EconBriefs

China January to September FDI slips as officials warn on trade

China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows fell 3.8% in the first nine months of 2012 from a year ago, extending the longest run of declines since the depths of the global financial crisis as stiff economic headwinds dent corporate spending plans. China drew US$83.4bil in FDI between January and September, with September’s inflow alone down 6.8% on year-ago levels at US$8.4 bil, the Commerce Ministry said. — Reuters

German party open to giving Greece more time

A senior figure in Germany’s governing coalition, whose party has talked particularly tough on Greece, has signalled that he’s open to giving Athens more time to get its finances in order. Over the summer, prominent officials in the Christian Social Union, the Bavariaonly sister to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, called for Greece to leave the euro. But party leader Horst Seehofer said in an interview with Bayern 2 radio that he sees “no reason for that at the moment.” — AP

Riksbank Rift Deepens as Joblessness Splits Board

Disagreement over whether Swedish unemployment should guide policy instead of imbalances in the housing market is deepening a rift at the Riksbank less than a week before its six-member board decides on interest rates. The bank, which is due to announce its next decision on Oct 25, will probably leave its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 1.25%, overnight index swaps show. The Riksbank lowered rates by a quarter of a percentage point last month in its third cut since December, citing the effect on exports of Europe’s debt crisis and Sweden’s strong krona. — Bloomberg

European Union chiefs agree on bank supervisor

European leaders have reached agreement on creating a single supervisor for banks in the countries that use the euro to be up and running sometime next year, German diplomats said. The deal represents a compromise between the Germans and French, who had been tussling over how best shore up stricken banks – one of the main causes of the Europe’s financial crisis. — AP

China money rates at sixweek low on ample cash

China’s money rates fell to a six-week low yesterday because of the lingering effect of huge cash injections by the central bank in late September, traders said. The People’s Bank of China drained 221 billion yuan (US$35.36bil) from money markets this week, but there was still enough liquidity in the system, traders said. — Reuters

Taiwan export orders turn up, recovery seen slow

Orders for Taiwan’s exports returned to growth in September after six straight months of declines, buoyed by strong demand for new smartphones and tablets, though any recovery is set to be a slow one as the global economy remains fragile. Export orders in September rose 1.9% from the same month a year earlier, in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 1.87% growth, and rose 3.9% from August, seasonally adjusted. Orders from China rose 4.8%, stronger than last month’s 2.5% increase. — Bloomberg