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KUALA LUMPUR, (Bernama) — The ringgit is likely to trend firmer against the U.S. dollar next week, supported by brisk demand from foreign banks in anticipation of positive domestic economic fundamentals, dealers said.

They said that despite worries over rising inflation and crude oil prices, demand for the local currency is expected to remain strong. Read more

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–Economic data Thursday suggest the U.S. economy ended 2007 with a bit more steam than once thought and that labor markets started the new year on a firmer tone, easing some of the worst fears about the state of the economy.

Still, sluggish reports by U.S. retailers for December served as a reminder that even if the U.S. escapes an outright recession, the first half of 2008 will most likely be much weaker than the latter part of 2007. Read more

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DALLAS (AP) — Dell, the computer maker, said Monday that Donald J. Carty, hired as chief financial officer a year and a half ago to help lead a turnaround, would resign in June and be succeeded by a longtime General Electric executive.

Brian T. Gladden, chief executive of Sabic Innovative Plastics, formerly called GE Plastics, will join Dell on Tuesday and succeed Mr. Carty on June 13. Read more

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MANILA, Philippines — The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose slightly to $36.7 billion in April from $36.6 billion in the preceding month, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Foreign exchange inflows consisted mostly of the bank’s gains from foreign exchange operations, its income from investments abroad, as well as the government’s deposit of proceeds from a loan from the Asian Development Bank, the central bank said.

The latest GIR level covers 6.2 months of imports of goods and payments of services and income, central bank said.

The GIR reserves for April are equivalent to 5.2 times the country’s short-term external debt, based on original maturity, and 3.4 times based on residual maturity.

The central bank aims to boost the GIR level, including its holdings of gold and other foreign currencies, to a range of from $35 billion to $37 billion by the end of 2008.

($1 = P42.35)

Sources : Business

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The euro continued to drop while the pound rallied, as investors reconsider their forecasts for interest rates in the euro zone and United Kingdom.

Softer economic data from the euro zone — with the German Ifo indicator falling unexpectedly on Thursday and M3 money supply easing to an annual rate of 10.3 percent in March — has cast doubt on the ability of the region to ‘de-couple’ from the U.S. recession and global financial crisis. Read more

PARIS (KUNA): The French Senate, or upper house of parliament, announced here Thursday that it is organizing two round table discussions May 14 to examine the role France can play in attracting Islamic funds and the opportunities opening up to work with Islamic funds on international finance markets. The sessions will be presided over by the Senates Finance Commission president Jean Arthuis and will include participants from a variety of financial and investment bodies. The first round table will examine “the integration of Islamic finance in the global financial system” and seek to determine the challenges for France in this area, the Senate said in a statement. According to the statement, Islamic funds are now valued at around 700 billion dollars and have a “recognized growth potential” but these funds remain centred in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where they continue to grow. Read more

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The euro retreated from a record high versus the dollar on Wednesday after a fall in manufacturing activity suggested that euro zone is starting to feel the pinch of a global slowdown and a strong currency.

Investors also sold the euro after a European Central Bank official toned down his hawkish comments, cooling speculation that the ECB’s next move on interest rates may be a rise, rather than a cut.

The RBC/NTC Eurozone Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing dropped to 50.8 in April, its lowest in nearly three years. German manufacturing activity also fell, although both German and euro zone readings for the service economy rose. [ID:nL23902285]

“Manufacturing has dropped quite a bit and that has been the driver of growth in Germany … the euro is off a touch on it,” said David Pais, currency strategist at Citigroup. Read more

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Wellington lawyer and National Party candidate Stephen Franks says the coverage of the Electoral Finance Act is so wide it may unwittingly capture the play The Hollow Men.

Mr Franks has raised the issue of the play, being staged at Auckland’s Maidment Theatre, with the Electoral Commission, seeking an interpretation of whether it fits the Act’s definition of election advertising. Read more

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Steep dividend cuts and losses in their company’s home- and consumer-lending divisions didn’t seem to faze CIT Group’s investors, who were happy to bid up the stock on hopes for a future focused on the firm’s commercial finance business. Read more

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CMS Forex announced the release of its Java based platform, VT Mobile Trader. This revolutionary application features comprehensive trading on cellular phones as well as other handheld devices. “VT Mobile gives our clients the same platform quality and advanced charting and technical analysis tools of VT Trader, but with the freedom to trade nearly anywhere at any time and with data updated in real time,” said Eugene Hawkin, COO of Capital Market Services, LLC. Read more