News
Liquidity in Malaysia may tighten further as rate-hike bets grow
28+ min ago (572+ words) (July 16): Funding conditions in Malaysia’s money market will likely tighten further later this year, with some analysts expecting stronger economic growth to prompt the country’s central bank to raise interest rates. The three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate, or Klibor,…...
Cagamas issues Malaysia’s first sukuk based on new interbank benchmark
55+ min ago (227+ words) KUALA LUMPUR (July 16): National mortgage corporation Cagamas Bhd has issued Malaysia’s first sukuk and interest rate swap based on the new interbank benchmark. The transactions, comprising a RM300 million one-year Islamic medium-term notes and RM RM100 million five-year Islamic profit rate swap,…...
Nearly half of Japanese firms hurt by BOJ interest rate hikes
3+ hour, 47+ min ago (653+ words) TOKYO (July 16): Nearly half of Japanese firms are experiencing negative business impact from the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes, with higher borrowing costs hurting bottom lines and discouraging capital investment, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday. The BOJ ended…...
Incoming UK budget office head sees higher interest rates and weaker growth than consensus
10+ hour, 8+ min ago (394+ words) LONDON (July 15): Jonathan Haskel, a former Bank of England interest rate-setter who has been nominated to head Britain's budget forecasting agency, said on Wednesday he was less optimistic than most other analysts about the outlook for the country's economy. Britain's…...
US mortgage rates match highest in almost a year, purchases drop
15+ hour, 18+ min ago (176+ words) The Edge Malaysia (July 15): US mortgage rates rose last week to match the highest level since August 2025, sending applications for home purchases to the lowest level since February. The rise in borrowing costs and drop in applications underscores one-way inflation…...
China's new bank loans in June rise less than expected
18+ hour, 17+ min ago (426+ words) BEIJING (July 15): Chinese banks extended 1.61 trillion yuan (US$237.89 billion or RM969.3 billion) in new loans in June, more than triple the amount in May but missing analysts' forecasts, according to Reuters calculations using central bank data on Wednesday. Analysts polled by…...
‘Bad inflation’ ends China’s record streak of price declines
17+ hour, 53+ min ago (504+ words) (July 15): China ended a record deflationary run last quarter, although the rebound of a key price gauge was driven by surging global energy costs rather than a recovery in domestic consumption. The so-called GDP deflator, which measures price changes across…...
BMI expects Malaysia's loan growth to slow in second half of year
19+ hour, 23+ min ago (432+ words) KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, is anticipating a more moderate slowdown in loan growth in the second half of 2026, given the stronger-than-expected momentum year-to-date. As such, the research firm revised its forecast for Malaysia's loan growth…...
Standard Chartered dismisses de-dollarisation narrative, sees ringgit as Asean outperformer
20+ hour, 33+ min ago (606+ words) At the same time, Standard Chartered sees the Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar as relative outperformers among Asean currencies. The UK-headquartered bank expects the US dollar to appreciate by around 2% to 3% on average by year end, supported by resilient US…...
Kuroda's negative rate surprise shocked his own BOJ board, minutes show
23+ hour, 35+ min ago (534+ words) TOKYO (July 15): The Bank of Japan's shock introduction of negative rates in 2016 drew intense criticism from within the board with some blasting it as half-baked and a risky move that could trigger a currency war with Europe, policy meeting minutes…...