Forex / World news

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - A summary of Asian economic and corporate news at 1000 GMT-May wholesale goods price index rises 2.2 pct yr-on-yr-May corporate failures rise 24.4 pct from April - Teikoku-May beer shipments down 4.2 pct year-on-year-May consumer confidence index drops; first fall in 2 months-April domestic cellphone shipments down 2...

TEHRAN (Thomson Financial) - More than 50 Iranian economists have written an open letter warning President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad his economic policies are fuelling inflation and hurting the poor, the ISNA agency reported on Monday."The monetary and banking policies adopted by the government go against their stated objective of creating justice" in society, read the text of the letter, signed by 57 economists...

TALLINN (Thomson Financial) - The Estonian economy grew by 9.8 pct in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2006, seasonally adjusted data released by the national statistics bureau showed Monday."Economic growth is still fast but the growth rate has somewhat decelerated compared with the previous year," the statistics department said in a report...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Chancellor Gordon Brown flew into Baghdad today on a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital to discuss rebuilding the country's economy with premier Nouri Maliki.The prime minister-designate will also meet with some of the British troops based in Baghdad...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The UK housing market's growth increased in April, suggesting the full impact of the Bank of England's rate tightening cycle is yet to be felt, according to government figures.The Department for Communities and Local Government said annual house prices were up 11...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The UK's manufacturing output is likely to expand at a much slower rate than other large industrial nations over the next four years, but it will remain in the top eight, a study commissioned by the Financial Times showed...

LONDONHeiligendamm, Germany (Thomson Financial) - The following is a summary of the main points from the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany from June 6-8Climate Change-German Chancellor Angela Merkel had put the issue of tackling change top of the agenda for the G8 Summit...

SAINT PETERSBURG (Thomson Financial) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked the World Trade Organisation as "archaic, undemocratic and inflexible" during an economic forum todaymeant to underline Russia's growing clout.His attack on the WTO came as a top Russian minister held talks with European and US negotiators on Russia's more than decade-long effort to join the world trade body...

WARSAW (Thomson Financial) - The Polish authorities denied accusations in a Council of Europe report released today that it housed secret CIA prisons between 2003 and 2005."There were no secret bases in Poland," foreign ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski told Agence France-Presse...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - A summary of Asian economic and corporate news at 1000 GMTJAPAN:-Japan May money supply rises 1.4 pct yr-on-yr, beats forecast-Japan May bank lending up 0.9 pct yr-on-yr-Japan April core machinery orders up 2.2 pct from March, below forecast-Japan May economy watchers' survey index 46...

BAKU, Azerbaijan (Thomson Financial) - Azerbaijan has welcomed President Vladimir Putin's proposal for joint US-Russian use of a radar on its territory for missile defence, saying it would improve regional security."Azerbaijan is ready for such negotiations...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The UK's contribution to the European Union budget is set to double in the coming years, according to a study by independent think tank Global Vision.The study, based on recent estimates, says the UK will make net annual contributions of almost 6...

"I would have liked the final communique to state a figure (...) I would have preferred the target to be a binding target, but if you consider where we started from, we have laboured and to get (this) is significant progress," he told journalists here...

BELGRADE (Thomson Financial) - Belgrade welcomed the European Union's decision today to resume talks with Serbia on closer ties next week as "extremely positive" for the Balkan country."This is good news which brings more stability and significantly strengthens partner relationships between Serbia and the EU," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told state-run Tanjug news agency...

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to US President George W Bush setting up a joint missile radar base in Azerbaijan to overcome a crisis between the two countries.Putin said he had spoken to the president of Azerbaijan who had agreed that a base there could be jointly used by Russia and the US...

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Thomson Financial) - German chancellor Angela Merkel said the Group of Eight nations have reached a "very successful" agreement aimed at halving greenhouse gases by 2050, and added the US had also signed up.Merkel said the accord was "a clear commitment to continue the UN climate process"...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of England's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee was right to keep its benchmark repo rate on hold at 5.50 pct today, a leading business lobby said.The Confederation of British Industry said evidence is emerging that the MPC's four interest rate hikes since last August are having an impact on firms' ability to push price increases through to consumers...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of England's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee has kept its key repo rate unchanged at a six-year high of 5.50 pct.The decision was widely anticipated, though there had been some jitters in the market that the rate setters may deliver a surprise in the same way as they did in January...

HEILIGENDAMM (Thomson Financial) - Leaders of the G8 nations have made "significant progress" on climate change issues discussed during their first working session here, said Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman.He told reporters that there was movement forward on accepting the need for a global agreement on climate change; working towards a goal for cutting greenhouse gases and consensus allowing the US to host a summit of its own outside the existing UN process...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - A summary of Asian economic and corporate news at 1000 GMTJAPAN:-End-May forex reserves 911.14 bln usd, down for first time in 5 months-Toyota in talks about building new plant in China-Toyota Motor hybrid gas-electric vehicle sales top one mln mark-Dentsu May parent sales 117...