Canada central bank maintains key lending rate at 1%
POSTED: 17 Jul 2013 10:57 PM
Canada's central bank on Wednesday held its key interest rate at 1.0 per cent, while downgrading its global economic forecast.
OTTAWA: Canada's central bank on Wednesday held its key interest rate at 1.0 per cent, while downgrading its global economic forecast.
The Bank of Canada pointed to a struggling European economy and a slowdown in China, offsetting recent gains in Japan and the United States
"Global economic growth remains modest," the bank said in a statement.
It also hinted it would maintain for the foreseeable future its near historic low rate, which has been in place since September 2010.
"As long as there is significant slack in the Canadian economy, the inflation outlook remains muted, and imbalances in the household sector continue to evolve constructively, the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will remain appropriate," it said.
The bank noted that US economy is growing at a "moderate pace," with continued strengthening in private sector demand partly offset by the impact of fiscal consolidation.
Meanwhile Japan's recent stimulus has led to "a rapid recovery in economic growth," the bank said.
However, Europe's economy "remains weak" and economic growth in China and other emerging nations "has slowed, exerting downward pressure on global commodity prices."
"As a consequence, the bank has downgraded slightly its global growth forecast," it said, adding that the global economy is still expected to pick up in 2014 and 2015.
In Canada, growth is expected to be "choppy in the near term, owing to unusual temporary factors," the bank said.
Despite ongoing competitiveness challenges, Canadian exports are projected to "gather momentum," which in turn will boost confidence and lead to more business investment, it said.
The Canadian economy will also be supported by continued growth in consumer spending, while a bit less is expected to be spent on new homes.
- AFP/fa
- wong chee tat :)
Showing posts with label global credit crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global credit crisis. Show all posts
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Maybank's Singapore operations post marginal growth in income
Maybank's Singapore operations post marginal growth in income
By Millet Enriquez | Posted: 09 November 2012 2310 hrs
SINGAPORE : Malayan Banking's (Maybank) Singapore operations posted income of S$542.4 million for the nine months ended September.
In a news release, Maybank said the marginal 0.1 per cent growth in income was due to slowing growth in the city state.
However, total loans portfolio in the Singapore operations grew at an annualised 2.1 per cent to S$24.9 billion.
The portfolio consists of around 39 per cent consumer loans and 61 per cent corporate loans.
Maybank said the net impaired loans ratio was stable at 0.32 per cent as at September 2012.
Maybank has over 2,200 offices in 20 countries, but around 90 per cent of its group income and profit comes from the key markets of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
"While we cannot fully avoid the headwinds in the current global economic environment resulting in lower external demand, we remain reassured that our three home markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia will see resilient domestic growth. With our focus on the region, particularly ASEAN, we expect to register reasonable business growth for the full financial year," said Maybank president and CEO, Dato' Sri Abdul Wahid Omar in a statement.
Overall, Maybank posted a third-quarter net profit of 1.5 billion ringgit - up 13 per cent from 1.33 billion ringgit a year ago.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
By Millet Enriquez | Posted: 09 November 2012 2310 hrs
SINGAPORE : Malayan Banking's (Maybank) Singapore operations posted income of S$542.4 million for the nine months ended September.
In a news release, Maybank said the marginal 0.1 per cent growth in income was due to slowing growth in the city state.
However, total loans portfolio in the Singapore operations grew at an annualised 2.1 per cent to S$24.9 billion.
The portfolio consists of around 39 per cent consumer loans and 61 per cent corporate loans.
Maybank said the net impaired loans ratio was stable at 0.32 per cent as at September 2012.
Maybank has over 2,200 offices in 20 countries, but around 90 per cent of its group income and profit comes from the key markets of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
"While we cannot fully avoid the headwinds in the current global economic environment resulting in lower external demand, we remain reassured that our three home markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia will see resilient domestic growth. With our focus on the region, particularly ASEAN, we expect to register reasonable business growth for the full financial year," said Maybank president and CEO, Dato' Sri Abdul Wahid Omar in a statement.
Overall, Maybank posted a third-quarter net profit of 1.5 billion ringgit - up 13 per cent from 1.33 billion ringgit a year ago.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Global economic woes deepen
Global economic woes deepen
But there are signs of hope in Europe.
BERLIN - A SURGE in German unemployment and Asian job cuts signalled deeper distress in the world economy on Thursday but an index of European confidence beat expectations and traders took heart from a US economic rescue package.
Official figures showed the jobless total in Germany jumped 387,000 in January over the previous month to almost 3.5 million, well above forecasts for Europe's largest economy.
The unemployment rate surged to 8.3 per cent of the workforce from 7.4 per cent in December.
There was also dismal news on the labour front in Asia's largest economy with Japan's Nippon Sheet Glass Company saying it will shed 5,800 jobs by 2010 and Toshiba announcing plans to cut 4,500 jobs this year after going into the red.
Toshiba chief executive Atsushi Nishida told reporters that the company aimed to cut 300 billion yen (S$5 billion) in costs in the next financial year to weather the global crisis.
Other titans of Japanese industry were also showing the strain with Sony Corporation warning it remained on course for its biggest ever loss in the year to March following a fall in demand for televisions, cameras and games consoles.
Even Nintendo, which has enjoyed spectacular growth in earnings in recent years thanks to surging sales of the Wii and other game consoles, cut its annual net profit forecast by one-third to 230 billion yen.
The news in Europe, despite the German jobless rate, was not uniformly grim.
The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator dropped to 68.9 points in January from 70.4 in December, hitting the lowest level since the survey began in January 1985.
But the slide, less sharp than declines seen in recent months, was also not as deep as economists had expected, with their forecasts - as polled by Dow Jones Newswires - anticipating a decline to 64.9 points.
Recent business and consumer surveys in Germany and France have also shown marginal improvements, fuelling hopes that the recession may have hit bottom.
More than a million French workers nevertheless walked off the job on Thursday on a national day of strikes and protests against President Nicolas Sarkozy's handling of the economic crisis.
Many in France fear they will lose their jobs in a crisis they blame on bankers and the failures of the market and are demanding protection from layoffs, a boost to low wages and an end to public sector cutbacks.
Investors and analysts were meanwhile pinning hopes on President Barack Obama's US$819 billion plan to spark some life into the recession-strapped US economy.
The US House of Representatives approved the measure on Wednesday, without support from the opposition Republican Party, and the Senate will now vote on its own version of the bill before a final draft reconciling the two goes to Mr Obama for signature.
'I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk,' the president, who has pushed the Congress to pass a final measure by mid-February, said in a statement.
The stimulus plan includes about $275 billion in tax cuts, including a credit worth $500 for each worker and $1,000 for couples. Most of the package's value however is in infrastructure spending.
'The progress through the House of Representatives of the package with a comfortable margin will be cheering US sentiment but certainly no one will be under the illusion that this is the turning point for the economy,' said analyst James Hughes at CMC Markets in London.
Asian markets were lifted on Thursday by news of the plan's progress.
But Europe's main stock markets fall sharply in early trade, dragged down by the banking sector, which ended a brief rally on profit-taking.
In late morning deals, London fell 1.67 per cent. Frankfurt dropped 0.95 per cent and Paris lost 1.0 per cent nearing the half-way mark.
-- AFP
- wong chee tat :)
But there are signs of hope in Europe.
BERLIN - A SURGE in German unemployment and Asian job cuts signalled deeper distress in the world economy on Thursday but an index of European confidence beat expectations and traders took heart from a US economic rescue package.
Official figures showed the jobless total in Germany jumped 387,000 in January over the previous month to almost 3.5 million, well above forecasts for Europe's largest economy.
The unemployment rate surged to 8.3 per cent of the workforce from 7.4 per cent in December.
There was also dismal news on the labour front in Asia's largest economy with Japan's Nippon Sheet Glass Company saying it will shed 5,800 jobs by 2010 and Toshiba announcing plans to cut 4,500 jobs this year after going into the red.
Toshiba chief executive Atsushi Nishida told reporters that the company aimed to cut 300 billion yen (S$5 billion) in costs in the next financial year to weather the global crisis.
Other titans of Japanese industry were also showing the strain with Sony Corporation warning it remained on course for its biggest ever loss in the year to March following a fall in demand for televisions, cameras and games consoles.
Even Nintendo, which has enjoyed spectacular growth in earnings in recent years thanks to surging sales of the Wii and other game consoles, cut its annual net profit forecast by one-third to 230 billion yen.
The news in Europe, despite the German jobless rate, was not uniformly grim.
The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator dropped to 68.9 points in January from 70.4 in December, hitting the lowest level since the survey began in January 1985.
But the slide, less sharp than declines seen in recent months, was also not as deep as economists had expected, with their forecasts - as polled by Dow Jones Newswires - anticipating a decline to 64.9 points.
Recent business and consumer surveys in Germany and France have also shown marginal improvements, fuelling hopes that the recession may have hit bottom.
More than a million French workers nevertheless walked off the job on Thursday on a national day of strikes and protests against President Nicolas Sarkozy's handling of the economic crisis.
Many in France fear they will lose their jobs in a crisis they blame on bankers and the failures of the market and are demanding protection from layoffs, a boost to low wages and an end to public sector cutbacks.
Investors and analysts were meanwhile pinning hopes on President Barack Obama's US$819 billion plan to spark some life into the recession-strapped US economy.
The US House of Representatives approved the measure on Wednesday, without support from the opposition Republican Party, and the Senate will now vote on its own version of the bill before a final draft reconciling the two goes to Mr Obama for signature.
'I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk,' the president, who has pushed the Congress to pass a final measure by mid-February, said in a statement.
The stimulus plan includes about $275 billion in tax cuts, including a credit worth $500 for each worker and $1,000 for couples. Most of the package's value however is in infrastructure spending.
'The progress through the House of Representatives of the package with a comfortable margin will be cheering US sentiment but certainly no one will be under the illusion that this is the turning point for the economy,' said analyst James Hughes at CMC Markets in London.
Asian markets were lifted on Thursday by news of the plan's progress.
But Europe's main stock markets fall sharply in early trade, dragged down by the banking sector, which ended a brief rally on profit-taking.
In late morning deals, London fell 1.67 per cent. Frankfurt dropped 0.95 per cent and Paris lost 1.0 per cent nearing the half-way mark.
-- AFP
- wong chee tat :)
Global economic crisis will take more than a year to unravel: Tharman
Global economic crisis will take more than a year to unravel: Tharman
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam says it will take more than a year for the global economic crisis to unravel.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television on Thursday, Mr Tharman says the world has yet to see the worst of the downturn, as banks are still in contraction mode and focused on recapitalisation, rather than lending.
He said, "The foreign banks are still in the mode of contraction. I think every large global bank is still looking at building up its capital, much more than it's looking at extending new loans. So we are still at that phase of the crisis where recapitalisation is still the priority and estimates of the extent of bad assets on their books are still on the upswing. So, we haven't seen the worst yet."
Mr Tharman says that is why it is a good move for governments in the West to help these banks recapitalise and incentivise lending.
The minister also responded to criticism from some quarters that Singapore's economic growth model makes the country vulnerable to swings in global demand.
Mr Tharman says the country’s future and fortunes are tied to global markets.
As for investments by Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp in overseas banks, Mr Tharman says they have so far been so good, performing credibly by international standards.
- CNA/yt
- wong chee tat :)
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam says it will take more than a year for the global economic crisis to unravel.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television on Thursday, Mr Tharman says the world has yet to see the worst of the downturn, as banks are still in contraction mode and focused on recapitalisation, rather than lending.
He said, "The foreign banks are still in the mode of contraction. I think every large global bank is still looking at building up its capital, much more than it's looking at extending new loans. So we are still at that phase of the crisis where recapitalisation is still the priority and estimates of the extent of bad assets on their books are still on the upswing. So, we haven't seen the worst yet."
Mr Tharman says that is why it is a good move for governments in the West to help these banks recapitalise and incentivise lending.
The minister also responded to criticism from some quarters that Singapore's economic growth model makes the country vulnerable to swings in global demand.
Mr Tharman says the country’s future and fortunes are tied to global markets.
As for investments by Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp in overseas banks, Mr Tharman says they have so far been so good, performing credibly by international standards.
- CNA/yt
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Exhibitors cut prices at SITEX fair to lure customers amid downturn
Exhibitors cut prices at SITEX fair to lure customers amid downturn
By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 27 November 2008 1831 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's SITEX exhibition, one of Southeast Asia's largest consumer electronics fair is well-known for its cheap bargains and massive crowds. But the exhibition, now into its 20th year, is already feeling the effects of slowing global consumer demand.
The 200 exhibitors are gearing up for a marketing war as they fight to attract some of the 800,000 customers expected to visit the fair by Sunday.
Last year, revenue from total sales at the SITEX exhibition was about S$40 million. But this year, organisers said they will be happy if they come close to that amount.
Exhibitors are slashing their already discounted prices by as much as 12 per cent.
Anantha Sai, general manager, Suzuki Technology, said: "Exhibitors on the whole have priced their products less than last year even when compared with the PC Show, which was held in September. The prices for SITEX are really attractive and keeping in with the current economic situation worldwide."
Oliver Novilla, manager, Axioo, said: "Our prices dropped by 10 per cent. Most of the brands now are dropping their prices. It's a big challenge for everybody now."
To meet the challenge, exhibitors like Suzuki are giving away more freebies and offering better deals if customers trade in their laptops.
The organiser of SITEX expects retailers to take advantage of such exhibitions as they face even tougher times next year.
Edwin Low, CEO, Singex Venues, said: "At the same time, exhibitors will be more aggressive. They will not just depend on the normal ways of retailing the channels. So what they will do is see this as a new channel to do the sales."
For now, exhibitors are hoping for better sales from the traditional surge in shoppers over the weekend.
[Picture from VR-Zone]
- CNA/vm
- wong chee tat :)
By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 27 November 2008 1831 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's SITEX exhibition, one of Southeast Asia's largest consumer electronics fair is well-known for its cheap bargains and massive crowds. But the exhibition, now into its 20th year, is already feeling the effects of slowing global consumer demand.
The 200 exhibitors are gearing up for a marketing war as they fight to attract some of the 800,000 customers expected to visit the fair by Sunday.
Last year, revenue from total sales at the SITEX exhibition was about S$40 million. But this year, organisers said they will be happy if they come close to that amount.
Exhibitors are slashing their already discounted prices by as much as 12 per cent.
Anantha Sai, general manager, Suzuki Technology, said: "Exhibitors on the whole have priced their products less than last year even when compared with the PC Show, which was held in September. The prices for SITEX are really attractive and keeping in with the current economic situation worldwide."
Oliver Novilla, manager, Axioo, said: "Our prices dropped by 10 per cent. Most of the brands now are dropping their prices. It's a big challenge for everybody now."
To meet the challenge, exhibitors like Suzuki are giving away more freebies and offering better deals if customers trade in their laptops.
The organiser of SITEX expects retailers to take advantage of such exhibitions as they face even tougher times next year.
Edwin Low, CEO, Singex Venues, said: "At the same time, exhibitors will be more aggressive. They will not just depend on the normal ways of retailing the channels. So what they will do is see this as a new channel to do the sales."
For now, exhibitors are hoping for better sales from the traditional surge in shoppers over the weekend.
[Picture from VR-Zone]
- CNA/vm
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, November 7, 2008
DBS cuts 900 jobs, reports 38% fall in Q3 profit
DBS cuts 900 jobs, reports 38% fall in Q3 profit
Posted: 07 November 2008 1405 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest bank by assets, said on Friday it would be laying off 900 staff to trim costs amid the global credit crisis. The bank also reported a drop in third quarter net profit.
Chief executive Richard Stanley said most of the cuts, which would be carried out at the end of the month, will come from its offices in Singapore and Hong Kong and will account for 6 per cent of the workforce. He added that this was the largest lay offs ever.
The job cut will be across all businesses and all levels. The bank did not want to specify if the affected staff would come from DBS or POSBank.
Laid off staff will be paid the equivalent of one month's salary for every year of service as per market practice.
"To be a streamlined organisation, I believe we must run a tighter ship," he told reporters.
He added: "We have been vigilant on costs, but as the economy enters a more difficult and uncertain phase, many financial institutions around the world and in Asia have made headcount reductions.
"To be more productive and efficient, we will restructure and streamline the organisation. Regrettably, this has resulted in the need to reduce our workforce by six per cent or about 900 people, primarily (in) Singapore and Hong Kong, by the end of the month."
DBS said it has no plans to cut beyond this and also clarified that there are no plans for salary cuts. Back in 2001, DBS laid off 200 staff in Singapore and implemented pay cuts.
The bank said the affected staff have not been informed and it stressed that this retrenchment exercise has nothing to do with DBS' sale of structured products linked to failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Mr Stanley said: "We're still distributing unit trusts, basic products are still being sold and distributed. Once the dust settles, we will be coming up with more products... at a higher standard."
The bank added that so far no lawsuits have been filed against them. It has already made payouts to a small number of affected investors in Singapore and Hong Kong.
DBS declined to provide details on the number of investors who have been compensated, but said they make up a small percentage of the total number of claims. It said the S$70 million charge it had set aside in the third quarter for compensation to certain investors is sufficient.
It also clarified that investors of its DBS Triple Happiness Capital Guaranteed Fund had received letters from the bank explaining about AIG and what could potentially happen to their investments. It added they have no cause for concern even though the fund is guaranteed by a subsidiary of US insurer AIG.
Earlier on Friday, DBS said net profit in the three months to September fell 38 per cent as market-related income took a hit from the global financial crisis and bigger provisions. Third quarter net profit totalled S$379 million, down from S$610 million in the same period last year, it said in a statement.
Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted an average S$572 million net profit.
Mr Stanley said: "The operating environment is increasingly challenging for financial institutions the world over.
"We took upfront prudential levels of allowances to strengthen our balance sheet and with strong capital and liquidity, I believe we are well positioned to ride out the uncertainties ahead."
Net interest income in the September quarter grew 2 per cent to S$1.07 billion from last year, but net fee and commission revenues dropped 22 per cent to S$316 million. Other non-interest income plunged 87 per cent on-year to S$11 million.
The bank said it set aside S$129 million in provisions, compared with just S$10 million a year ago, partly to cover its collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) portfolio.
CDOs are securities backed by a range of assets including bonds, loans and their derivatives such as corporate loans, high-grade mortgages, sub-prime mortgages, car loans and credit card debt.
DBS was the last of three local banks to report earnings for the September quarter.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said earlier this week that its third quarter net profit fell 13 per cent, while United Overseas Bank reported last week a 5.1 per cent drop in profit for the same period.
Singapore's deputy labour chief said retrenchments would still remain relatively low this year at about 10,000 jobs.
Heng Chee How, deputy secretary-general of NTUC, said: "For this year, overall retrenchments for Singapore will still remain relatively low, perhaps round about the 10,000 mark or slightly below that. That is because this recession has just started towards the end of the year, so we think that the unemployment and retrenchment numbers will go up next year."
He said with greater cost-consciousness, some companies are not retrenching staff, but going for reduced hours to cut costs. Mr Heng added that it is even more crucial at this point to ramp up retraining.
One bright spark in all of this is that the construction, land transport and healthcare sectors will still see strong demand for jobs.
- wong chee tat :)
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