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Prime Minister of Luxembourg and President of Euro Group Jean-Claude Juncker attends a press conference after the Euro Group finance ministers meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2010. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

BRUSSELS, March 15 (Xinhua) — Finance ministers of the Eurogroup Monday endorsed the austerity measures taken by the Greek government and offered no bailout plan despite wide speculation before the meeting.

According to a statement released after the meeting, the ministers of the 16-nation bloc said that the additional fiscal measures announced by the Greek authorities on March 3 \”appear sufficient to safeguard the 2010 budgetary targets provided they are effectively, fully and timely implemented.\”

The Greek government set out a plan in January to cut it budgetary deficit by four percentage points to 8.7 percent this year. It introduced a new package of measures earlier this month, including deeper cuts of salaries in the public sector and higher taxes, which were worth 4.8 billion euros (6.6 billion U.S. dollars).

At a press conference held after the monthly meeting of the ministers, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said that the measures announced by the Greek government are sufficient to safeguard the 2010 budgetary targets.

\”We think the consolidation measures are an important contribution to the improvement of the fiscal situation in Greece, \” he said.

Juncker said that the ministers are convinced that the measures announced by the Greek government are \”credible\” and therefore there is no need to offer financial aid to the country.

At the press conference, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Union (EU) Olli Rehn also said: \”The Greek government have taken bold additional measures, which mean that Greece is now on track to reach 4 percent deficit reduction.\”

However, Juncker reiterated that eurozone member states will take determined and coordinated action, if needed, to help Greece as decided at the informal summit of the European Council in February.

But he said the final decision on how to help Greece is \”up to the European Council\” but not the next European Council.

The statement released after the meeting said that the finance ministers \”clarified modalities enabling a decision on coordinated action and which could be activated swiftly in the case of need.\”

\”The objective would not be to provide financing at average euro area interests rates, but to safeguard financial stability in the euro area as s whole,\” the statement said.

Before the meeting, the Guardian reported that the finance ministers would finalize details of the rescue on Monday evening and it would be a set of \”coordinated bilateral contributions\” by eurozone governments in the form of loans or loan guarantees.

SEOUL, March 15 (Xinhua) — Seoul shares saw a decline Monday on market speculation of monetary tightening in China and the U.S., local analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 13.24 points, or 0.80 percent, to close at 1649.50, the bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX) said.

After several ups and downs in the morning, the index was driven down by reports that China and the U.S. may introduce monetary tightening policies in the near future.

Due to unfavorable reports from overseas markets, foreigners were back to their net seller position, while institutions and individuals ended their trading as net buyers by a narrow margin.

Financial shares suffered the greatest loss, with securities and banking sector dropping 1.51 percent and 1.36 percent respectively.

While most of the shares listed on the main bourse saw a decline, paper and lumber-related shares inched up 0.38 percent.

Most market giants joined the decline trend, with Samsung Electronics, POSCO and KEPCO shedding 1.29 percent, 1.25 percent and 1.43 percent resectively.

Hynix and Samsung Fire & Marine Insuranc, on the other hand, moved up 1.08 percent and 0.25 percent respectively.

The junior bourse KOSDAQ also dropped 1.69 points, or 0.33 percent, to end at 517.75, said the KRX.

The derivatives markets went in line with spot trading moves, with the KOSPI 200 Futures market shrinking 2.10 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 216.25, according to the bourse operator.

In the meantime, the local currency continued to lose ground against the U.S. dollar, with the forex rate hitting 1,134.70 won against one U.S. dollar, down 6.40 won from the previous session.

The appreciation of the U.S. dollar, or the depreciation of the South Korean won vice versa, came as market sentiment was relieved over Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao\’s remarks on Sunday that the yuan will not likely be appreciated, clearly stating it is not undervalued.

Bond yields stood flat as the yield on the benchmark three-year Treasury note fixed at 3.93 percent.

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FLASH: Premier Wen calls for reform of world financial system http://www.zokn.com

?Special Report:NPC, CPPCC Annual Sessions 2010

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao smiles during a press conference after the closing meeting of the Third Session of the 11th National People\’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2010. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday the world needs better coordination in macro-economic policies and reforms of international financial system to solve the imbalance of the global economy.

The imbalance of the world economy is mainly reflected on the imbalance between consumption and saving of major economies, Wen told a press conference after the conclusion of the annual session of the National People\’s Congress (NPC).

It is improper for some countries to fix their eyes only on China\’s exports in dealing with the imbalance,

\”China will increase imports, and we hope developed countries could ease restrictions on exports of high-tech products to China,\” Wen said.

The fact that some financial institutions only concerned about their own interests and excessively expanded their businesses has caused instability of the financial sector, he said.

\”Further measures should be taken to reform the world financial system,\” he said.

Related:

Chinese premier vows to contribute to fair, reasonable world order

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) — Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday China would work together with other nations towards a fair and reasonable new political and economic order of the world.

Wen made the remarks at a press conference after the National People\’s Congress (NPC) concluded its annual session, saying his biggest concern over the international situation is security and stability.??Full story

China to increase imports, promote balanced trade: Premier Wen

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday China will strive to make balanced international payment and promote free trade, although protectionism worsens as the global financial crisis deepens.

\”I am a staunch supporter of free trade, since it will not only promote world economic growth, but also improve people\’s livelihoods,\” Wen made the remarks at a press conference after the close of the annual parliament session.Full story

Premier says China\’s development affects no other countries

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) — China\’s development will not affect other countries, Premier Wen Jiabao said here Sunday.

by Lidia Moise

BUCHAREST, March 11 (Xinhua) — Financial market\’s sentiment toward sovereign debt in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) began to reflect calmer waters as countries in the region announced austerity measures to curb the fiscal deficits.

Rating companies are still precautious and send different signals describing the particular risks, but the outlook is brighter in some cases.

Standard & Poor\’s on Tuesday raised its outlook on Romania from negative to stable, as a response to the austerity measures planned by the government, in compliance with the terms of agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Earlier last month Fitch Ratings also raised the outlook of its credit rating attributed to Romania to \”stable\” on the same reasons. Both credit rating companies had penalized Romania and Latvia as the most risky countries in the European Union.

The return to investment grade universe is not an easy attempt, said Marko Mrsnik, credit analyst at Standard & Poor\’s.

\”As we point out in the report, if the Romanian government maintains the momentum of its current structural reform beyond the horizon of the EU Standby Agreement, building a sustained track record of fiscal prudence and ensuring an orderly containment of vulnerabilities in the country\’s financial sector, we could eventually raise the ratings,\” said Mrsnik in an interview with Xinhua.

Moody\’s is the only credit rating company which maintained Romania\’s investment grade and recently expressed no intention to change the score.

Last year, Romania\’s public deficit stood at 7.2 percent of the country\’s gross domestic product (GDP), and this year, if the policies remain unchanged, the fiscal deficit will stand at around 8.4 percent of the GDP, according to the IMF.

Bulgaria has been warned by Fitch that it may see its credit rating lowered to junk grade as its external debt will exceed the total output, which may threaten the financial stability. Bulgarian authorities slapped the sharp comments of Fitch, revealing that it was trying to negotiate the contract with the rating company.

But all rating companies signaled worries toward the negative influence of the downturn of Greece\’s economy on Bulgaria, and regarding the slippage on fiscal deficit in the first month of the year. The current account deficit deteriorated in the last part of 2009, raising concerns on the future financing of the huge gross external debt of 37.6 billion euros (51.3 billion U. S. dollars), which stands for 111 percent of the economy.

The national currency, leva, is pegged to euro and the central bank has no tools for intervention, so that the government is obliged to keep a fiscal surplus. But Bulgaria\’s sovereign debt is only 15 percent of the GDP, one of the lowest in the region.

CDS\’S PARADOX

Markets are optimistically signaling less danger on the default front for sovereign bonds issued by CEE countries, analysts said.

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — Profits of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country\’s top aircraft manufacturer, reached 9.7 billion yuan (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2009, up 32.2 percent year on year, the company said on Wednesday.

Business revenue hit 191 billion yuan, up 14.4 percent, the aircraft conglomerate said at an annual summit of the company on Wednesday.

The company gave no details on its profit and revenue increases, but said its business had realized steady and relatively fast growth through restructuring amid the global financial crisis last year.

AVIC saw 10 major merger-and-acquisition deals in 2009, including the the acquisition of 91.25 percent stakes of Future Advanced Composite Components by AVIC\’s subsidiary Xi\’an Aircraft Industry Company Ltd. in December last year.

In November, AVIC agreed to transfer its auto operations to the Changan Automobile Group Co. in return for a 23-percent share in Changan.

The market value of AVIC\’s listed companies increased 158 percent to 147.3 billion yuan in 2009.

http://www.marconimedical.com

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — China\’s exports may grow by 8 percent in 2010 but problems still existed with getting exports back to pre-crisis levels, according to a statement posted Monday on the website of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), quoting minister Li Yizhong.

It was unlikely for China\’s exports to recover to pre-crisis levels in the short-term, Li said during a Sunday meeting attended by MIIT officials, attributing the slow rebound to rising international protectionism and the fact that Chinese manufacturers relied too much on overseas markets.

The 8-percent growth forecast was still far below 2008\’s 17.2-percent increase, according to customs data.

Despite overtaking Germany as the world\’s largest exporter, China saw its exports contract 16 percent year-on-year in 2009 as overseas demand slumped.

Exports in January this year grew 21 percent on lower comparison bases a year ago due to the global economic downturn and less working days as the Lunar New Year holiday fell in January last year, said the General Administration of Customs earlier this month.

Li also stressed that China should keep the yuan stable in a speech addressing the current domestic economic situation during the meeting, as international pressure on China to strengthen the yuan was intensified.

http://www.nmgmzbwg.com.cn

TOKYO, March 15 (Xinhua) — The Cabinet Office on Monday upgraded its assessment on the economy for the first time in eight months, with earnings, production and consumer sentiment all starting to recover.

\’While the economy has been picking up steadily, the self- sustainability of the recovery remains weak and problems such as high unemployment mean the situation is still difficult,\” said the Cabinet Office in its monthly economic report for March.

In recent months, the Cabinet Office had said that the economy was picking up without using the word \”\’steadily\”.

The report also noted that risks to the economy, such as situations overseas and deflation meant that the nation needed to remain vigilant.

The report marks the first time that the government has upgraded its assessment on the economy since the government of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power in September last year.

The Cabinet Office upgraded its assessment on conditions in five areas for the report — profits, housing, consumption, investment and employment.

Conditions for corporate profits are \”improving,\” while the decline in business investment is coming to a stop, the report said. It also said that \”improvements in the employment situation could be observed.\”

On private consumption, the report said the situation was \” improving,\” and had the same assessment for the housing market.

It is the first time since July that Japan has upgraded its assessment of five separate areas of the economy.

Despite the improvement in conditions and upgrading of the governments assessment on the economy, problems still remain for Japan. Unemployment remains high and deflation threatens to send the economy back into reverse.

Japan\’s economy has struggled since the onset of the credit crisis, which started in late 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Since then, Japan has struggled as first exports declined and then job losses added to the woes for the nation.

Since coming to power in September, the DPJ has made improving the economy a priority, but with national debt at close to 200 percent, it has struggled to find money to support wide-reaching stimulus measures.

In its report, the Cabinet Office urged the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to take \”appropriate and flexible measures\” at its monthly two-day policy meeting, which finishes on Wednesday.

http://www.qb-china.com

PARIS, March 11 (Xinhua) — France\’s budget deficit in January reached 9.2 billion euros (12.6 billion US dollars), higher than the 8.1-billion-euro figure registered in the same period last year, Budget Minister Eric Woerth said Thursday.

The minister said France\’s public expenditures in January amounted to 27.3 billion euros, up by 5 billion euros over a year ago while its public revenue increased to 20 billion euros from 17.9 billion euros recorded in the corresponding period last year.

Woerth contributed the increased central government expenditure to an earlier financial allocation to local governments.

The French government predicted a total budget deficit of 149.2 billion euros for the entire 2010, a figure higher than the 138 billion euros recorded in 2009.

Despite the increased budget deficit, the minister said there were some encouraging signs with the French economy in January.

Statistics showed that in January France\’s industrial production edged up by 1.6 percent over a year ago while its trade deficit recorded a decline, indicating an improvenment in the country\’s exports.

http://www.ceshq.com

by Na Haejung

SEOUL, March 10 (Xinhua) — Kicking off his third year in office in March, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is expected to keep his keen focus on the economic recovery, with his government continuing active policy support in macroeconomic policies.

Wrapping up the last two years devoted to restoring the nation\’ s economic health, the Lee Myung-bak administration is ready to continue leading the way toward a full-fledged recovery, keeping up its policy measures conducted during the past two years.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT EFFORTS DURING PAST TWO YEARS

Hard struck by the global financial turmoil, sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, just six months after the inauguration, the Lee regime has been placing top priority on weathering the financial crisis as soon as possible.

Amid deepening concerns over the instability in financial and foreign exchange markets, as well as in exporters, the government declared a virtual emergency government and launched a crisis management council meeting.

In line with the emergency moves, the presidential office set up an economic war-room at the presidential office to better monitor the economy.

The government unfolded various policy measures to fight the economic downturn, including fiscal stimulus packages and expansionary monetary policies.

Among the government\’s aggressive fiscal stimulus measures were tax cuts, a supplementary budget worth 28.4 trillion won (25 billion U.S. dollars), and frontloading of the fiscal expenditure.

The government also took a monetary approach to stabilize the financial sector, such as conducting rate cuts and fixing the key rate at an all-time low, expending the liquidity provision, and tying currency swap agreements with China, the United States, and Japan.

Moreover, the government sought to support the middle income group and bolster the job market by newly launching the micro- credit lending program and the youth internship project.

Driven by the government\’s timely, preemptive measures in various sectors, South Korea\’s economy regained growth momentum by the end of Lee Myung-bak\’s second year in term.

Seeing a positive growth rate of 0.2 percent and standing out as one of the fastest-recovering economies among OECD members, the South Korean government is obviously enjoying better-than-expected results from the last two years.

EXPANSIONARY POLICY STANCE V. EXIT STRATEGY

Holding a conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul on Tuesday, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun reiterated that his government will continue to take the leading role to keep the economy on track.

\”The (South) Korean government will put priority on \’Gaining Traction for Self-sustained recovery\’ and \’Strengthening the Economic Fundamentals for Medium and Long-term Growth\’,\” the minister told the press.

According to Minister Yoon, the third-year Lee Myung-bak regime will continue to unfold expansionary macroeconomic policies and frontload its expenditure as pre-scheduled.