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- A + A OSLO (Oct 3): Norway's military said on Monday (Oct 3) it had posted soldiers to help guard major onshore oil and gas processing plants, part of a wider effort to boost security amid suspicion that sabotage caused leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines last week. Russia's Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines burst on Sept 26, draining gas into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden. Seismologists registered explosions in the area, and police in several countries have launched investigations. Norway, Europe's largest gas supplier and a major oil exporter, last week deployed its navy and air force to patrol offshore petroleum fields and announced it would receive assistance from Britain, Germany and France in doing so. At the request of Norwegian police, the Norwegian Home Guard, a rapid mobilisation force, on Monday began to deploy troops at plants responsible for processing and exporting oil and gas. Although the Norwegian government has said it was … [Read more...] about Norway posts soldiers at oil, gas plants after Nord Stream leaks

- A + A JAKARTA (Oct 3): Indonesia's inflation rate in September accelerated to its highest since October 2015 due to higher transportation costs following a fuel price hike, statistics bureau data showed on Monday (Oct 3). The headline annual inflation rate rose to 5.95% in September, up from 4.69% in August, but came in slightly lower than a 6% rate expected in a Reuters poll. The annual core inflation rate, which excludes government-controlled prices and volatile food prices, picked up pace in September to 3.21%, compared with 3.04% in August and 3.6% forecast by analysts. "September's inflation was mostly affected by the rise in fuel prices and inflation in transportation sector," Margo Yuwono, the head of Statistics Indonesia, told reporters. He warned that inflation could heat up further in October as a number of regions have not yet increased their transportation fares. Indonesia raised subsidised fuel prices by about 30% in early September as the … [Read more...] about Indonesia’s inflation hits new seven-year high after fuel price hike

- A + A HONG KONG (Oct 3): BYD Co notched up a seventh consecutive monthly sales record for electric and hybrid vehicles in September, selling just over 200,000 units for the first time, and comfortably beating clean car global behemoth Tesla Inc for deliveries in the third quarter. Sales surged 187% to 200,973 year-on-year, Hong Kong-listed BYD said in an exchange filing on Monday. For the third quarter, BYD — whose new energy vehicle sales are near-evenly split between pure-electric vehicles and hybrids — produced 534,164 units. The US manufacturer helmed by Elon Musk, which only makes pure electric cars, said on Sunday it delivered 343,830 vehicles, missing estimates, as supply-chain snarls continued. Buffett-backed BYD also saw exports of its electric-hybrid offerings rise last month. The Shenzhen-based company sold 7,736 cars abroad in September. BYD's total new energy passenger vehicle sales in the year through September now stand at 1.17 million, a 255% … [Read more...] about BYD sales hit fresh record as Chinese consumers embrace hybrids

- A + A JAKARTA (Oct 3): Financial services firms in Indonesia have been ordered to intensively analyse various scenarios in which US dollar exposure and high energy prices could impact their performance, the sector regulator said on Monday (Oct 3). Financial Services Authority deputy chair Mirza Adityaswara said at a news conference that firms have to closely monitor their exposures through bonds and foreign exchanges. "We also asked the firms to pay attention to loan risks in sectors that consume high energy...and those firms whose performance is closely linked to the cycle of commodity prices," he said. "Debtors who don't have revenues in dollars should be careful." The measure follows a recent government order for state-owned enterprises to reduce US dollar exposure by diversifying their sources of funds to currencies other than the US dollar. The rupiah weakened 0.49% by 0736 GMT on Monday to 15,300 per dollar. Earlier in the session, it hit 15,305 per … [Read more...] about Indonesia orders financial firms to ‘intensively’ analyse dollar exposure

- A + A TOKYO/SYDNEY/LONDON (Oct 3): Governments and companies around the world are facing unprecedented costs to refinance bonds, a burden that’s set to deepen fissures in debt markets and expose more vulnerabilities among weaker borrowers. A corporate treasurer or finance minister looking to issue new notes now would likely have to pay interest that’s about 156 basis points higher on average than the coupons on existing securities, after that gap surged to a record in recent days. That all adds up to about US$1.01 trillion in additional costs if all those securities were refinanced, according to calculations using a Bloomberg index tracking some US$65 trillion of government and corporate debt across currencies. That broad benchmark of global debt lost 6.8% last quarter, its second-worst drop after a record slide in the previous three months, data stretching back to 1999 show. Monday brought little relief, with spreads on Asian high-grade dollar bonds little … [Read more...] about A US$1 tril burden looms for world borrowers refinancing debt

- A + A SINGAPORE/SEOUL (Oct 3): For years Covid froze one of private banking’s best tools for keeping customers loyal — invite-only events for the children of wealthy clients. Now, as global borders finally re-open, they’re starting to return. In the bowels of Singapore’s Ritz-Carlton hotel 12 young people in gray hoodies sipping bubble tea could be mistaken for a university study group on first glance. That’s until you look down and see the Balenciaga sneakers and US$4,000 Christian Dior book totes. The sessions that include the nuances of crypto art are part of a week-long event run by the Bank of Singapore, one of those tentatively resuming physical programmes despite the awkward potential risk of infecting some of their richest scions. While the private banks tried to replicate in-person shindigs with Zoom seminars and learning portals during the pandemic, these didn’t always succeed in sufficiently engaging the next generation. Trillions of dollars in … [Read more...] about Rich kids’ boot camps return as private banks woo next-gen wealth

- A + A SHANGHAI/LONDON (Oct 3): Commodities face a daunting array of challenges in the final stretch of a turbulent year after capping their first back-to-back quarterly loss since 2019. Demand disruption as central banks hike rates to fight inflation, Europe's energy crisis, extreme weather risks, and deep policy uncertainty in China are among the major features that investors will need to navigate. In the near term, traders are focused on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (Opec+) this week as the alliance weighs a major supply cut, while gas markets will be on alert as Moscow escalates tensions with Europe. Elsewhere, Hurricane Ian's impacts are under scrutiny as US President Joe Biden heads to Florida, while China is off for a week-long break as the pivotal Communist Party congress looms in mid-October. Goldman Sachs Group Inc now reckons that commodities are caught up in a negative feedback loop driven by the dollar and shifts in … [Read more...] about What to watch as commodities face crisis-wracked run to year end

- A + A NEW DELHI (Oct 3): India's unemployment rate dropped to the lowest in more than four years in September, buoyed by a strong rise in new jobs, according to a private research firm. The jobless rate sharply fell to 6.43%, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt showed. The reading is the lowest since August 2018 and compares with a one-year high of 8.3% in August. The decline comes as nearly 10 million jobs got added during the month, defying the trend in August when workers who entered the job market could not find work. In rural areas, the unemployment rate declined to 5.8% from 7.7% in August, while in urban areas it stood at 7.7%, lower than 9.6% in the previous month. The latest data comes against the backdrop of India's festive season which typically boosts economic activity and aids jobs growth. A strong demand in the service sector along with steady monsoon rains also likely boosted employment opportunities. But risks loom large … [Read more...] about India jobless rate drops to four-year low before festival season

- A + A CAPE TOWN/LONDON (Oct 3): Europe's worsening energy crisis is creating a shortage of floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, causing rental rates for the specialised tankers to double. Demand for LNG imports is set to intensify after the ruptures on the key Nord Stream pipeline system quashed any prospect of Russia turning its gas taps back on. Countries are increasingly turning to floating storage and regasification units, or FSRUs, which are essentially mobile terminals that unload the super-chilled fuel and pipe it into onshore networks. "Last year there was a surplus of FSRUs and this year there is a deficit," said Per Christian Fett, the global head of LNG at shipbrokers Fearnley LNG in Oslo. "Up until now there have been sufficient vessels in the market, but as most have now been taken, it's becoming more challenging." There are 48 FSRUs in operation globally, and all but six of them are locked into term charters, according to Kaushal Ramesh, … [Read more...] about Floating LNG terminal rates spike in Europe on ship shortage

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): The number of new Covid-19 cases in the 39th epidemiological week (epi week) from Sept 25 to Oct 1 dropped 5.2% to 12,291 from 12,963 during the previous week, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. He said during the 39th epi week,  there were 12,260 local cases, from 12,934 a week ago, while imported cases increased by 6.9% to 31 from 29. "Death cases due to Covid-19 in the 39th epi week decreased by 35% to 26 from 40 in the 38th epi week, while average daily active cases for the same week decreased by 2.5% to 24,713 from the previous week,” Noor Hisham said in a statement on Monday (Oct 3). On the number of recoveries, he said, it dropped by 8.4% to 12,534 in the 39th epi week, from 13,677 previously. The Health DG said that based on physical data reported for the 38th and 39th epi weeks, it was found that the number of patient arrivals to the Covid-19 assessment centre (CAC) decreased by 9%, while the … [Read more...] about New Covid-19 cases, fatalities down last week