| Think tank: Malaysia's currency to gain further
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's currency is expected to strengthen to 3.40 to the U.S. dollar by year-end and to 3.30 by the end of 2008, but the ringgit's rise is unlikely to hurt exports, a private think tank predicted Wednesday. The ringgit surged to its highest level since November 1997 when it breached 3.50 to the dollar on Tuesday, taking the market by surprise. It was hovering at around 3.4930 to the dollar Wednesday. The Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute, or ASLI, said the ringgit's strength is underpinned by the country's large current account surplus of around 14.6 percent of gross domestic product and high foreign reserves. In tandem with the other Asian currencies, it expects "the ringgit will strengthen to 3.40 to a U.S. dollar by end 2007. "Our forecast for end 2008 is 3.30,'' ASLI said in a report. "Over the medium term, an annual appreciation of 2 to 3 percent could be accommodated in tandem with the improving trends of the underlying (economic) fundamentals.'' Gan Khuan Poh, a senior economic fellow with ASLI, said the ringgit's climb has been gradual and not volatile, and therefore unlikely to affect the manufacturing sector, which is the backbone of Malaysia's economy. The ringgit's strength will make imports cheaper and ease inflationary pressure, he said. ASLI chief executive Michael Yeoh said a stronger ringgit would help manufacturers be more competitive. "It will force our manufacturers to enhance their productivity.
Beckman Coulter Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2006 Results ...
FULLERTON, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beckman Coulter, Inc. (NYSE: BEC) announced today fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2006 results. The fourth quarter is the first quarter of meaningful revenue comparability since the initiation of the company's leasing policy change in July 2005. Revenue of $712 million in the fourth quarter was up 8.6% over prior year. Reported earnings per fully diluted share were $0.97. Adjusting for special items, diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $1.03. Full year 2006 revenue was $2,528.5 million, up 3.5% over prior year, suppressed by the leasing change. Reported earnings per fully diluted share for the full year were $2.92. Excluding special items, diluted earnings per share were $2.88. Both fourth quarter revenue growth and full year comparable fully diluted earnings per share were in the top half of the outlook ranges provided by the company on November 1, 2006.
Fake currency racket busted in Ranchi, 10 arrested
Ranchi, Feb 7 Police Tuesday busted a counterfeit currency racket here by arresting 10 persons, saying that the currencies were supplied from Pakistan to India via Bangladesh. Senior Superintendent of Police Naresh Prasad Singh said Tuesday that the accused claimed that counterfeit currencies were supplied from Pakistan to as many as 14 bordering villages in West Bengal via Dhaka. .
Forex Daily Technical Report Services Data Dominate Focus Today
Dollar extends Friday's gain against European majors in a day with lots of service industry data. Services PMI from Germany, Eurozone and UK will be featured in European session today. Eurozone Services PMI is expected to ease slightly in Jan, dropping from 57.6 to 57.0. Meanwhile UK Services PMI is also expected to retreat slightly from 60.0, after reaching the highest level since Jun 97 at 60.6 last month. ISM non-manufacturing index in Jan is expected to remain solid and rise slightly to 57.0. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen also edges higher as G7 speculation continues. Whether the yen's weakness will be a topic of criticism by European officials in the upcoming meeting this weekend remains to be seen. But this is an event risk that yen traders won't ignore and thus, we will likely see some unwinding of carry trades ahead of the meeting.
Yen Gains as European Officials May Say the Currency Is Weak
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The yen gained versus the dollar and increased the most against the euro in a month on speculation European policy makers will say Japan's currency is too weak. The yen climbed against the 16 most-active currencies after officials in Europe said the Group of Seven nations would debate the issue this week. Japan's Vice Finance Minister Hideto Fujii, the ministry's top bureaucrat, said the G-7 will discuss currency markets as usual. Futures trading data released on Feb. 2 showed investors held record bets the Japanese currency would fall. ``The yen has momentum coming into the G-7 meeting after all the talk about it being undervalued,'' said Mike Moran, senior currency strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York. ``Looking at the net shorts, you've got to wonder how long this can remain without some kind of a correction.'' The Japanese currency gained to 120.36 against the dollar at 11:30 a.m.
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