US economy growing, price gains slight

The report, which collects views of economists, business contacts and others in the 12 Federal Reserve districts in preparation for the monetary policy meeting next month, noted improved retail sales and home construction in most regions.

 News Briefs

The US economy continues to expand nationwide with only slight upward price pressures despite reports of tightening labor markets and higher wages, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey said Wednesday.

All but two of the 12 Fed districts reported at least a slight increase in economic activity, with only New York seeing no expansion at all, and six reporting "moderate" growth and four describing it as "modest." But the strong dollar is weighing on manufacturing in some districts.

However, the manufacturing situation was mixed "with the strong dollar being cited as a headwind to more robust demand in a few Districts," the report said.

In addition, vehicle sales fell in most regions, which some said "might be attributed to uncertainty surrounding the presidential election" that took place November 8.

Analysts are nearly unanimous in expecting the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee to raise the key benchmark interest rate when it next meets December 13-14, which would be the first hike in a year and only the second since rates were lowered to near zero in December 2008.

A key factor policymakers are watching are signs of inflation, including rising wages.

The Fed report noted that employment had continued to expand and seven districts saw signs of tighter labor conditions, including reports from staffing agencies of rising wages and difficulty filling positions.

Even so, it said, "As in the past four Beige Books, wage growth was characterized generally as modest."

In addition, there was only "slight price growth" reported, as three districts saw modest prices increases, while in the others the rise was described as slight or limited.

Residential real-estate activity improved nationwide, with home construction and prices up in most districts. However, the declining supply of homes for sale in most areas is said to be restraining sales.

The energy sector continued to improve, albeit slowly, in most areas, with four districts reporting slight increases in oil and gas drilling.

Contacts in Dallas continue to expect a gradual pickup in activity next year, but the outlook has moderated.

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Italian banks weigh on European stock markets

Around midday, shares in Italian lenders Unicredit and Banco Popolare were down 4 percent compared with Friday's closing levels.

News Briefs

European stock markets retreated Monday, dragged down by falling banking stocks ahead of a crucial Italian referendum at the end of week.

The poor sentiment extended to the rest of Europe, with Royal Bank of Scotland shedding 2.6 percent, Deutsche Bank losing 2.1 percent and Societe Generale down 1.6 percent.

Tensions between Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the EU have reached a boiling point ahead of Sunday's referendum on constitutional reform.

"It's a key moment for Italy's banks," noted Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital.

"Sunday's referendum on constitutional reform is Italy's Brexit moment and a No vote would send tremendous shockwaves through the markets and the banking system.

"It could also heap pressure on the euro. Already crushed post-Trump, the euro could hit parity with the dollar if Renzi loses as Italy's place in the eurozone could be doubt," Wilson predicted.

- OPEC decision -

Focus was also on the oil market ahead of a key OPEC output meeting Wednesday.

"Equities have started the week on the back foot, with investors concerned about Wednesday's OPEC meeting being a waste of time and next Sunday's Italian referendum having potential to send shivers through Europe's banking sector," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

Crude prices saw fresh losses, after both main contracts slumped around four percent on Friday on disagreements over plans to cut output, with Iran and Iraq pressing to be excluded and Russia suggesting it will only freeze output.

Elsewhere Monday, Hong Kong led gains in most Asian stock markets after officials announced the start of a long-awaited link-up with Shenzhen, but the dollar retreated against most peers after its recent surge.

Officials on Friday announced that the tie-up between the Hong Kong and Shenzhen markets would start on December 5.

The scheme will give Hong Kong traders access to the mainland's second stock exchange, the world's eighth largest with a market capitalisation of $3.3 trillion as of September.

The link follows a similar "stock connect" between Shanghai and Hong Kong launched two years ago, which gave foreigners new access to Chinese companies not quoted elsewhere, and enabled mainlanders to trade in Hong Kong.

The city's Hang Seng Index finished up 0.5 percent, though Shenzhen slipped 0.1 percent by the close. Shanghai ended up 0.5 percent.

Most other regional stock markets were up, extending last week's gains on bets that Donald Trump's spending plans would boost US economic growth.

- Key figures around 1130 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,801.54

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.8 percent at 10,616.83

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,522.52

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,028.91

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 18,356.89 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.5 percent at 22,830.57 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,277.00 (close)

Shenzhen - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,126.82 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 19,152.14 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0634 from $1.0595 Friday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 112.39 yen from 113.15 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2430 from $1.2478

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 33 cents at $45.73 a barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 30 cents at $46.94

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Most Asia markets up but dollar slips against peers

Officials on Friday's said the tie-up between the Hong Kong and Shenzhen markets will start on December 5.

News Briefs

Hong Kong led a gain in most Asian markets Monday after officials announced the start of a long-awaited link-up with Shenzhen, but the dollar retreated against most of its peers after its recent surge.

Crude prices also saw fresh losses, after both main contracts slumped around four percent on Friday owing to disagreements over plans to cut output, with Iran and Iraq pressing to be excluded and Russia suggesting it will only freeze output.

The scheme will give Hong Kong traders access to the mainland's second stock exchange, the world’s eighth largest with a market capitalisation of $3.3 trillion as of September. 

The tie-up follows a similar "stock connect" between Shanghai and Hong Kong launched two years ago, which gave foreigners new access to Chinese companies not quoted elsewhere, and enabled mainlanders to trade in Hong Kong.

The city's Hang Seng Index soared more than one percent in the afternoon, though Shenzhen slipped 0.1 percent by the close. Shanghai ended up 0.5 percent.

Most other regional stock markets were up, extending last week's gains on bets Donald Trump's spending plans will ramp up growth in the US economy.

Seoul rose 0.2 percent, Singapore added 0.8 percent and Wellington added 0.1 percent but Sydney dipped 0.8 percent.

Tokyo shed 0.1 percent after a seven-day winning run that took it to an 11-month high, with exporters hit by a slight recovery in the yen against the dollar.

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Incoming Lithuania PM vows strong economy, defence

Saulius Skvernelis, a former police chief and interior minister, secured the approval of 90 lawmakers in the 141-seat Baltic state parliament. 

 News Briefs

Lithuania's new prime minister vowed to fight social inequality and boost defence in the face of a sabre-rattling Russia as he won parliamentary approval on Tuesday.

The 46-year-old centrist immediately vowed to curb social inequality and slow emigration to richer Western European nations like Britain.

"More people must feel economic growth. It's a huge challenge," he told lawmakers. 

He also pledged to meet a NATO target to devote at least two percent of annual economic output to defence spending by 2018.

The Baltics have been concerned about a resurgent Russia since it annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Lithuania reinstated limited conscription last year, with an annual draft of more than 3,000 men between the ages of 19 and 26 for a nine-month period. 

Skvernelis said he would discuss increasing the numbers with the president and military chiefs.

Lithuania is especially concerned about Russia, whose highly militarised Kaliningrad exclave borders the country.

But President Dalia Grybauskaite will remain the key decision-maker on security and foreign policy, according to Ramunas Vilpisauskas, director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius. 

"Foreign and defence policies are going to continue their current course while economic and social policies might focus more on regional developments and pension reform," he told AFP.

Skvernelis now has 15 days to present a cabinet consisting of the Peasant and Green's Union (LPGU) and junior partner, the Social Democrats.

Skvernelis led the LPGU to its general election victory in October but is not a party member.

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UK's Brexit party faces financial probe

United Kingdom Independence Party accused of misspending thousands in EU funding

 News Briefs

A party which successfully campaigned for Britain to vote to leave the EU will face a financial investigation, the U.K.’s electoral watchdog said Tuesday.

The Electoral Commission’s decision to probe the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) followed a European Parliament investigation which alleged Monday UKIP misspent funds totaling thousands of pounds.

According to the European Parliament, almost £146,700 ($183,000) allocated for parliamentary business had been used to benefit the party itself.

A group to which UKIP belongs -- the Europe-wide ADDE (Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe) -- is at the center of that investigation.

The U.K.’s Electoral Commission confirmed Tuesday it had been contacted by the European Parliament which had “formally concluded that ADDE and IDDE [the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe] used EU grant funding for the benefit of UKIP in breach of its rules”.

UKIP now faces a further investigation to see if its financing has been in breach of British electoral law.

The party’s interim leader, Nigel Farage, also made headlines Tuesday after a tweet from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appeared to endorse Farage as a possible British ambassador to Washington.

Figures in the British government later denied there was a vacancy.

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Muslim world's economic challenges focus in Istanbul

Ministers from 57 OIC member states will discuss how to develop Islamic finance in their countries

 News Briefs

Business and political leaders from around the Islamic world will meet in Istanbul starting Monday to discuss and address the economic challenges their countries face.

The Standing Committee for Commercial and Economic Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a major economic body for Islamic countries, will have its 32nd meeting in Istanbul on Nov. 21-24, the Turkish Development Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

The meeting’s ministerial session will start on Wednesday, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to address the opening, the statement added.

Ministers from 57 OIC member countries will discuss how to develop Islamic finance in the member countries after the opening Wednesday.

Additionally, given the importance of Islamic finance, a number of high-level panels will be held on the sidelines of the meeting on such subjects as the essentials of Islamic finance and using Islamic finance in financing infrastructure, with the participation of high-level representatives from member countries and OIC institutions as well as other international organizations, NGOs, think-tanks, private sector organizations, and academia, the statement added.

Borsa Istanbul, Turkey's main stock exchange, will make a presentation for the establishment of the COMCEC Gold Exchange at the meeting.

COMCEC, which aims to become a policy dialogue platform for producing and disseminating knowledge, sharing experience and best practices, developing a common understanding, and approximating policies among member countries, was established in Mecca in 1981.

Describing itself as “the main multilateral economic and commercial cooperation platform of the Islamic world,” COMCEC convenes annually at the ministerial level in Istanbul under the chairmanship of Turkey’s president "to address the common problems of the Muslim world.”

The OIC’s 57 member states are also members of COMCEC, and there are also five countries with observer status.

Turkey's Development Ministry coordinates COMCEC’s activities in Turkey.

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Canada, Mexico talk future of free trade agreement

Trump calls it ‘worst trade deal’, promises to renegotiate NAFTA or scrap it

 News Desk

Canada and Mexico met Saturday at an economic summit in Peru to discuss what repercussions the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president would have on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

No statement was released following the meeting but Canadian media reported earlier this week that the leaders of Canada and Mexico held talks on NAFTA in the days between Trump’s election and the conference.

The agreement signed in 1994 by the United States, Canada and Mexico, removed tariffs on many goods traded among the three countries, with most of the exports going to the huge United States market.

Trump has called NAFTA “the worst trade deal in the history of the country” and during his presidential campaign said he would scrap it if it could not be renegotiated.

The heads of the Canadian and Mexican governments are using the 21-country two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to mull Trump’s rebuke of NAFTA and plot strategy to save the deal.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the days leading up to Saturday’s meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico, tried to allay fears about the future of NAFTA and said he would be willing to renegotiate the deal.

“When I say that I’m open to talking about NAFTA, open to talking about trade deals, that’s the way I govern,” Trudeau said, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada’s national news service. “I’m always open to talking about whatever people want to talk about.”

Trudeau added that if Trump wants to renegotiate the deal, it would not be the first time the NAFTA was amended.

“The fact is that NAFTA has been amended and tweaked and improved and adjusted a dozen times over the past 20 years, so we’re always looking at opportunities to make it better and stronger,” he said.

The two men will also hold frequent talks in future about NAFTA while Trump is busy assembling his government team, members of which do not yet have access to national security and economic policy, the Globe reported.

If NAFTA is killed, Canada can resurrect a 1984 free trade deal that was replaced by NAFTA, but Mexico does not have that option, the Globe reported.

The free trade deal affects about 530 million people in the three countries, Fox News Latino reported.

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Turkey’s dynamic benefits foreign investors

Experts draw attention to demography, industrialization that will draw more foreign investment

News Desk

Turkey's investment environment will have a positive medium- and long-term effect on foreign investors, experts said on Wednesday. 

"Most of foreign investors come to Turkey focusing on the country's demography," said Mahmut Unlu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of financial services group Unlu & Co. 

"Turkey has a population over 80 million, while half of the population is under 30 years of age," he said. 

Unlu added that Turkey's improved industrial base, strong banking system and generally better educated population, compared to peers in the region, are major factors foreign investors continue to choose Turkey for investment. 

"Strong banking system is always a plus. With reforms since 2001, Turkey strengthened its banking sector, which proved its resilience against global financial crisis," he said. 

Unlu is in New York with a group of Turkish businessmen and officials from the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) to explain the investment environment in Turkey to American investors. 

"We told American investors the level of Turkish industry has reached and told them about the opportunities it can offer. They asked us about economic performance, other investors' behavior in Turkey and incentives the government can offer," he said. 

Unlu emphasized that investment opportunities Turkey can offer are greater, compared to other developing markets. "That is why foreign investment continues to rise in Turkey," he said. 

The chairman noted that despite the Fetullah Terror Organization's (FETO) failed coup attempt in July, more than $300 million in foreign investment has since poured into Turkey's stock market. 

"Around 50 to 60 percent of total foreign investment coming to Turkey is from Europe, while the U.S. has a 5 to 10 percent share in this. We want American companies to invest more in Turkey," Unlu added.  

Ege Yazgan, professor of economics and vice rector at Istanbul Bilgi University, also believes Turkey's demography and population are positive factors for foreign companies wanting to  invest. 

He also emphasized that Turkey's rising trend in economy, finance and industrialization will benefit American investors in the long run, despite rating downgrades by Moody's and Standard & Poor's that followed the coup attempt.  

"We met with officials in Moody's and tried to explain to them how their perception was solely focused on short-term developments, rather than long-term trends," Yazgan said. 

He stressed that Turkey aims to become an industrial hub in the region that will benefit foreign investors, and highlighted the country's strong public finances.

"In the case of any negative developments in the economy that would weaken consumption, this can quickly be compensated for by government spending. Turkey has the economic tools to eliminate short-term negative conditions," he said. 

AA

Turkey to become high purity boron producer

Turkey aims to export elemental boron with 96% purity, the production technology of which it recently developed

 News Desk

With Turkey's recently developed technology to produce elemental boron with 96 percent purity, the country is set to export the material in the coming years. 

The project, developed by Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara in cooperation with a defense industry firm, will be used particularly in fuel supplies for space rockets and for long-range missiles.

"There have been very important research and development studies regarding boron in recent years, and the most valuable product that is developed from boron is 'elemental boron'," Mukerrem Sahin, head of the project team and assistant professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Middle East Technical University (METU) told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

"It is a well-known fact that these kinds of products are widely used in the space and aviation defense industry and in long-range missiles. As a result of our studies which have been ongoing for a while, the laboratory and industrial conditions of the boron have been finalized and it is now at the production stage. The necessary approval and accreditation process is ongoing," he noted.

Preliminary approval has been given to the team who applied for a patent for the technology, Sahin said.

"A facility to develop elemental boron with this new technology has been constructed. This represents the first facility to be established, and thanks to it, we learnt that Turkey is able to develop this technology at an industrial scale," he asserted.

Sahin hailed the project as important for Turkey as one of the few countries capable of producing the product with such purity on a global scale.

"In the end, we are able to construct the system to develop our product with 96 percent purity. Product analyses showed that the product with such purity can be used in long-range missiles and space rockets. This is very important since there are only three to five countries which produces pure boron on such a scale," he said.

The U.S., Russia and Israel are some of these countries which developed the technology to attain high purity boron at an industrial scale and are exporting the product all around the world.

Sahin shared that the price of boron per ton is normally between $300 and $400, however, the new boron product's value per ton will increase to between $4 and $5 million.

"Therefore this product will contribute to Turkey's export potential. We now aim to construct a bigger facility to produce this elemental boron," he said.

The most critical boron deposits around the globe are in Turkey, Russia and the U.S. Turkey is ranked top with its share of almost 73 percent in the global boron reserve standing, according to Turkey's National Boron Research Institute BOREN.

Boron is generally used in household and industrial cleaners for cleaning, laundering or bleaching. It is used in soaps, detergents, as well as personal care materials such as whitening tooth pastes.  

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China’s Xi to Trump: Cooperation is only right choice

President Xi tells US president-elect that progress in relations beneficial to people of two countries, stability worldwide

 News Desk

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told United States President-elect Donald Trump that cooperation “is the only right choice” for the world’s two largest economies, according to state media.

China Radio International reported that during a phone conversation Monday, Xi called for both countries to seize current opportunities.

He hailed the progress experienced in bilateral relations during the past 37 years, which he described as beneficial to “both the people of the two countries, and world peace and stability”.

Trump, who won last week’s presidential election, was quoted as saying that China is a “great and important country” and assuring that both countries could cooperate toward win-win results.

During election campaigning, Trump had made comments critical of Beijing, saying he wanted to impose tariffs on imports from China and promising to bring back American jobs he said were lost to the Asian country.

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India and Japan sign nuclear power deal

Pact - signed during India PM trip to Tokyo - is first such deal with a nonmember of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

 News Desk

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe have signed a civilian nuclear cooperation pact on the Indian premier’s first day of a visit to the region.

The pact is the first such deal with a nonmember of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and paves the way for Japan to export nuclear power technology and equipment to the fast-growing South Asian country.

Abe told a joint press conference Friday that the agreement is a legal framework that will ensure India will take responsible action regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

"It leads to India virtually taking part in the international regime," Kyodo news agency reported Abe as telling a joint press conference after the two leaders had held talks in Tokyo.

"It matches with our country's stance to promote nonproliferation and a world without nuclear weapons."

The deal includes a separate document to ensure that the nuclear cooperation will not be diverted to military use.

It allows Japan to halt its nuclear cooperation if India breaches its commitment made in September 2008 to a "moratorium on nuclear testing".

Modi's weekend visit to the country is expected to also see the endorsement of a sale of 12 seaplanes to the Indian Air Force -- the first overseas sale of military equipment since the Abe government lifted Japan’s longstanding prohibition against armaments exports.

Both deals reflect the priorities of the Abe administration, in boosting the economy by selling world-class Japanese technology, which in many areas is the best in the world.

Abe has led trade missions on nuclear reactors to Turkey among others.

The deals also reflect Abe's government’s long-standing courting of India as a potential strategic counterweight to China.

Concluding a nuclear power cooperation agreement is a necessary prerequisite to exporting nuclear reactors, but more importantly reactor parts and components for reactors.

Japan has near monopolies on several critical components that go into commonly built reactors.

The market for such components in Japan has all but dried up due to the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which shut down the entire industry.

Only three reactors have been allowed to restart operations.

At the same time, India is facing power shortages as its economy grows and it needs to accommodate a growing population. It has one of the most ambitious nuclear power programs in the post-Fukushima world with 18 reactors on the drawing boards.

The nuclear agreement has been in the works for several years. Ironically, talks were started under the premiership of Naoto Kan, who was in power when an earthquake and tsunami destroyed nuclear plants at Fukushima.

Kan has since turned into an anti-nuclear power crusader.

The principal hang up to the deal was the NPT, which New Delhi has declined to sign -- joining Pakistan, and Israel among the handful of non-treaty states. North Korea did sign but withdrew in 2003 as it embarked on its nuclear weapons program.

Tokyo maintains that New Delhi agreed to include a “termination” clause in the agreement, negating the document should India conduct any nuclear weapons tests.

In the past the Indians have balked at this language.

The Japanese side has trumpeted this apparent concession as a major victory yet Indian sources have maintained that New Delhi’s insistence on keeping the test option open has somehow been accommodated.

India declared a moratorium on nuclear bomb tests after it conducted a series of such tests in 1998.

Many of the details in the agreement are obscure or confidential. That includes New Delhi’s position on allocating blame in the event of an accident.

In most of the world the owners and plant operators are liable for damages in such circumstances. India extends liability to everyone in the supply train.

India’s expansive position on liability has deterred some vendors from attempting to enter the Indian market. However, the Indian government is sensitive to public opinion that was set in the wake of the Bhopal disaster -- a gas leak that led to the what has become known as the world's worst industrial disaster.

Over the weekend, the two sides are also expected to also sign an agreement to purchase for $1.5 billion 12 U.S.-2 seaplanes for air sea rescue (not to be confused with the American U-2 spy plane of the Cold War).

The U.S.-2 is reputed to be the only seaplane that can land in rough ocean waters.

It will be the first Japanese military equipment sale since the lifting of the export ban by the Abe government, and the first sale since the unsuccessful bid to build submarines for Australia -- a contract that went to France.

OPEC oil gushes ahead of talks to cut output

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in September in Algiers to trim production but the accord still has to be finalised on November 30 in Vienna.

 News Desk

OPEC said Friday that it pumped oil at record levels last month even though the cartel aims to agree a production cut in less than three weeks in an effort to boost prices.

In its November monthly report, OPEC said that its 14 members pumped 33.64 million barrels a day (mb/d) in October, 236,000 barrels more than in September.

Saudi Arabia's output fell 51,700 bpd to 10.5 mb/d but Iraq and Iran, the next biggest producers, registered increases, as did Libya and Nigeria, the report said.

Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch foe, in particular is keen to keep the taps open following the lifting of international sanctions under last year's landmark nuclear deal.

The OPEC report chimed broadly with figures released Thursday by the International Energy Agency, which put cartel output at 33.8 mb/d.

The IEA said this was "well in excess" of the 32.5 mb/d to 33.0 mb/d range agreed by OPEC in September.

"This means that OPEC must agree to significant cuts in Vienna to turn its Algiers commitment into reality," the IEA added.

The September agreement lifted oil prices but they remain hovering at around $45 per barrel.

On Friday late morning Brent North Sea was trading at $45.44 in London, down $0.40 from Thursday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $0.57 at $44.09 on the Nymex.

Trump fear fans dollar rally as emerging markets sink

After an initial shock, global equities rocketed on news Trump had beaten Hillary Clinton, with investors hoping for business-friendly policies and measures to boost the US economy, a key driver of world growth.

 News Desk

The dollar soared against high-yielding currencies and Asian emerging markets sank Friday on the prospect of higher US interest rates, with dealers betting Donald Trump's planned huge spending policies will fire inflation.

Despite an all-time high close on Wall Street, investors across Asia turned cautious on uncertainties linked to a Trump presidency, while the Mexican peso fell back towards record lows on worries about the firebrand tycoon's anti-Mexico stance.

However, there are worries about his plans after saying he will tear up several trade deals while ramping up import duties which would stoke inflation.

And expectations that Trump's plans for huge spending projects will also fan prices have lit a fire under the dollar as dealers bet the Federal Reserve will hike borrowing costs more aggressively to cap inflation.

That in turn has led to fears of huge capital outflows from the region as investors go back to the US for better, safer returns.

The greenback almost hit 107 yen for the first time since July in US trade and it maintained most of the gains in Asia, sitting at 106.58 yen -- well up from the 101.20 yen touched in the initial panic of Trump's win.

It also surged against the high-yielding units as dealers worry about Trump's protectionist plans. The Indonesian rupiah plunged more than five percent at one point before halving those losses, Australia's dollar was down 1.3 percent and Malaysia's ringgit lost 0.8 percent.

- Inflationary policies -

The South Korean won was 1.2 percent lower after the country's central bank held interest rates at record lows and warned of headwinds caused by global uncertainty.

And China weakened its yuan reference rate to beyond 6.8 against the dollar for the first time in more than six years, with analysts warning the unit could drop further.

The dollar was also up 2.9 percent at 20.56 Mexican pesos, close to its all-time highs.

The unit -- as well as the Mexican stock market -- has been hammered by fears Trump will follow through on campaign pledges to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as pressure the country to pay billions of dollars for a giant border wall.

"The dollar is up against most major currencies supported by an upward revision to US interest expectations and focus on President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-growth and inflationary economic policies,” Elias Haddad, a senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, told Bloomberg News.

"Trump’s economic policies will force the Fed to raise the funds rate at a faster pace than otherwise, which is dollar bullish."

On equities markets, skittish investors sent Hong Kong 1.1 percent lower and Seoul 0.9 percent down, while emerging market shares were battered.

Taipei dived 2.1 percent while Manila and Jakarta were each down almost three percent.

But Japan's Nikkei ended up 0.2 percent as the weaker yen boosted exporters, although it was down from earlier highs, while Shanghai and Sydney both put on 0.8 percent.

Egypt set to receive 1st tranche of IMF loan

IMF officials to hold meeting Friday to decide on cash-strapped Egypt's $12-billion loan request

News Desk

Egypt will likely receive the first tranche of a $12-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund -- $2.75 billion -- next week, Finance Minister Amr al-Garhi said Thursday.

On Tuesday, IMF Director Christine Lagarde said she would recommend to the fund’s executive board that it approve Egypt’s loan request.

IMF officials will hold a meeting on Friday to decide whether or not to approve the loan, which, if granted, would be dispersed over three years.

In a related development, al-Garhi said Wednesday that Egypt was thinking about postponing plans to issue $2.5 billion worth of government bonds.

In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel, Al-Garhi said Egypt’s central bank planned to sell $4 billion worth of government bonds -- issued by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday -- on Ireland’s stock exchange.

The move, he said, was aimed at raising some $2 billion in financing over the next year.

The minister stressed, however, that the issuance of new government bonds was not a condition for the sought-for IMF loan.

India banks reopen to long queues after rupee withdrawal

Long queues formed outside banks in India on Thursday as they reopened for the first time since the government's shock decision to withdraw the two largest denomination notes from circulation.

News Desk

Some banks in the capital New Delhi had received the new 2,000 rupee ($30) bill and a number of ATMs were working again, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender in a blitz against tax evasion and corruption.

Modi's Tuesday evening bombshell prompted a late night rush on cash machines as customers withdrew smaller notes from ATMs before they closed at midnight in preparation for the turnaround.

An Indian cashier sits inside the cash counter of a parking lot alongside a notice regarding the non-acceptance of 500 and 1000 rupee notes in New Delhi on November 10, 2016

"I have only come here to check if I can change my old notes for a new currency even if I don't have an account with the bank," R.P Singh, a newspaper vendor, told AFP outside a bank in New Delhi.

"The real worry is how we will get essential daily supplies in the next few days as most people are short of those smaller denomination or new currency notes," he added.

The government said customers would be able to exchange their old bills for new notes or deposit them in their accounts from Thursday.

However, it was unclear how many banks across the country -- particularly in rural areas -- had received the new 2,000 note.

A man puts a new 2000 rupee note in his wallet after exchanging his old 500 and 1000 rupee notes at a bank in New Delhi on November 10, 2016

Newly designed 500 and 1,000 rupee bills will be rolled out at a later date.

"The country has around 125,000 bank branches and an extensive network of post offices in rural areas, which should be enough. Let the exchange process begin and we will see if more is required," India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Thursday.

Long queues formed outside banks across the country, with some people complaining that banks and post offices, where old notes can also be exchanged, hadn't opened on time.

"We don't know what they are doing, why they haven't yet opened the bank? We have already been waiting for over two hours just to exchange our currency notes," a customer outside a bank in Modinagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh told ABP news channel.

The government has said that only tax dodgers will lose out from the move, the latest in a series of anti-corruption measures introduced by Modi.

Analysts largely welcomed the decision, saying that while consumer spending will likely dip in the short term as the new notes make their way into circulation, in the long run the move will boost GDP.

AFP

European stocks wobble as US election finally arrives

Frankfurt stocks edged higher, London teetered lower while Paris flatlined, as voting began in the presidential poll which pits Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton against Republican Donald Trump.

 News Desk

Europe's main stock markets wobbled in cautious deals on Tuesday as election day arrived in the United States.

Frankfurt stocks edged higher, London teetered lower while Paris flatlined, as voting began in the presidential poll which pits Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton against Republican Donald Trump.

All three European markets had soared Monday by close to two percent in a global rally after the FBI cleared Clinton in an email probe.

Voters in nine states got first crack at electing the new president, with the rest of the country due to get started later in the day.

Polls opened at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) in nine states, mainly in the east. The name of the winner was not expected to be known before 0300 GMT.

Some 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in states that allow early voting, and opinion polls suggest that 69-year-old former first lady Clinton has a slight edge.

AP: Egypt claims Riyadh has cut off fuel shipments indefinitely

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAIRO: Egypt said Monday that Saudi Arabia has halted fuel shipments indefinitely.

The move ratchets up pressure on Egypt as it implements austerity measures in the hope of securing billions of dollars in loans to stabilize its ailing economy. Cairo floated its currency last week and cut fuel subsidies, leading to across-the-board price hikes in the Arab world’s most populous country. Egyptian Oil Ministry spokesman Hamdi Abdel-Aziz said that Saudi Arabia’s Aramco stopped sending the fuel shipments to Egypt “without giving a specific timetable or reasons.”

Saudi Arabia agreed in April to provide Egypt with 700,000 tons of fuel monthly for five years on easy repayment terms, but Egypt said last month that October’s shipments had been halted. 

Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Egypt reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund earlier this year for $12 billion in loans, but must implement austerity measures for it to be ratified. After the fuel shipments were halted, Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding to import oil from Iraq, which is closely allied with Iran.

Abdel-Aziz denied reports that Egypt’s oil minister would soon travel to Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry also denied the reports.

  

HSBC warns of gloomy outlook in Britain, reports capital boost

HONG KONG/LONDON

 HSBC Holdings warned of a dim outlook for its British business next year as slowing economic growth following the vote to leave the European Union hampers CEO Stuart Gulliver’s drive to boost revenues at Europe’s biggest bank.

“UK retail banking profit will be challenging next year,” Gulliver said, pointing to the Bank of England’s economic growth estimates and forecast for sharply rising inflation.

Against a backdrop of shrinking profits, HSBC reported a sharp jump in its core capital ratio to 13.9 percent, as the key measure of financial strength was lifted by a change in the regulatory treatment of its investment in China’s Bank of Communications.

The change in how Britain’s Prudential Regulation Authority treats the investment eased analyst concerns about its ability to build capital buffers to maintain its dividend payouts and lifted HSBC’s shares 4.4 percent by 0845 GMT.

The ratio jumped to 13.9 percent from 12.1 percent at the end of June and 11.9 percent at the close of last year.

“This change more accurately reflects the nature of our relationship as a minority shareholder in BoCom,” Chief Financial Officer Iain Mackay told Reuters.

Bernstein analysts said the higher capital ratio should be enough to allow HSBC to maintain next year’s dividend out of capital, even as earnings decline.

“For yield investors, who have been the source of support for valuation of this stock, this keeps the stock in the safety zone into the next 6-9 months,” said the brokerage, which rates the stock as “underperform” due to its rich valuations.

HSBC posted an 86 percent fall in reported pretax profit to $843 million for the third quarter ended on Sept. 30, as it booked a $1.7 billion loss on the sale of its Brazilian unit, falling revenues from trade, and adverse foreign currency movements.

HSBC in August abandoned a timetable for reaching its 10 percent return on equity target, as slowing growth in its core home markets of Britain and Hong Kong hit revenues.

HSBC said in its earnings statement its $2.5 billion share buyback program announced in August this year was now 59 percent complete and it expected to finish by the end of this year or early 2017.

BREXIT CLOUDS

Executives at British lenders last month privately cautioned ahead of reporting their earnings that economic conditions would probably get much tougher next year when Britain is due to formally start the process to leave the EU.

Gulliver said on Monday that the bank had seen limited impact on its British business so far other than a temporary drop in small business loan demand but warned of hard times ahead next year.

A seasonal decline in profits in the fourth quarter would likely combine with dividend and British bank tax payments to head off further boosts in capital in the near term, Mackay told Reuters.

“It’s reasonable to assume that there’s unlikely to be any particularly strong progress with respect to capital formation in the fourth quarter,” Mackay said.

The third quarter results statement showed progress on Gulliver’s plan to shrink HSBC and dispose of underperforming businesses.

The bank posted a further $57 billion worth of risk-weighted assets (RWA) savings in the third quarter, $40 billion of which came from the sale of its Brazil business, and is now more than 80 percent of the way to achieve its RWA reduction target.

Japan's Mitsui partners with Turkey's Inventram

Japanese trading company purchases 30 pct stake in technological investment company Inventram for an undisclosed sum

News Desk

 Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co has purchased a 30 percent stake in the Turkish technological investment company, Inventram, according to the companies' top executives Monday.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Istanbul, Ali Koc, Vice Chairman of Koc Holding, co-founding partner of Inventram with Koc University, said that the agreement would be a milestone for Inventram, paving the way for it to become a world company, in addition to encouraging more investment from Japan in Turkey.

Koc said that the acquisition -- for an undisclosed sum -- was a clear indication of the global investors' interest in Turkey despite the challenging conditions in and outside of the country.

"Even the heinous July 15 coup attempt did not affect Mitsui's trust in Turkey.

"I believe this partnership agreement will pave the way for more extensive cooperations in the coming period," he added.

Mitsui & Co Europe’s Corporate Planning President Naotaka Hayashi for his part said they were very pleased to partner with Inventram in the 60th year of their operations in Turkey, adding Inventram’s field of operations matched with Mitsui’s corporate values of "competition and innovation".

"Innovation is an important field for Mitsui. This is why we wanted to establish a partnership like this," Hayashi said.

Established in 2010, Inventram aims to commercialize disruptive technologies and technological innovations via smart business models, and also invests in innovative start-ups and provides sales consulting services to them, according to the company's website.

Mitsui, which is one of Japan's top trading houses with its assets nearing $97 billion and $42 billion in revenue, operates in 65 countries or regions.