Britain, the United States, Sweden, Japan, India and China found a strong sense of optimism amongst people living in China and India, in contrast to relative pessimism in the developed Western economies.
More than half of those in China and India thought their home countries would be the most innovative in the world by 2020, while just one in 20 Britons thought Britain would be able to claim this title.
There was an notable east-west divide in views of what had been the most important scientific breakthroughs. People in Asia put communications and computing top, while US and European respondents placed equal importance on the invention of vaccines and antibiotics, the survey found.
Source:chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies
China is already the world's second-largest economy, after establishing itself as the global workshop for manufacturing. Now it wants to move up the value chain by leading in invention as well.
Today, the United States ranks as the world's most innovative country, with 30 percent of people surveyed taking that view, followed by Japan on 25 percent and China on 14 percent.
Fast-forward 10 years, however, and 27 percent of people think China will be top dog, followed by India with 17 percent, the United States 14 percent and Japan 12 percent, according to the survey of 6,000 people in six countries done by drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The shift is not because the United States is doing less science and technology, but because countries like China and India are doing more - a fact reflected in a spike-up in successful Asian research efforts in recent years.
A study last month from Thomson Reuters showed China was now the second-largest producer of scientific papers, after the United States, and research and development (R&D) spending by Asian nations as a group in 2008 was $387 billion, compared with $384 billion in the United States and $280 billion in Europe.
Asian confidence
Working out just how fast the world's new emerging market giants are developing their know-how is critical to many technology-focused companies in the West, as they seek to redeploy R&D resources.
The pharmaceutical industry, in particular, has been anxious to tap into China's science base and many companies, including AstraZeneca, have established Chinese centres as they try to reignite R&D productivity in laboratories at home.
The survey across Britain, the United States, Sweden, Japan, India and China found a strong sense of optimism amongst people living in China and India, in contrast to relative pessimism in the developed Western economies.
More than half of those in China and India thought their home countries would be the most innovative in the world by 2020, while just one in 20 Britons thought Britain would be able to claim this title.
There was an notable east-west divide in views of what had been the most important scientific breakthroughs. People in Asia put communications and computing top, while US and European respondents placed equal importance on the invention of vaccines and antibiotics, the survey found.
Source:chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies
Saturday, December 4, 2010
World's Largest Consumer of Gold
China inching closer to replace India as largest gold consumer
BEIJING: China's gold import has soared to a record of 209 tonnes this year, putting it on track to overtake India as the world's largest consumer of the yellow metal and become a significant force in global bullion prices, Press Trust of India (PTI) said.
The surge comes at a time when Chinese investors look for insurance against rising inflation and currency appreciation, the Financial Times reported.
China, already the largest bullion miner, imported more than 209 tonnes of gold during the first 10 months of the year, a five-fold increase from an estimate of 45 tonnes last year, paving the way for Beijing to overtake India as the world's largest consumer of gold.
Shanghai Gold Exchange chairman Shen Xiangrong said uncertainties about the Chinese and global economies and inflationary expectations had "made gold, as a hedging tool, very popular".
China's growing gold consumption came from all factors, including jewellery sales, private investment, as well as industrial and central bank demand.
In 2009, gold consumption in China reached 462 tonnes in all sectors and China's demand for gold has increased an average of 13% annually over the past five years, making China the world's second largest consumer market for gold after India, a local media reported.
China has encouraged retail consumption, with an announcement in August of measures to promote and regulate the local gold market, including expanding the number of banks allowed to import bullion.
The rise in Chinese demand could further inflate gold prices. Bullion hit a nominal all-time high of US$1,424.10 a troy ounce last month. But adjusted for inflation, prices are far from the 1980 peak of US$2,300, the Financial Times said.
Analysts anticipate a further leap this year, putting the country with in a striking distance of India's total gold demand of 612 tonnes in 2009, the paper said. - Bernama.
BEIJING: China's gold import has soared to a record of 209 tonnes this year, putting it on track to overtake India as the world's largest consumer of the yellow metal and become a significant force in global bullion prices, Press Trust of India (PTI) said.
The surge comes at a time when Chinese investors look for insurance against rising inflation and currency appreciation, the Financial Times reported.
China, already the largest bullion miner, imported more than 209 tonnes of gold during the first 10 months of the year, a five-fold increase from an estimate of 45 tonnes last year, paving the way for Beijing to overtake India as the world's largest consumer of gold.
Shanghai Gold Exchange chairman Shen Xiangrong said uncertainties about the Chinese and global economies and inflationary expectations had "made gold, as a hedging tool, very popular".
China's growing gold consumption came from all factors, including jewellery sales, private investment, as well as industrial and central bank demand.
In 2009, gold consumption in China reached 462 tonnes in all sectors and China's demand for gold has increased an average of 13% annually over the past five years, making China the world's second largest consumer market for gold after India, a local media reported.
China has encouraged retail consumption, with an announcement in August of measures to promote and regulate the local gold market, including expanding the number of banks allowed to import bullion.
The rise in Chinese demand could further inflate gold prices. Bullion hit a nominal all-time high of US$1,424.10 a troy ounce last month. But adjusted for inflation, prices are far from the 1980 peak of US$2,300, the Financial Times said.
Analysts anticipate a further leap this year, putting the country with in a striking distance of India's total gold demand of 612 tonnes in 2009, the paper said. - Bernama.
Friday, December 3, 2010
China Rate Hikes And The Yuan
China is tightening after a record expansion of credit countered the effects of the financial crisis. The nation lags behind counterparts from Malaysia to South Korea in boosting borrowing costs after raising the benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2007 in October.
Rate hikes are imminent and expectation is high by the end of the month, with more to come in 2011 according to a Hong Kong-based emerging-market strategist at Royal Bank of Canada
As a result, The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges is expected to slip accordingly.
With the rate increase, the yuan may strengthen at a “slightly” faster pace before year-end, said Shen Jianguang, a Hong Kong-based economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. who formerly worked for the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
‘Fast’ Growth
The one-year lending rate is at 5.56 percent after October’s quarter-point increase. Inflation pressures have been highlighted by companies including McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, pushing up prices.
South Korea has raised rates twice this year, Malaysia three times, India six and Thailand third in 2010.
At Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, economist Lu Ting said that continuing a “proactive” fiscal stance while tightening monetary policy will allow the government to maintain economic growth of around 9 percent. The nation’s expansion was 9.6 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.
Inflation Jumps
China October’s inflation rate of 4.4 percent was the highest in 25 months and the nation has had record property-price gains this year. Luxury-home costs in Beijing and Nanjing and so- called mass-market prices in Shanghai and Shenzhen have become “increasingly disconnected from fundamentals,” according to an International Monetary Fund study released today.
The announcement from the Politburo, the 25-member body that oversees the Communist Party and policy-making, came ahead of an annual economic work conference that will set guidelines for the coming year. That event may take place Dec. 10-12, Xinhua said.
Concern that monetary tightening will cut corporate profits and damp growth spurred a 6 percent sell-off in China’s benchmark stock index in the past month.
Officials have been shifting policy ahead of the change in terminology. Besides raising interest rates, the central bank has ratcheted up banks’ reserve requirements this year and ended the yuan’s temporary peg to the dollar.
Today’s announcement of a shift to a “prudent” policy had been predicted by economists including at Deutsche Bank AG. and China International Capital Corp. Central bank officials and advisers had also used the term.
( Source : Reuter )
Rate hikes are imminent and expectation is high by the end of the month, with more to come in 2011 according to a Hong Kong-based emerging-market strategist at Royal Bank of Canada
As a result, The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges is expected to slip accordingly.
With the rate increase, the yuan may strengthen at a “slightly” faster pace before year-end, said Shen Jianguang, a Hong Kong-based economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. who formerly worked for the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
‘Fast’ Growth
The one-year lending rate is at 5.56 percent after October’s quarter-point increase. Inflation pressures have been highlighted by companies including McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, pushing up prices.
South Korea has raised rates twice this year, Malaysia three times, India six and Thailand third in 2010.
At Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, economist Lu Ting said that continuing a “proactive” fiscal stance while tightening monetary policy will allow the government to maintain economic growth of around 9 percent. The nation’s expansion was 9.6 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.
Inflation Jumps
China October’s inflation rate of 4.4 percent was the highest in 25 months and the nation has had record property-price gains this year. Luxury-home costs in Beijing and Nanjing and so- called mass-market prices in Shanghai and Shenzhen have become “increasingly disconnected from fundamentals,” according to an International Monetary Fund study released today.
The announcement from the Politburo, the 25-member body that oversees the Communist Party and policy-making, came ahead of an annual economic work conference that will set guidelines for the coming year. That event may take place Dec. 10-12, Xinhua said.
Concern that monetary tightening will cut corporate profits and damp growth spurred a 6 percent sell-off in China’s benchmark stock index in the past month.
Officials have been shifting policy ahead of the change in terminology. Besides raising interest rates, the central bank has ratcheted up banks’ reserve requirements this year and ended the yuan’s temporary peg to the dollar.
Today’s announcement of a shift to a “prudent” policy had been predicted by economists including at Deutsche Bank AG. and China International Capital Corp. Central bank officials and advisers had also used the term.
( Source : Reuter )
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