Peru: No capital controls, but USD purchases by the finance ministry to help stem SOL appreciation.

Peru: No capital controls, but USD purchases by the finance ministry to help stem SOL appreciation.

Central Reserve Bank of Peru President Julio Velarde on Friday said that capital controls are not needed for stemming the pace of SOL appreciation. He said that he has never considered capital controls as an option and that the sol appreciation reflects its strong fundamentals. Finance Minister Luis Miguel Castilla announced government plans to purchase as much as USD 4.0bn this year to help the central bank control the pace of SOL appreciation. According to Minister Castilla, proceeds from USD purchases will be used to service and prepay external debt, as well as increase savings in the country’s Fiscal Stabilization Fund (FEF).

Chile: German businessmen would like to increase investments in Chile.

Chile: German businessmen would like to increase investments in Chile.

German businessmen would like to increase investments in Chile. Following a bilateral meeting with President Piñera at the time of the summit in Santiago last weekend, German Chancellor Merkel praised Chile’s robust economic performance and expressed satisfaction for growing German investments in the country. Mrs Merkel also offered the Chilean president her country’s cooperation in terms of developing renewable energy resources, given Chile’s structural energy deficit.

Turkey: Inflation outlook left unchanged

Turkey: Inflation outlook left unchanged

The CBRT left its end-2013 inflation forecast unchanged at 5.3%, with a 70%-probability forecast range of 3.9-6.7%. CPI inflation is forecast to slip to 4.9% by end 2014 (with a 70%-probability forecast range of 3.1-6.7%). The official inflation target was kept at 5% for both years. The CBRT sees annual inflation rising in January on the back of tobacco tax hikes and resuming a downward trend thereafter. Core inflation is forecast to maintain its downward trend and fall below 5% by year end.

European commercial property investment rallies in Q4

EUROPEAN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT RALLIES IN Q4
28 Jan, 2013, London

Trading activity in European commercial property rallied in late 2012 as the market stabilised after its midyear malaise to post the highest level of quarterly trading since 2007 at €43.7bn in Q4, according to the latest data from property consultants Cushman & Wakefield.

http://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/jsp/newsDetail.jsp?Language=EN&repId=c57800004p&Country=GB

UPDATE 1-Shell, Kinder plan to export natgas from United States

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100413394

UPDATE 1-Shell, Kinder plan to export natgas from United States

Published: Monday, 28 Jan 2013 | 2:38 PM ET
By: Jeanine Prezioso

* LNG exports planned from Elba Island near Savannah, Georgia

* LNG cargoes fetch as much as $18/mmBtu, US price below $4

* Exports have US DOE approval but project under review

Asia Chart Alert: China: Industrial profit improves; destocking continues

Economics Research | Asia Ex-Japan
28 January 2013

Asia Chart Alert: China: Industrial profit improves; destocking continues

Data further support our view that GDP growth is likely to rebound to 8.2% y-o-y in Q1 2013.

Fig. 1: Industrial profit and inventory

Natural Gas Exports for U.S. Jobs, Growth, and Trade

Natural Gas Exports for U.S. Jobs, Growth, and Trade
Posted January 27, 2013

This week API, on behalf of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, furnished comments on the Energy Department’s 2012 study of the impact of exporting U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). You can read them in full here, but let’s cover some of the main points:

http://theenergycollective.com/mark-green/177261/lng-exports-us-jobs-economic-growth-trade

Turkey: Capacity Utilisation

Turkey: Capacity Utilisation

Correction of the December Data Resulted in a m/m Decline in the CUR

On a seasonally adjusted basis, capacity utilisation rate (CUR) decreased 0.5pp m/m to 73.1% in January. Unadjusted CUR decreased 1.2pp m/m to 72.4%. On our calculations, both consumer goods and durable goods production increased by 0.7 pp m/m on a s.a. basis. On the other hand intermediate and investment goods production declined by -1.4 pp m/m and -0.8 pp m/m, respectively, partly counterbalancing the sharp rise they displayed last month. Among the export market oriented sectors, CUR in motor vehicles declined 1.0 pp m/m, while basic metals production dropped 1.7pp m/m. However CUR in textile sector remained strong and increased 1.3pp m/m.

Mexico: December trade balance – Strong headline; weak results

Mexico: December trade balance – Strong headline; weak results

Nader Nazmi - Market Economics
Latam Macro Snapshot | 25 Jan 2013 17:12 | 81 Kb

Here is the good news. Mexico reported a December trade surplus of USD 962mn while the consensus was expecting a deficit of USD 936mn. Now, the not-so-good news. Both imports and exports were weak and the surplus is explained by the fact that imports were weaker than exports.

Pension Liabilities – Time to Get Real

Pension Liabilities – Time to Get Real

· Creeping pension liabilities are an increasing concern for credit investors.

· Companies should provide more granular information on both sides of their pension balance sheets, as well as use more realistic assumptions.

· A few companies have improved their disclosures in recent years, but in general the information available to investors is still far from what we need.