Economic Data
(NZ) RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND (RBNZ) LEAVES OFFICIAL CASH RATE UNCHANGED AT 2.50% (AS EXPECTED)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND DEC M3 MONEY SUPPLY: 6.0% V 5.5% PRIOR
(AU) AUSTRALIA DEC PRIVATE SECTOR CREDIT M/M: 0.4% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: 3.6%V 3.4%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 EXPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: -2.4% V -1.5%E; IMPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 0.3% V 0.4%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA DEC HIA NEW HOME SALES M/M: 6.2% V 3.0% PRIOR (8-month high)
(JP) JAPAN DEC ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 880K V 895KE; Y/Y: 10.0% V 13.5%E; CONSTRUCTION ORDERS Y/Y: +4.8% V -2.1% PRIOR (first rise in three months)
(JP) JAPAN DEC VEHICLE PRODUCTION Y/Y: -17.2% V -8.4% PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN DEC LABOR CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: -1.4% V -0.8% PRIOR (5-month low)
(JP) JAPAN DEC LOANS & DISCOUNTS CORP M/M: 1.0% V 0.4% PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN DEC PRELIM INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 2.5% V 4.1%E; Y/Y: -7.8% V -5.6%E
(JP) JAPAN JAN MARKIT/JMMA MANUFACTURING PMI: 47.7 V 45.0 PRIOR (first rise in four months)
(SG) SINGAPORE DEC CREDIT CARD BAD DEBTS (S$): 19.1M V 20.0M PRIOR; BILLINGS: 3.69B V 3.41B PRIOR
(SG) SINGAPORE Q4 PRELIM UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 1.8% V 1.9%E
(SG) SINGAPORE DEC MONEY SUPPLY M1 Y/Y: 9.0% V 5.3% PRIOR; M2: 7.2% V 6.2% PRIOR; BANK LOANS & ADVANCES Y/Y:16.7% V 15.9% PRIOR
(PH) PHILIPPINES Q4 GDP Q/Q: 1.5% V 1.2%E; Y/Y: 6.8% V 6.3%; 2012 GDP Y/Y: 6.6% V 6.4%E
(TW) TAIWAN Q4 PRELIM GDP Q/Q: 3.4% V 3.0%E
(UK) UK GFK DEC CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: -26 V -28E
Markets Snapshot (as of 05:30 GMT)
Nikkei225 -0.7%
S&P/ASX -0.4%
Kospi -0.5%
Shanghai Composite -0.1%
Hang Seng -0.5%
Mar S&P500 -0.1% at 1,5
Feb gold +0.3% at $1,6/oz
Mar Crude Oil flat at $97.97/brl
Notes/Observations
RBNZ leaves cash target rate unchanged as expected; Seeks economic growth recovering domestically and globally; Monitoring against inflation in property market; NZD/USD rises over 60 pips above $0.8360.
JCER Pres / BoJ Gov-candidate Iwata: BoJ appointees should pledge to reach 2% inflation target by 2014; Can overcome deflation with monetary policy alone; May not have to purchase foreign bond; USD/JPY pulls back below ¥91 on no hints of foreign bond buying by the front-runner to replace BOJ.
Japan Vehicle production, industrial output for December still short of estimates despite weaker JPY.
Qualcomm beats and raises guidance; Facebook underwhelming on margins ans shortfall in mobile revenue component.
Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities
NZD/USD: Rises over 50 pips above $0.8350 following the RBNZ rate hold and an upgrade on 2013 growth projections
JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.49T in 0.1% 2-yr notes, Avg Yield: 0.070% v 0.094% prior; bid to cover: 10.13x v 9.73x prior
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(JP) Japan govt considering requesting exemptions in TPP trade agreement - Kyodo News
(JP) BoJ Dep Gov Yamaguchi: May increase asset purchases further if required; to continue to pursue monetary easing if needed; Strong chance Japan's CPI growth will reach 1% in FY14
(CN) Shanghai Jan land transactions rose 37.7% y/y to 355K sqm - Chinese press citing Soufun.com
(CN) China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC): May raise leverage ratio in new risk control rules on brokerages - Chinese press
Equities
FXJ.AU: Shareholder group of Mark Carnegie could increase 0.15% stake after Qantas stake sale - Australian press
WHC.AU: Reports Q1 coal production 2,367k tons +96% y/y, coals sales at 2,081k tons +46% y/y - financial press
ORI.AU: CEO: 2012 was not a stellar year; market conditions were volatile - financial press
WOW.AU: Reports H1 Rev A$30.7B v A$29.7B y/y; maintains FY guidance
LYC.AU: Alliances and contracts are in place for rare earth supply - financial press
JFE 5411.JP: May report 9-month pretax profit around ¥20-25B v ¥59.3B y/y; 3-year low for the period - Nikkei News
Ajinomoto 2802.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥54.5B v ¥42.0B y/y, Op Profit ¥60.9B v ¥66.9B y/y, Rev ¥891B v ¥914B y/y
Tokyo Gas 9531.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥64B v loss ¥1.1B y/y, Op Profit ¥99B v ¥7B y/y, Rev ¥1.34T v ¥1.17T y/y
Daihatsu Motor 7262.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥56.9B v ¥B y/y, Op Profit ¥93.5B v ¥B y/y, Rev ¥1.25T v ¥1.1T y/y
Kawasaki Heavy 7012.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥19.34B v ¥33.68B y/y, Op Profit ¥22.9B v ¥47.3B y/y, Rev ¥885.9B v ¥906.3B y/y
Daiichi Sankyo 4568.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥51.5B v ¥17.5B y/y, Op Profit ¥93.5B v ¥91.9B y/y, Rev ¥746B v ¥696B y/y
FB: Reports Q4 $0.17 v $0.15e, R$1.59B v $1.53Be
QCOM: Reports Q1 $1.26 v $1.12e, R$6.0B v $5.87Be; raises outlook
EA: Reports Q3 $0.57 v $0.56e, R$1.18B v $1.29Be
COP: Reports Q4 $1.43 adj v $1.41e, R$16.4B v $12.0Be