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UNITED NATIONS — Despite the persistent economic headwinds which are expected to slow economic expansion this year, “growth in the Asia and the Pacific area remains better than in any other region; continuing as an anchor of stability and a new growth pole for the world economy.”

That’s the guardedly optimistic prognosis from the 2012 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific survey.

Produced by the UN’s Bangkok-based Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the annual survey concedes that the region continues to face a challenging external environment which will slow regional growth this year to 6.5 percent from last year’s average of 7 percent.

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More than any one event, the devastating tsunami and aftermath created severe shocks to the already ailing Japanese economy through a dislocation of industrial production, the supply chain, and the enduring psychological trauma following the disaster. Equally but largely overlooked has been the serious floods in Thailand which have created havoc in large urban areas such as Bangkok the capital in both manufacturing as well as tourism sectors.

Yet the Survey states that despite the slowdown “the region will remain the world’s fastest growing with China forecast to grow at a robust 8.6 percent, decelerating from the 9.2 percent rate of 2011.” It adds, Growth in India is projected at 7.5 percent in 2012, up from 6.9 percent in the past year.

Full article: As West falters, Asia Pacific region emerging as new global economic engine (World Tribune)

Being part of the emerging economies, having lived, worked in developed economies also, its fair to boast my knowledge & understanding when it comes to judging if the glass is half empty or otherwise. Having said this, being a motivator, as I am, I just cannot see the glass half empty, so lets build a positive outlook while identifying inherent threats and short comings – like I always say, its good to criticise when you also give solutions

Whenever one talks of democracy, things that instantly ring a bell – freedom of expression, free judiciary, accountability, public services, sharing, vote the right person & the list goes on

In all fairness, are we witnessing progress in the name of democracy? do we, as men, give freedom of expression to our women? leave along giving them right to take a decision? why cant we understand that if a Mother can carry a baby to full term, spend sleepless nights, toil the entire day, keeping our wishes on priority, making home a place worth coming back each day after work – why cant we entrust them with giving us hope to make our countries our homes! irrespective of cultures, most families in 3rd world countries give priorities to their boys when it comes to education & health, it is the mindset that we need to address, make parents believe that girls are equally important, if not better

When we talk of backbones, we never visualize how well a country would evolve, if we target youths & women – they are our backbones, no house can turn into a home without mother, wife, daughters, & boys of course – why cant we see this happening on a macro level, and ensure long term sustainability across the board

Teachers, counsellors tell us, there is no shame to learn from a junior student or a colleague, so why cant be focus on women! its high time, we address the problem in its true perspective! let our women be given respect, confidence, allow them to express their opinion, encourage them to take decisions – always remember, women are better managers by default, they are disciplined, more matured – even science has proved that women can think of atleast 3 subjects at a time, men can do only 1

The price of oil and Treasury yields hit their lowest levels of the year as investors dumped riskier assets. The euro sank to a three-month low against the dollar and borrowing costs for Spain and Italy spiked as bond traders anticipated that financial stress could spread far beyond Greece.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 107 points to 12,712. The Dow has now lost more than half of its gains for the year in two weeks as worries resurface about Europe and the strength of the US economy.

Political parties in Athens resumed power-sharing talks Monday as negotiations to create a government drag into a second week. The uncertainty has raised concerns that Greece could miss a debt payment and drop the euro currency. The worry is that if Greece leaves the currency union, bond traders may demand steeper borrowing rates from other troubled countries.

The turmoil could easily spread to the US through the banking system. “The large banks are globally connected,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. “The concrete fear is that if Greece exits the euro, that would hurt European banks. They’ll pull back lending to US banks and then they’d be in worse shape.”

In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 13 points to 1,340. The Nasdaq composite sank 24 points to 2,909.

The losses swept across the market. All 10 of the industry groups within the S&P 500 fell, led by financial stocks. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup each fell 4 percent.

Major markets in Europe plunged. France’s CAC-40 lost 2.3 percent, and Germany’s DAX 1.9 percent. Benchmark indexes fell 2.7 percent in Italy and Spain.

Traders shifted money into the safest of government bonds, pushing Treasury prices up and their yields down. The yield on the 10-year note hit a low for the year, 1.77 percent.

Since hitting its high for the year on May 1, the Dow has been on a steady slide, closing lower on seven of the previous eight trading days. The Dow’s 1.7 percent loss last week was its worst since Dec. 16.

Among stocks making big moves:

- JPMorgan Chase fell 3 percent following news that its chief investment officer, Ina Drew, would step down. The bank said last week that it lost $2 billion in a trade on corporate debt.

- Yahoo gained 2 percent after the company replaced its CEO, Scott Thompson. Yahoo reportedly pushed Thompson out for padding his resume.

- Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. rose 1 percent after the company’s founder, Richard Schulze, said he would step down as chairman. An investigation found that he knew the CEO was having a relationship with a female employee and didn’t tell an audit committee.

Source: http://business.inquirer.net/59397/us-stocks-euro-drop-as-deadlock-continues-in-greece

For someone with a minimal understanding of how the world economy works, I can’t say that I’d be assured with more charts and figures. Economists thought the euro would work but it would seem we are moving closer to the tipping point (of where it all fails).  Then what next? Would Greece’s departure from the euro cause a domino effect and down come Spain and Portugal, and perhaps Ireland and Italy?

What would our money be worth then?  These days it feels like its barely worth anything. The cost of food and petrol (not to mention stamps) seems to forever be on the rise yet the quality of goods delivered, whether in terms of labour or assets, seem to be on the decline.  Nothing is made to last.

It’s overwhelming and frustrating to feel like there is nothing we can do to help change the situation. Some people say we can only trust our governments to make the right choices for us. But we can’t, can we? Look at the state we’re all in! So if money isn’t worth anything, what is? The value of precious metals seem to be on the rise, but who is to say that they, too, won’t be worth their weight in gold one day?

Various Euro bills. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Traditionally, the precious metal has rallied during times when the future of the euro looks threatened, as it does today.

Colin Cieszynski, analyst with CMC Markets Canada, says investors should read five key things in gold’s current weakness.

1) Despite the European debt crisis and the effect it may have on the global economy, investors are not expecting another financial meltdown.

2) The slowing global economy, along with falling commodity prices, is likely to put a cap on inflation for some time.

3) Greece may have to go back to the polls next month if politicians can’t establish a coalition government. But eventually the country will end up with a functioning government.

4) Even if Greece and a few other countries have to leave the euro zone, their departure would be manageable. The unified currency is bigger than any one member.

5) The European public has sent a clear signal that ignoring problems or clinging to failed policies like austerity will no longer be tolerated. The public is demanding real, balanced, and sustainable solutions to the crisis.

“What gold appears to be telling us is that while we may be going through a period of turmoil in the short term, this could force politicians to make the tough decisions that could strengthen the global economy and financial system over the longer term,” Mr. Cieszynski wrote in his morning note.

But he says the turmoil in Europe won’t keep him from investing. Buffett said Berkshire plans to add to its stakes on Monday in two US companies.

“I think the worst mistake you can make in stocks is to buy or sell based on current headlines,” Buffett said. He did not identify the two companies.

Buffett appeared on CNBC on Monday morning, two days after meeting with more than 30,000 people at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual meeting.

Berkshire’s chairman and CEO said Europe has “got a lot of problems. They’ll solve them, but not without a lot of pain.”

Buffett said part of the challenge is that the European Union’s 17 countries don’t have similar monetary policies. He said it’s not surprising that people in Greece and France voted against the pain of austerity.

He said he wouldn’t hesitate to buy a European business if he found an attractive one to add to Berkshire’s portfolio of more than 80 companies, including the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, Geico insurance and MidAmerican Energy.

Buffett said American banks are in much better financial shape than European counterparts because of measures taken during the financial crisis. He said the United States already injected more capital into its banks and forced them to clean up their balance sheets.

Buffett said the United States did a better job imposing austerity measures and improving its fiscal situation after the financial crisis of 2008. But he says the United States had a better structure to deal with the problems.

“We have a whole different banking system in the United States. Plus, we have our own currency,” he said.

But Buffett said he avoids buying into businesses like Facebook because it’s too hard to estimate what they might be worth.

Buffett said he doesn’t really have an opinion on Facebook and Google because it’s hard to determine their value and how they will fare in the future.

“I’m an agnostic on a company like Facebook. Anytime you get a truly extraordinary business—and it’s obvious it’s an extraordinary business—they’re the hardest ones to value,” Buffett said.

Over the weekend, Buffett also told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that initial public offerings are almost always bad investments. He says there is so much hype involved that IPOs won’t be the most-attractive value.

He says investors should be looking for good businesses to buy and trying to determine how those companies will fare in 10 years.

Buffett was asked about his eventual successor at Berkshire during an interview on Fox Business Network later on Monday. The questions are coming up because Buffett is 81 years old and was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer although the disease is not expected to threaten his health.

Buffett is keeping secret the identity of the person likely to succeed him as Berkshire’s CEO but is narrowing the field—he says the top choice and two backups are men.

Buffett has said Berkshire’s board has chosen his successor, but doesn’t want to name him because the choice could change. He expects his successor will maintain the company culture.

“My successor doesn’t need apprenticing,” Buffett said. “If they needed apprenticing they wouldn’t be the successor candidate. None of the three would need apprenticing.”

Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/world/26877-europe-will-have-hard-time-resolving-fiscal-woes

Crude futures also faced downside pressure following indications by the world’s key oil producers they may boost output to bring prices down to sustainable levels.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for delivery in June, was down 39 cents at $96.62 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for June shed 58 cents to $112.15 in morning trade.

“Oil prices are holding relatively steady as we are seeing a fair bit of investor bargain-hunting in the crude market,” said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz international energy consultants in Singapore.

“But there remains considerable uncertainty about the eurozone’s debt problems and politics,” he added.

Investor concerns about the repercussions of weekend elections in Greece were heightened on Tuesday after the head of the country’s left-wing Syriza party said his cabinet would reject all austerity measures imposed under an EU-IMF loan deal, if he managed to form a new government.

The political developments in Greece as well as in France – where Socialist Francois Hollande emerged victorious in Sunday’s presidential election – have stoked anxiety about the fate of the eurozone’s tough fiscal pact adopted in March to deal with a crippling debt crisis.

Investors were also watching the working relationship between the newly elected Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel, the leader of Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany.

Merkel and outgoing French leader Nicolas Sarkozy played crucial roles in dealing with the eurozone crisis.

“While Mr. Hollande’s victory in the French presidential elections was in line with expectations, his relationship with Germany’s chancellor remains untested,” Barclays Bank said in a report.

Crude prices were also under pressure by indications that Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil producer, could increase its output to scale down prices.

Saudia Arabia and other key oil-exporting nations fear that unsustainably high prices will have a drastic impact on demand, pushing prices lower.

Source: http://business.inquirer.net/58273/oil-lower-in-asian-trade-on-eurozone-worries

The group of distinguished panelists was comprised of: Gerardo Rodríguez Regordosa (Undersecretary of Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit), Mark Sobel (Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Monetary and Financial Policy, US Department of the Treasury), Arturo Sarukhan (Mexican Ambassador to the United States and Mexico Institute, Advisory Board Member), Andrés Rozental (Mexico Institute, Advisory Board Member, President, Rozental & Asociados, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution), Colin I. Bradford (Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development), and John W. Sewell (Senior Scholar, Author; Former President of the Overseas Development Council (ODC))

View video here:

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in June stayed below the psychological $100 threshold, falling $1.92 to $96.57 a barrel in morning trade.

Brent North Sea crude for June shed $1.48 to $111.70.

“Oil has gone down sharply because the election results have raised concerns about whether the eurozone can beat the debt crisis,” said Nick Trevethan, senior commodities strategist at ANZ Research.

“There is a worry about a rejection of austerity and people are also worried about a eurozone recession,” he added.

Trevethan said poor US economic data released last week added to the gloom in the market.

French and Greek voters showed their lack of enthusiasm for belt tightening by flocking to candidates and political parties who have called for an easing of austerity measures in weekend elections, sparking concerns that the eurozone debt crisis might resurface.

In France, president-elect Francois Hollande warned fellow European leaders he would push ahead with his vow to refocus EU fiscal efforts from austerity to growth. Hollande defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

Analysts said Hollande’s victory underscored the politically difficult task of selling austerity measures designed to tackle eurozone nations’ huge debts, with the incoming leader advocating economic growth over deep public spending cuts.

Meanwhile, Greek election results doused hopes that Athens will stick to its austerity pledges as parties opposing more cuts won almost 60.0 percent support in Sunday’s general election.

Debt-ridden Greece had agreed to the cuts in exchange for massive bail-out funds.

Crude futures were also weighed down mostly disappointing US economic data released last week, analysts said.

Official non-farm payroll data released Friday showed the world’s biggest economy generated only 115,000 net new jobs last month, less than half the pace at the beginning of the year, although the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent.

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/05/07/12/oil-dives-below-97-asia-eurozone-worries