■FUTURES
CFTC set to impose limits
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was yesterday due to consider setting trade limits on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) to keep fund managers and other “speculative” investors from wielding too much influence in the market. The limits proposed by the CFTC would cap how many contracts traders could buy. Violators likely would be told to get rid of especially large positions. Speculators have flooded the NYMEX in recent years. They got most of the blame when crude soared above US$147 a barrel in 2008.
■GOLD
GFMS predicts record prices
Gold prices will likely hit new historic peaks this year, thanks to a wave of investment money that will pour into the market, consultancy GFMS predicted on Wednesday. “A growing weight of investment money is poised to enter the gold market in the first half of 2010 and is likely to push gold prices to fresh records,” the London-based group said in an update to its annual survey. Gold, whose two main drivers are jewelry and investment buyers, hit a record pinnacle of US$1,226.56 an ounce on Dec. 3.
■UNITED STATES
Economy sees improvement
The US economy is seeing a broader improvement in activity even if conditions are still sluggish, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report on Wednesday. The report, to be used by policymakers at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting from Jan. 26 to Jan. 27, said data from the 12 Federal Reserve districts showed modest improvement in key areas such as consumer spending, manufacturing and housing. Ten districts reported some increased activity or improvement in conditions, while the remaining two — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Richmond, Virgina — reported “mixed conditions.”
■SOUTH KOREA
Trade surplus hits high
South Korea’s trade surplus hit a record high of US$40.4 billion last year as exports recovered faster than expected from the global recession while imports shrank, the customs service said yesterday. Exports totalled US$363.5 billion last year, down 13.9 percent from a year earlier, while imports dropped 25.8 percent to US$323.1 billion, the service said. Exports led by ships and flat panels for TVs recovered fast in the latter part of last year, the customs service said.
■AUSTRALIA
Unemployment falls
Australia yesterday said unemployment dropped to an eight-month low of 5.5 percent, stunning analysts and boosting confidence that the economy’s recovery is on track. Last month’s seasonally adjusted figure was down 0.1 points from the revised 5.6 percent in November, smashing economists’ forecasts of a rise to 5.8 percent. The better-than-expected result was driven by a 27,900 rise in part-time jobs, while another 7,300 people found full-time work, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
■japan
Core machinery orders fall
Japan’s core machinery orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, fell 11.3 percent in November from the previous month, official data showed yesterday. The figure was worse than the monthly drop of 4.5 percent in October and was below market expectations of a small rise. The core orders are seen as a key barometer of business investment.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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