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November 16, 2012 Sign up Forward Archive   Top Stories  China's new Communist leaders are introduced    Reuters China revealed its new Communist Party leadership Thursday, but major reform might take a backseat as leaders with a proven record in that regard were absent. In taking up the post of president, however, Xi Jinping referred to the "many severe challenges and ... pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption, being divorced from the people, going through formalities and bureaucratism caused by some party officials. We must make every effort to solve these problems. The whole party must stay on full alert." Caijing Magazine online (11/15) , The Wall Street Journal (11/15)      It's official: Eurozone returns to recession A 0.1% drop in output for the third quarter coming after a 0.2% decline in the preceding period has officially pulled the eurozone back into recession. Markets tumbled across Europe on Thursday as analysts pointed to an even bleaker austerity-driven outlook. Even so, leaders including European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde continued to call for action on the region's debt crisis. The Guardian (London) (11/15) , The Wall Street Journal (11/15)      Inflation eases in austerity-racked eurozone With consumer spending and investment driven down by austerity measures, eurozone inflation eased to an annual rate of 2.5% in October. "There is a general downward trend of core inflation as the recession should spread to most countries by the end of the year," said Dominique Barbet, an economist at BNP Paribas in Paris. Bloomberg Businessweek (11/15)      Germany ekes out 0.2% growth in 3rd quarter Confirming economists' forecasts, Germany's gross domestic product grew 0.2% in the third quarter as the eurozone contagion began to be felt more deeply in the EU's strongest major economy. Looking ahead, "that was the last good number from Germany for the time being. The German economy will probably shrink somewhat in the fourth quarter given that orders have been falling for the last year and the business climate ... has recently caved in," said Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer. Reuters (11/15)      France avoids recession by narrow margins The French economy expanded 0.2% in the third quarter, avoiding official recession designation after the second quarter's revised reading of 0.1% contraction. Meanwhile, The Economist magazine predicts that France will be the next great problem facing the eurozone under a Socialist government that appears unable to institute the kinds of reforms needed to regenerate French industry. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (11/15) , The Economic Times (India)/Agence France-Presse (11/15)      Spanish economy extends recession with 0.3% contraction    Reuters Spain extended its recession in the third quarter, with the economy contracting 0.3%. For the year, the government is now projecting 1.5% shrinkage. Meanwhile, calls are growing for Spain to seek a long-delayed bailout under the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan. Fox Business/Reuters (11/15)      U.K. retail sales plunge, raising 4th-quarter fears U.K. consumer spending took an unexpectedly sharp turn downward in the third quarter, falling 0.8%. The decline raised fears that the final quarter of the year will not generate a hoped-for boost. "This is a really dispiriting result so close to Christmas. September's slight upturn in sales offered retailers mild cause for cheer, but it was frustratingly short-lived," commented Stephen Robertson, the director general of the British Retail Consortium. The Telegraph (London)(tiered subscription model) (11/15)      U.S. jobless claims jump, driven by storm's displacements U.S. claims for unemployment benefits shot up to 439,000 last week. However, the number was inflated by people filing in East Coast states that suffered heavy damage from superstorm Sandy. Yahoo/The Associated Press (11/15)      U.S. mortgage delinquencies at lowest level in nearly 4 years In a sign that the so-called shadow inventory of U.S. homes overhanging the real estate market might not be as great as feared, the rate of seriously delinquent mortgages is now at its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2008. "The drop of the shadow inventory is a real positive for the housing market because it reduces concerns that this backlog will be with us," said Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Bloomberg (11/15)      CAREERS at CFA Institute Director, Curriculum Projects Director, Regulator and Program Recognition   Market Activities  INTERNATIONAL MARKETS OVERVIEW Confirmation of a double-dip recession across the eurozone pushed European shares lower Thursday, and mounting worries over the U.S. debt crisis weighed on markets on both sides of the Atlantic. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.98% to 265.52, and the S&P 500 edged down 0.16% to 1,353.33. Here is a continuously updated list of global stock indexes. The Wall Street Journal (11/16) , The Wall Street Journal (11/15) , CNNMoney (11/15)      Political news buoys Japanese shares as other Asian markets fade New of China's new Communist Party leadership led shares lower Thursday across most of Asia, but Japanese shares advanced sharply on hopes for a new government after elections in December. The Nikkei jumped 1.90% to 8,829.72 while the Hang Seng slid 1.55% to 21,108.93, the Kospi declined 1.23% to 1,870.72, and the S&P/ASX dropped 0.89% to 4,349.25. MarketWatch (11/15)      A forum for delivering practical analysis of current issues in finance and investing. Learn more   Economic Trends & Outlook  China's bad loans continue to mount in sluggish economy    Reuters Banks of all kinds across China saw a fourth consecutive quarterly rise in nonperforming loans in the three months ended in September, the worst run of deterioration since the reporting of the figures began in 2004. The latest data from the China Banking Regulatory Commission come after seven quarters of decelerating economic growth rates. Bloomberg (11/15)      S. Korean companies post lower profits, consider restructuring The global economic downturn took a toll on South Korean companies listed on the KOSDAQ market in the third quarter, with smaller operating and net profits widely reported. Meanwhile, a poll of South Korean companies reveals that 15% are weighing plans to restructure in the coming year due to a difficult environment. MK.co.kr (South Korea) (11/15) , Yonhap News Agency (South Korea) (11/15)        Capital Markets & Financial Products  US$1 billion in bonds sold by Export-Import Bank of Korea Export-Import Bank of Korea sold US$1 billion in three-year senior unsecured notes with a coupon rate of 98 basis points above the three-year U.S. Treasury bond. More than 190 global asset managers participated, with nearly half from the U.S. MK.co.kr (South Korea) (11/15)        Industry & Regulatory Update  Taiwan regulator examines allegations of illegal trading    Reuters Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission is looking into whether managers for four government funds engaged in illegal trading. The investigation grows out of a previous FSC inquiry into allegations that ING Securities Investment & Trust's Sam Hsieh and others manipulated the stock of Ablerex Electronics. The Taipei Times (Taiwan) (11/16)      Taiwan financial holding companies enjoying a lucrative 2012 Taiwan's 15 financial holding companies are anticipating record annual profits after a 10% surge over the first 10 months of 2012. The gains come despite sharp losses at Yuanta Financial Holding and Waterland Financial Holding attributed to Taiwan's lagging stock market. China Economic News Service (Taiwan) (11/15)      Qatar Holding signals support for Glencore-Xstrata merger Glencore International's drawn-out bid to merge with Xstrata apparently got a boost Thursday from Qatar Holding, the second-largest Xstrata shareholder. The favorable sign for the merger involves Qatar Holding voting a certain way in a complex ballot procedure that is causing anxiety among the deal's proponents and opponents, which include Xstrata's board. The Wall Street Journal (11/15)        People & Personalities  McCombe to succeed Swarbreck at BlackRock Mark McCombe will succeed the retiring Peter Swarbreck as head of key clients for BlackRock in the Asia-Pacific region. McCombe "has been closely involved with BlackRock's key clients and as he is located in Hong Kong it makes sense for him to take on these responsibilities," a source said. AsianInvestor.net (11/15)      Learn more about CFA -> About CFA Institute  |  Advertise  |  Educational Resources  |  Social Media     Subscriber Tools     Print friendly format  | Web version  | Search past news  | Archive  | Privacy policy   Read more at SmartBrief.com Industry Home Readers' Choice Search Archive Download a SmartBrief Mobile app today       Recent CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief: Asia Pacific Edition Issues: Thursday, November 15, 2012 Wednesday, November 14, 2012 Tuesday, November 13, 2012 Monday, November 12, 2012 Friday, November 09, 2012     Lead Editor:   Jim Berard       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004     © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.®  Legal Information