Daily News Report

Markets in a Flash
• Asian markets closed moderately higher overnight. Chinese markets were up over 2%.
• European markets are trading slightly higher this morning, but are p less than 0.5%
• Commodities slightly higher this morning. Oil and Gold are trading higher but Gold is still just below $1200.
• The GBP is looking strong today making gains against other major currencies.
• The Canadian Dollar strengthens after an upbeat jobs report.
• US equity futures are showing small falls suggesting a slightly lower open.

News Focus
Google’s license to operate in China has been renewed by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese authorities had threatened to remove the company’s right to operate in the country after Google had stopped censoring search results in the country. Google offered Chinese user the ability to access the uncensored Hong Kong page with the click of an extra button on the Chinese homepage. This option appears to have satisfied the Chinese authorities as confirmed by their actions today in renewing their license.
South Korea has raised their base rate from 2% by 25 basis points to 2.25%. This is the country’s first rise in interest rates since the economic crisis and the first in 16 months. The rise has been implemented in response to the threat of inflation and following the recent rises in rates Malaysia, Taiwan, India and New Zealand.

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