Newz Bits 100212

Highlights of the day

§         Economics (Industrial Production Index): December 2011: The year ended strongly but the future is meek. [download report]

The December industrial production index (IPI) for Malaysia grew by 3.0% y-o-y, from a revised 2.4% y-o-y in the previous month. The growth was driven by performance of the manufacturing index and recovery in the mining index. This suggests that the GDP growth for 4Q2011 and 2011 as a whole will be relatively strong. While the IPI and the domestic economy have shown resilience, we expect growth to taper off to a more measured pace in the near future. We project the IPI to grow slower at approximately 1.8% in January 2012. (refer to report for details)

Other reports

§         Newz Bits [download report]

Other Malaysian news

§         Berjaya Land: Sells BToto stake for RM80m cash

§         Proton: Group yet to decide on new management line up

§         Dijaya Corp: Moves on mixed projects

§         Hua Yang: To raise RM100m for acquisitions

§         Mahajaya: Takeover offer for Mahajaya at 85 sen each

§         Kumpulan Jetson: Buys China's Asian Corp

§         Automotive: VW to produce cars at Proton plant?

§         Commodity: Malaysia’s palm oil exports hit RM80bn in 2011

§         Construction: MRT Corp CEO clarifies tender evaluation process

§         Investment: Khazanah, PNB to divest 10 companies

§         Oil & Gas: Opec cuts 2012 global oil demand growth forecast

§         Economy: Total trade up 8.7%, thanks to Asia exports

§         Economy: Malaysian exports continue to grow despite economic headwinds

Global news

§         Indonesia: Bank Indonesia unexpectedly cuts reference rate

§         US: Labor-market gains

§         US: Wholesale inventories increase more than forecast

§         Europe: ECB keeps rate at 1% as focus turns to role in Greek debt swap

§         Europe: Juncker says Greek parliament must approve deal with troika

§         UK: BOE adds GBP50bn to stimulus on Euro ‘concerns’

§         UK: Manufacturing jumps by 1% as trade deficit shrinks

§         India: Trade deficit widens as import growth outpaces exports

§         South Korea: BoK holds rate for eighth month as growth slows

Visit ECM Libra at https://www.ecmlibra.com/ecmlsmy

Our on-line trading portal at www.ecmmoney.com