Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

South Korea Manufacturing Sector Slows In July - Nikkei



The manufacturing sector in South Korea continued to expand in July, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Nikkei showed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.1.

That's down from 50.5 in June, and it remains just barely above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, business conditions stagnated following the improvement in June.

Production was barely higher, although job growth picked up.

Total new business declined, but growth of new export work hit an 18-month high.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Sony Advances After Posting Unexpected Profit on PlayStation Games



Sony Corp. advanced the biggest in three weeks after its invigorated games division pushed the Japanese company to beat quarterly results forecast, justifying CEO Kazuo Hirai's shifted emphasis on media and entertainment.

Sony shares gained as much as 3.5% to 3, 397 yen, the biggest recorded jump on an intraday basis since July 11, bringing its gains for the year to a total of 13%.

The company reported a net income of 21.2 billion yen or $205 million in the second quarter, against the expectations of analysts of a 39-billion yen loss. Sony retained its projection of 80 billion yen annual profit.

It was the robust growth of the company's game division that boosted the firm's net income. Its impressive performance has helped investors look beyond the effect of the Kumamoto earthquakes that has closed down the main manufacturing site for components of its digital cameras. Sony also report an unexpected profits in its phone division, reflecting the company's efforts to cut down its mid-range line-up and its withdrawal from unprofitable markets.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Building Approvals Slide 2.9% In June



The total number of building approvals issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 18,693.

That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.8 percent following the 5.2 percent contraction in May.

Individually, residential building approvals were down 3.4 percent on month, while non-residential approvals slid 2.4 percent.

On a yearly basis, building approvals sank 5.9 percent after sliding 9.1 percent in the previous month.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Williams Cos Plans on Being a Standalone Company and Invest $1.7 billion



Energy company Williams Cos Inc (WMB.N) has set plans to become a standalone company and invest $1.7 billion to its limited partnership Williams Partners (WPZ.N) following the separation of its takeover that is beyond $20 billion by Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE.N). Williams' shares have plunged to almost 60 percent for the last year as the company failed to compel Energy Transfer Equity to end its agreed-upon purchase.

On Monday, Williams had reported a second-quarter decline mainly because of a previous charge in relation to the approaching sale of its own operations in Canada. The company has stated that it expects to conclude the sale by this quarter with total proceeds worth beyond $1 billion dollars. A distribution reinvestment plan was also introduced which will allow the company along with its other investors in William Partners to refrain from payouts from the partnership in exchange for new units.

The majority shareholder of Williams Partners is Williams and with this new investment it could help reduce debt and be able to continue an investment-grade credit rating.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

China Services PMI 51.7 In July - Caixin



The services sector in China continued to expand in July, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 51.7.

That's down from 52.7 in June, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Also, the composite index came in with a reading of 51.9, up from 50.3 in the previous month.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Bitcoin Plunges After Hackers Steal $65 Million from HK Exchange



Bitcoin prices plunged following the breach of one of the largest exchanges that halted trading after hackers stole around $65 million worth of the digital currency.

Bitcoin sagged 5.3% versus the dollar as of 10:17 a.m. in Tokyo Trading, adding up its two-day decline to 13%, with the currency almost down 20% this week. Prices were also down 6.2% on Monday, but it was not sure if the decline was linked to the breach.

Hong-Kong based Bitfinex stopped trading, deposits and withdrawals on Tuesday after recognizing the security breach. It stated that it was probing details and working with authorities, but also admitted that it was a large breach that some bitcoin were stolen from its users. Bitfinex stopped all trading activities in all digital currencies, including the ethereum, but assured participants that losses were restricted only to bitcoin.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Retail Sales Rise Just 0.1% In June



The total value of retail sales in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - coming in at A$25.043 billion.

That was shy of expectations for a gain of 0.3 percent following the 0.2 percent gain in May.

For the second quarter of 2016, retail sales advanced 0.4 percent on quarter to A$72.682 billion.

That also was below expectations for 0.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the three months prior.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

MetLife Profit Fails to Hit Estimates on Weaker Underwriting



United States' biggest life insurer MetLife Inc. posted a quarterly profit that distinctly missed analysts' projections, mainly due to weaker underwriting and tax-related adjustment in two of its biggest markets. The company's net income plunged 94% to $64 million or 6 cents per share in the second quarter. Total operating earning in Americas also dropped 42% to $835 million, while Asian operating earnings descended 39% to $259 million. On an operating basis, the company earned 83 cents per share, below analysts estimates of $1.35. MetLife's earnings in the Americas were affected by weaker underwriting, while earnings from Japan were weighed down by the firm's decision to lower the sale of yen-denominated products and tax-related adjustments. The firm stated in January that it plans to split a significant portion of its U.S. Retail business due to the regulatory conditions.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Fxwirepro: Aussie Gains Against Major Peers After Rba’s Monetary Policy Statements



AUD/NZD is currently trading around 1.0641 marks.
Pair made intraday high at 1.0647 and low at 1.0619 marks. Intraday bias remains bullish till the time pair holds key support at 1.0623 levels.
In addition, a sustained close above 1.0623 will drag the parity higher towards 1.0727/1.0823/1.0976 (January 2016 high) /1.1062 (30D EMA) /1.1123/1.1298/1.1317 levels respectively.
Alternatively, a sustained break below 1.0588 mark will take the parity down towards key supports around 1.0497, 1.0450, 1.0420, 1.0315(May 05, 2015 low), 1.0261 and 1.0109 marks respectively. Important to note here that in a daily chart, 20D, 30D and 55D EMA heads down and confirms the bearish trend. Current upside movement is short term trend correction only.
RBA: Underlying inflation to remain under 2 pct for much of forecast period, reach 2 pct by end 2018.
RBA: Prospects for economy positive, but low inflation allows for "even stronger growth". RBA says A$ remains significant source of uncertainty for inflation, growth forecasts.
RBA forecasts underlying inflation 1.5 pct by end 2016, 1.5-2.5 pct end 2017, 1.5-2.5 pct end 2018.
RBA forecasts GDP growth 2.5-3.5 pct end 2016, 2.5-3.5 pct end 2017, 3-4 pct end 2018.
RBA says unemployment to fall only a little out to 2018, employment growth to be modest this year.
RBA quarterly statement repeats policy easing to help foster growth, offers no forward guidance.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Bank of England Cuts Benchmark Interest Rate to 0.25 Percent



The Bank of England lowered its benchmark rate to a historical low and revived a bond-buying scheme to help prop up the UK economy from the impact of the Brexit vote.

On Thursday, the bank announced an unexpectedly large stimulus package. First, the bank lowered its benchmark interest rate to 0.25% down from 0.5% and it sees further cuts toward zero in the following months. Second, it revived a U.K. government bonds purchasing program that has been halted since 2012, and added that it would start buying corporate bonds as well. A new term-funding program for banks was also announced, providing lenders with extremely cheap four-year loans to fund lending to households and enterprises. The rate cut was supported with a unanimous vote, while 3 voted against the bond purchasing scheme.

The bank also lowered its growth forecast for 2017 sharply, recording the largest downgrade since it started releasing such projections in 1993. It lowered its growth forecast for next year from 2.3% in May to 0.8% and pared off its 2018 projections from 2.3% to 1.8%

News are provided byInstaForex.