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| UK home building hits highest since 2007 but still lags demand Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:52 PM PST  By Ana Nicolaci da Costa LONDON (Reuters) - New-home building in Britain last year hit its highest level since the financial crisis but remains far too low to meet a strong recovery in demand, an industry report showed on Friday. New home registrations in the UK increased by 28 percent in 2013 to 133,670, the highest number since 2007, according to data from the National House Building Council. But a mismatch between demand for homes and the number of properties coming on the market has pushed up house valuations and priced some people out of the property market, despite government programs to get them on the housing ladder. "Over the year, we have seen a genuine return of confidence to the industry as builders strive to meet the growing demand for new homes that the United Kingdom clearly needs," NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said. Full Story | Top |
| Japan inflation quickens to over five-year high, output rebounds Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:49 PM PST  By Leika Kihara and Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's core consumer inflation rose at the fastest pace in more than five years in December and the job market improved, encouraging signs for the Bank of Japan as it seeks to vanquish deflation with aggressive money printing. The data points to an economy that continues to pick up momentum on strong domestic demand. However, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda expressed some caution about export demand as many of Japan's Asian trading partners remain weak. "The core consumer price index was stronger than expected, and durable goods prices seem to be rebounding. Full Story | Top |
| Asian stocks slip, yen rises in holiday-hit trade Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:39 PM PST  By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks slipped on Friday, as fears about the impact of the Federal Reserve's stimulus withdrawal on emerging markets offset the reassurance of upbeat U.S. growth data. The U.S. dollar index was nearly flat on the day at 81.101 but remained close to a one-week high against a basket of major currencies hit on Thursday, when it rose as far as 81.135 from a session low of 80.545. Full Story | Top |
| Fall in UK living standards over, recovery will be slow - think tank Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:27 PM PST  British living standards have probably stopped falling, but there is little chance of a swift recovery to undo the damage from years of low pay growth and high inflation, a leading think-tank said on Thursday. Touching on a key issue before 2015 elections, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said real median household income seems to have stabilised in the 2013/14 fiscal year, after failing to keep up with inflation for the past five years. Adjusted for inflation, household income is now 6 percent lower than it was before the financial crisis, the IFS said in a report. Andrew Hood, an IFS research economist and one of the report's authors, said continued sluggish wage growth and a new cap on welfare payments meant the recovery in living standards would be slow, even as high inflation subsides. Full Story | Top |
| Honda Q3 net profit more than doubles to $1.56 billion Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:23 PM PST  Honda Motor Co's October-December net profit more than doubled to 160.7 billion yen ($1.56 billion), back to pre-Lehman crisis levels but lower than expectations, helped by strong sales of the redesigned Fit subcompact that went on sale in Japan in September. The results, announced by Japan's third-biggest automaker by sales volume on Friday, were below the average estimate of 172 billion yen in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of seven analysts. In the same period a year ago, Honda booked 77.4 billion yen in net profit. For the year ending in March 2014, Honda stuck to its forecast of 580 billion yen in net profit, below expectations of 603.4 billion yen in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey of 20 analysts. Full Story | Top |
| Rand under pressure but short-covering could offer respite Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:15 PM PST  Government bond yields continued their march upwards in a market that is pricing in further domestic monetary tightening this year after a surprise 50 basis point hike in the repo rate on Wednesday. At 0700 GMT yields on the 2026 government bond and the paper maturing in 2015 were each quoted 6 basis points higher at 8.905 percent and 7.355 percent respectively, compared to Thursday's closing levels. Full Story | Top |
| Australia permits dredge dumping near Great Barrier Reef for major coal port Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:11 PM PST  By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Great Barrier Reef watchdog gave the green light on Friday for millions of cubic meters of dredged mud to be dumped near the fragile reef to create the world's biggest coal port and possibly unlock $28 billion in coal projects. The dumping permit clears the way for a major expansion of the port of Abbot Point for two Indian firms and Australian billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, who together have $16 billion worth of coal projects in the untapped, inland Galilee Basin. "This is a significant milestone in developing our Galilee Basin coal projects, which represent the creation of over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and over $40 billion in taxes and royalties," said Darren Yeates, chief executive of GVK-Hancock, a joint venture between India's GVK conglomerate and Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Full Story | Top |
| AFRICA INVESTMEN: Weak rand shines warmly on South African tourism Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:09 PM PST By Stella Mapenzauswa CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African policymakers have watched in horror as the rand has plunged against the dollar over the last year, bringing inflation and higher interest rates, but the tourism industry is happily raking in the extra dollars. But he was quick to urge foreign currency earning industries such as tourism to seize the moment. Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda calls Congo 'crybaby' at UN, Congo says Rwanda 'arrogant' Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:03 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council stressed on Thursday that M23 rebels must be stopped from regrouping in Democratic Republic of Congo and expressed concern at Congolese soldiers aiding Rwandan Hutu militia, sparking a verbal clash between the countries' envoys. Rwanda's U.N. ambassador, Eugene Gasana - a temporary member of the 15-member Security Council - accused Congo of "crying like small babies," while his Congolese counterpart, Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta, said Rwanda's "arrogant behavior must stop." Rwanda has repeatedly intervened in Congo, saying it had to hunt down Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fled after Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Full Story | Top |
| In Egypt, just speaking to Brotherhood is a risk for foreign reporters Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:02 PM PST By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - When Hosni Mubarak was in power, a foreign journalist could spend unlimited time with members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, who roundly condemned the autocratic leader. The public prosecutor said on Wednesday that Egypt would put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman working for Al Jazeera on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a "terrorist organisation", a reference to the Brotherhood. Simply interacting with the Brotherhood may earn them prison sentences in Egypt, a major recipient of U.S. aid. Egypt has cracked down on dissent since the army toppled the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, the country's first freely elected president, in July after mass protests against him. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ Kuroda says ASEAN weakness behind soft exports Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:14 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday that sluggish economic growth in ASEAN nations is the key reason behind the slow pickup in domestic exports. "The pickup in Japan's exports has been quite modest," Kuroda told parliament. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shinichi Saoshiro) Full Story | Top |
| Thai polling stations might have to close if trouble on election day Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:58 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities might close polling booths if violence erupts during Sunday's disputed election which could further undermine the credibility of a vote that is deemed incapable of restoring stability in the polarized country. The government has vowed to push ahead with the general election despite threats by anti-government protesters, camped out at major intersections in Bangkok, that they will disrupt the polls in an attempt to stop Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Puea Thai Party from returning to power. The anti-government protesters took to the streets in November in the latest round of an eight-year conflict that pits Bangkok's middle class, southern Thais and the royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006. The prospect of polling stations having to close early because of trouble on the streets will only add to doubts about the vote's legitimacy. Full Story | Top |
| Hammer-wielding thieves rob Cartier store in midday Manhattan heist Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:20 PM PST Five masked men smashed a glass case in a posh New York City jewelry store on Thursday, grabbing 17 watches in a daring robbery in broad daylight, police said. The five men walked into the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan at about 12:30 p.m. EST, carrying hammers, police said. There were no arrests in the case, police said. Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda calls Congo 'crybaby' at U.N., Congo says Rwanda 'arrogant' Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:54 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council stressed on Thursday that M23 rebels must be stopped from regrouping in Democratic Republic of Congo and expressed concern at Congolese soldiers aiding Rwandan Hutu militia, sparking a verbal clash between the countries' envoys. Rwanda's U.N. ambassador, Eugene Gasana - a temporary member of the 15-member Security Council - accused Congo of "crying like small babies," while his Congolese counterpart, Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta, said Rwanda's "arrogant behavior must stop." Rwanda has repeatedly intervened in Congo, saying it had to hunt down Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fled after Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Top Obama aide predicts drama-free U.S. debt ceiling increase Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:54 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top White House official voiced confidence on Thursday that Republicans would agree in the next few weeks to lift the country's borrowing limit without using the confrontational tactics that rattled financial markets in past years. White House Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said she believes there is less appetite on Capitol Hill for the messy fiscal standoffs that have taken place in recent years, such as the 2011 struggle over the debt limit and last October's budget fight that led to a 16-day shutdown of the government. In an interview with Reuters, Burwell pointed to the passage earlier this month of a $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government funded for the next nine months. The vote to approve the budget bill followed an agreement reached in December between Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray that included some deficit reduction along with a modest easing of automatic budget cuts known as the "sequester." She said such deals suggested an interest in staying "away from a path of crisis" and said that bodes well for passage of a debt limit increase. Full Story | Top |
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