Australia shares fall to two week low; China tightening in focus

SYDNEY, April 15 (Reuters) - Australian stocks fell 0.7 percent on Friday to their lowest close in two weeks, snapping a three-week winning streak as investors paused for breath amid expectation for tightening in China after higher-than-expected inflation.

China is Australia's top trade partner and further monetary tightening could hurt demand for natural resources.

Bank stocks fell, with No.4 lender Australia and New Zealand Banking Group leading the way with a 1.7 percent drop. Lingering sovereign debt troubles in Europe are seen hurting banks that rely on offshore debt for annual funding.

Top lender National Australia Bank fell 1.1 percent. NAB said it was experiencing some delays in updating customer accounts and it was working to rectify it. It was the second time in just a few months it experienced technical difficulties.
"We have just been drifting lower as investors are uncomfortable with current levels. More than selling there is just lack of buying," Ben Potter an analyst at IG Markets said.

He said U.S. earnings will be guide trade next week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 32.15 points, to 4,852.10 according to latest available data. The index dropped 1.8 percent for the week.

Global miner Rio Tinto slipped 1.1 percent and BHP Billiton fell 1 percent as metal prices slipped after China data showed strong economic growth and a 32-month high for March consumer prices.

Rio said the global market for iron ore will likely remain tight, thanks to strong demand and limited supply coming on stream.
Miner Macarthur Coal rose more than 2.5 percent to A$12.12 after it was upgraded to a buy by Credit Suisse, Barrett-Lennard said.

Contractor Leighton Holdings extended Thursday's 12 percent loss, easing 0.2 percent to A$24.88, after warning of a big full-year loss and embarking on a capital raising.

New Zealand tourism operator Tourism Holdings jumped 16.7 percent to NZ$0.7, after it said it had a received a partial takeover offer.

IMF, World Bank Warn Against Complacency

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank stressed the need for continued cooperation among world economies, saying the global financial system remains vulnerable to further shocks. The warning comes as the world lending institutions prepare for its annual Spring Meeting in Washington.

The world economy has weathered the worst of the economic downturn, but the IMF says the global financial system is not out of the woods just yet.

On Thursday, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned member countries to guard against complacency. "Certainly the recovery is getting stronger, but everybody can understand that it's not the recovery we want," Strauss-Kahn said.

Cadangan Devisa Tiongkok Lampaui 3 Triliun Dolar

Bank Rakyat Tiongkok Kamis ini menyatakan simpanan mata uang asing negara itu melampaui 3 triliun dolar pada akhir Maret.

Cadangan devisa Tiongkok, yang terbesar di dunia, telah membubung menjadi lebih dari 3 triliun dolar AS.

Bank Rakyat Tiongkok Kamis ini menyatakan simpanan mata uang asing negara itu melampaui 3 triliun dolar pada akhir Maret. Bank sentral itu juga menyatakan bank-bank di Tiongkok memberikan pinjaman baru lebih dari 100 miliar dolar AS pada bulan Maret, sementara ukuran luas untuk persediaan uang naik 16,6 persen dari setahun sebelumnya.
Beijing telah menimbun cadangan devisa yang sangat besar karena surplus perdagangan tinggi. Tapi para pembuat kebijakan khawatir banjir uang akan memicu inflasi, yang diperkirakan telah mencapai 5,4 persen per tahun pada bulan Maret, tingkat tertinggi dalam lebih dari dua tahun.

Bank sentral juga telah menaikkan suku bunga empat kali sejak Oktober lalu dan menaikkan cadangan wajib minimum di bank-bank. Langkah itu dirancang untuk mengurangi peminjaman dan memperketat aliran uang dalam perekonomian.

Sementara masih dari Tiongkok, para pemimpin dari negara berkembang terbesar menghimbau pengawasan yang lebih besar untuk pasar komoditi dan arus modal internasional dalam KTT hari Kamis di Tiongkok selatan.
Para pemimpin dari Tiongkok, Rusia, India, Brazil dan Afrika Selatan mengeluarkan himbauan itu dalam satu pernyataan bersama Kamis. Mereka mengatakan perubahan harga yang berlebihan untuk komoditi khususnya makanan dan energi, mengancam pemulihan ekonomi global dan seharusnya diatur dengan lebih cermat.

Pertanyaan itu juga meminta perhatian yang lebih besar untuk arus modal antar negara. Para penanam modal dari Barat telah memompa uang dalam jumlah besar ke negara-negara seperti Tiongkok yang telah pulih lebih cepat dari resesi global 2009, mendongkrak nilai mata mereka dan mengancam akan menciptakan gelembung nilai aset.

Kelima pemimpin itu menawarkan dukungan bagi reformasi sistem moneter internasional, menghimbau sistem cadangan devisa yang lebih luas yang dapat menggantikan ketergantungan dunia pada dolar Amerika.

Mereka mendukung proposal untuk meningkatkan peran Special Drawing Rights – cadangan devisa internasional yang diciptakan oleh Dana Moneter Internasional berdasarkan nilai sekumpulan mata uang penting. Mereka tidak menyinggung penambahan mata uang Tiongkok, yuan, ke dalam kumpulan mata uang itu.  sumber: voanews.com

Kongres AS Setujui Pemotongan Anggaran 38 Miliar Dolar

Rancangan undang-undang anggaran itu telah dikirim ke Presiden Amerika Barack Obama untuk disahkan menjadi undang-undang.

Kongres Amerika telah menyetujui RUU yang akan memotong 38 miliar dolar dari anggaran federal untuk sisa tahun anggaran ini yang berakhir 30 September.

Para anggota senat memberikan suara 81 lawan 19 hari Kamis terhadap rancangan itu, segera setelah anggota DPR memberikan suara 260 mendukung dan 167 menentang. Rancangan undang-undang itu telah dikirim ke Presiden Amerika Barack Obama untuk disahkan menjadi undang-undang.

Tanpa persetujuan terhadap RUU itu, pendanaan untuk badan-badan pemerintah Amerika sudah harus berakhir pada tengah malam Jumat lalu.

Undang-undang jangka pendek itu memotong anggaran domestik dan bukan untuk keamanan sebesar 38 miliar dolar – lebih dari yang diinginkan oleh kebanyakan anggota fraksi Demokrat tapi kurang dari yang diinginkan oleh kebanyakan anggota fraksi Republik.

Ketua DPR dari Republik, John Boehner, mengatakan RUU tersebut tidak sempurna, tetapi merupakan awal yang baik dalam proses panjang pemotongan belanja pemerintah federal.

Pemungutan suara hari Kamis itu merupakan langkah pertama dari proses melelahkan untuk mengurangi defisit federal sebesar 1,5 triliun dolar dan memperlambat pertumbuhan utang nasional Amerika sebesar 14 triliun dolar. sumber noanews.com

Obama seeks $4 trillion in cuts; GOP assails call for tax hikes

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama unveiled his long-awaited deficit reduction plan Wednesday, calling for a mix of spending reductions and tax hikes that the White House claims would cut federal deficits by $4 trillion over the next 12 years without gutting popular programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Obama's plan includes a repeal of the Bush-era tax cuts on families making more than $250,000 annually -- something sought by Democrats but strongly opposed by Republicans. The president also called for the creation of a "debt fail-safe" trigger that would impose automatic across-the-board spending cuts and tax changes in coming years if annual deficits are on track to exceed 2.8% of the nation's gross domestic product.

The president claimed that by building on or adjusting the health care reform bill passed last year, $480 billion would be saved by 2023, followed by an additional $1 trillion in the following decade. For example, he proposed tightly constraining the growth in Medicare costs starting in 2018.
"Doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option," Obama said in the speech at George Washington University, adding that "our debt has grown so large that we could do real damage to the economy if we don't begin a process now to get our fiscal house in order."

Pull in at least $250k? Obama wants more

Obama's approach seeks to carve out a political middle ground between conservatives -- who are pushing for deficit reduction based solely on spending cuts and expected economic growth -- and liberals, who are generally resisting entitlement reform and seeking higher corporate and personal taxes.

He called for political leaders to put aside orthodox party ideology and work together for the good of the country, saying "we can solve this problem" while noting that "any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table, and take on excess spending wherever it exists in the budget."

At the same time, Obama blasted the House Republican 2012 budget proposal unveiled last week, saying it would "lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we've known throughout most of our history."

"These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can't afford the America that I believe in and that I think you believe in," Obama said of the plan by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who sat in the audience Wednesday. "I believe it paints a vision of our future that's deeply pessimistic."

Possible presidential rivals in 2012 react

The administration's package stands in sharp contrast to Ryan's blueprint, which calls for cutting the debt by $4.4 trillion over the next decade while radically overhauling Medicare and Medicaid and dropping the top personal and corporate tax rate to 25%.

GOP leaders, who were briefed by Obama at the White House before the speech, harshly criticized the president's call for higher taxes on wealthier Americans.

"Any plan that starts with job-destroying tax hikes is a non-starter," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Republicans are fighting for meaningful spending cuts and fighting against any tax increases on American small businesses."

Where they'll butt heads on tax reductions

Ryan said he was "very disappointed" in the president. "What we heard today was a political broadside from our campaigner-in-chief," he said. "Rather than building bridges, he's poisoning wells."

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said the president's tax proposal set "a new standard for class warfare," while possible GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich said Obama "continues to operate with a left-wing worldview that will hurt seniors, kill jobs, raise gas prices, and increase our crushing debt."

Under the Obama plan, Pentagon spending would fall by roughly $400 billion by 2023, while federal pensions, agricultural subsidies and other domestic programs would also face the budget ax, according to the White House.

Time: Will budget cuts kill the recovery?

In total, nonsecurity discretionary spending -- Washington jargon for the 12 percent of the federal budget aside from defense spending, debt payments and the big entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security -- would be cut by a total of $770 billion over the next 12 years.

The $770 billion figure is in line with recommendations put forward by Obama's bipartisan debt reduction commission last December, according to the White House.

Obama's plan contained no specific proposal for Social Security, the government-run pension plan that will run out of money in coming decades. The president does not believe that the program "is in crisis (or) is a driver of our near-term deficit problems," a White House statement noted.

GOP senators propose raising Social Security age

But Social Security does face "long-term challenges that are better addressed sooner than later," the statement added, and Obama expressed a willingness to consider changes to help the program maintain its solvency down the road.

Obama said Vice President Joe Biden would begin meeting with legislators from both parties in early May with the aim of forging agreement on a deficit reduction plan by the end of June. According to the White House, the meetings would include eight Congress members and eight senators -- equally split between the two parties.

The president, however, strongly opposed the proposed Medicare and Medicaid overhaul outlined in Ryan's 2012 GOP budget proposal. Under Ryan's plan, the government would stop directly paying Medicare bills for senior citizens in 2022. Instead, recipients would choose a plan from a list of private health insurance providers, which the federal government would subsidize. Individuals currently 55 or older would not be affected by the changes.

Medicaid, which provides health care for the disabled and the poor, would be transformed into a series of block grants to the states. Republicans believe state governments would spend the money more efficiently and would benefit from increased flexibility, while Democrats warn that such a move would shred the health care security provided to the most vulnerable Americans in recent generations.

"I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs," Obama said. "I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations."

Zelizer: Can Obama resist the GOP?

The Republican "vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America," the president asserted. "It ends Medicare as we know it."

At the same time, Obama said that Democrats also must recognize the need for significant change in America's fiscal structure and practices.

"To those in my own party, I say that if we truly believe in a progressive vision of our society, we have the obligation to prove that we can afford our commitments," the president said. "If we believe that government can make a difference in people's lives, we have the obligation to prove that it works -- by making government smarter, leaner and more effective."

As Obama and the Republicans spar over long-term deficit reduction plans, they also need to tackle the budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.

What's driving the debt debate?

The House is scheduled to vote Thursday on a deal reached late last week that would cut spending for the year by $38.5 billion.

The package cuts funding for a wide range of domestic programs and services, including high-speed rail, emergency first responders and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Under the terms of the deal, roughly $20 billion would be taken from discretionary programs while nearly $18 billion would come from what are known as "changes in mandatory programs," or CHIMPS, which involve programs funded for multiyear blocks that don't require annual spending approval by Congress.

Republicans generally opposed CHIMP cuts because they affect only one year, with funding returning to the preauthorized level in the following year.

Democrats and Republicans also have to contend with an impending vote to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Congress needs to raise the limit before the federal government reaches its legal borrowing limit of $14.29 trillion later this spring or risk a default that could result in a crashing dollar and spiraling interest rates, among other things.

CNNMoney: Debt ceiling is next big deadline

Republicans have repeatedly stressed that any vote to raise the cap has to be tied to another round of spending cuts or fiscal reforms.

The administration, in contrast, has called for a "clean" vote on the cap, which would raise the limit without adding any conditions. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has warned that trying to force the issue is tantamount to playing a game of "chicken" with the economy.

While meeting with reporters after his meeting with Obama, however, Boehner indicated that the president might be open to a compromise on that vote.

CNN's Dana Bash, Dan Lothian, and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report

Five Large Developing Economies Prepare to Meet in China

Leaders from the group of major developing countries known as BRICS are preparing to meet in Sanya, on the southern Chinese island, Hainan. BRICS is seen as a growing counterweight to the developed countries' dominance in world affairs.

BRIC started off in 2001 as an economic term used to describe four large rising economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China.

In 2009, those four countries gave the term more meaning when they held their first meeting. This year, host China invited South Africa to join and is now calling the grouping "BRICS."The BRICS nations see themselves as speaking out for developing countries. Brazilian Deputy Minister for Development Industry and Foreign Trade Alessandro Teixeira emphasized that point.

"It's an important meeting, as well, because it's forecast by 2013 that the developing economies will surpass the developed economies in terms of GDP share in the world," said Teixeira. "So I guess every single meeting that we have of BRICS is an important meeting, because we are talking with the largest economies on the world."

The meeting will focus on economics and the global financial situation. Joseph Cheng, a political science professor at Hong Kong's City University, says the BRICS countries want to reach consensus so they will be in a better position to bargain hard with the developed countries.

"In general, they [the BRICS countries] believe that the Western countries have been dominating the process of rule-making in various important international financial and trade institutions and they would like to seek a reversal of the present situation," said Cheng. "They would like to be able to play a more effective role in the rule-making process."

At the same time, Cheng describes the BRICS as a very loose group of countries that may find it difficult to forge consensus because of differing basic interests.

"For example, South Africa, Brazil and India are very proud that they are democracies," added Cheng. "Then, the countries like India and so on, they certainly perceive that China's economic expansion may not be that favorable to their own economic and security interests, so, basically, there is still inadequate mutual trust among the big group."

This year's host country, China, has been downplaying any possible disagreements. Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Hailong told reporters that different points of view will not hamper overall BRICS cooperation.

Wu says the BRICS countries will put aside issues on which they cannot reach consensus, and will delay discussion on them until conditions are right.

The BRICS countries, together, make up nearly one fifth of the global economy.

Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, says he believes that, although BRICS will never become a formal international alliance or coalition, one of its main purposes may be to put other countries on notice.

Washington has never said it is concerned about the rise of BRICS, but Shi believes the U.S. and other western officials are watching it closely. He says the influence of the five BRICS countries is, in his words, obviously increasing. He says Western countries may have to change their basic world view.
by : voanews.com

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Obama akan Ungkap Rencana Kurangi Defisit Anggaran AS

Presiden AS Barack Obama hari Rabu akan menjelaskan bagaimana mengurangi defisit anggaran AS dalam pidato di Universitas George Washington.


Presiden Amerika Barack Obama hari Rabu diperkirakan akan menjelaskan bagaimana ia mengurangi defisit besar anggaran Amerika, sesuatu yang kata Partai Republik harus dilakukan sebelum mereka mengijinkan pemerintah meminjam uang lebih banyak untuk mendanai defisit itu.

Jurubicara Gedung Putih Jay Carney mengatakan pidato Presiden Obama akan menunjukkan tekad mengurangi defisit melalui usul “berimbang” dan “bipartisan” untuk mengatasi hutang jangka panjang Amerika. Presiden Obama akan menyampaikan pidato itu di Universitas George Washington di Washington.Penasehat Gedung Putih David Plouffe hari Minggu mengatakan Presiden Obama “sangat tegas” mengenai perlunya memangkas pengeluaran pemerintah, namun ingin memastikan pemangkasan apapun tidak akan merugikan program pendidikan yang membantu warga Amerika bersaing secara ekonomi dengan negara-negara berkembang. Ia juga mengatakan Presiden Obama ingin tetap berinvestasi dalam bidang infrastruktur, riset dan pembangunan.

Partai republik yang menguasai DPR mengatakan Presiden Obama harus sepakat dengan pemangkasan anggaran jangka panjang sebagai imbalan atas dukungan mereka untuk upaya menaikkan batas pinjaman pemerintah untuk mendanai defisit anggaran di masa depan.

Ketua DPR John Boehner sebelumnya mengatakan DPR tidak akan menyetujui kenaikan pagu hutang kecuali pemangkasan pengeluaran disertakan dalam upaya itu. Pemerintah Amerika diperkirakan akan mencapai pagu hutang yang ditetapkan Kongres dalam beberapa minggu mendatang dan hanya bisa meminjam di atas batas tersebut dengan persetujuan DPR.

Kegagalan dalam menaikkan batas hutang akan mengakibatkan Amerika gagal membayar bunga pinjaman. Sebagian besar pemberi hutang adalah pemerintah asing seperti Tiongkok. sumber : voanews.com

Obama Tanda Tangani RUU Pengeluaran, Cegah Penghentian Operasi Pemerintah

Penandatanganan RUU memberikan waktu beberapa hari lagi bagi anggota Kongres untuk menyelesaikan anggaran kompromi kegiatan federal sampai akhir tahun ini.Presiden Amerika Barack Obama telah menandatangani RUU pengeluaran sementara menjadi UU yang membantu mencegah penghentian operasi pemerintah pada malam sebelumnya.

RUU yang ditandatangani, Sabtu, memberikan waktu beberapa hari lagi bagi anggota Kongres untuk menyelesaikan anggaran kompromi yang akan mendanai kegiatan federal sampai akhir tahun fiskal 2011. Setelah berbulan-bulan perdebatan sengit, kesepakatan tersebut memotong 38,5 miliar dolar pengeluaran, dan disepakati kurang dari satu jam sebelum banyak operasi pemerintah akan dihentikan Jumat malam.

Sekarang presiden dan anggota Kongres harus mengalihkan perhatian mereka terhadap hal yang sepertinya akan diperdebatkan juga mengenai batas maksimal utang negara dan anggaran tahun 2012. Kongres sedang menghadapi keputusan tentang apakah meningkatkan pagu utang sebesar 14,3 triliun dolar AS, yang kemungkinan akan dicapai pada tanggal 16 Mei. Kemudian, pada akhir tahun, Gedung Putih dan Kongres akan memperdebatkan rencana pengeluaran pemerintah untuk tahun fiskal 2012 mulai 1 Oktober.

Presiden Obama pada hari Sabtu membuat kejutan kunjungan ke Monumen terkenal Lincoln Memorial, untuk menunjukan fakta bahwa monumen dibuka seperti biasa, seperti halnya tempat wisata lainnya di Washington. Obama menggunakan kunjungannya untuk menyerukan pelaksanaan debat yang lebih santai. Ia mengatakan kompromi pada menit-menit terakhir merupakan bentuk kerjasama masa depan yang ia harapkan dapat tercapai. sumber: voanews.com

Perselisihan Belanja Pemerintah akan Jadi Topik Debat Terpenting di AS

Setelah kesepakatan anggaran sementara Jumat malam, Kongres AS akan memperdebatkan isu mengenai kenaikan pagu utang pemerintah.
Dengan dihindarinya ancaman penutupan kegiatan pemerintah Amerika, Presiden Barack Obama dan politisi memalingkan perhatian kepada apa yang tampaknya akan menjadi debat seru tentang pagu utang dan anggaran tahun 2012.

Banyak pejabat di Washington mengatakan, debat politik selama berbulan-bulan tentang anggaran belanja 2011 yang berakhir hari Jumat malam merupakan awal dari pertikaian dalam enam bulan mendatang.

Presiden Obama dan politisi mencapai suatu kesepakatan atas anggaran tahun ini hanya beberapa jam menjelang dihentikannya banyak operasi pemerintah.

Presiden melakukan kunjungan mendadak hari Sabtu ke Tugu Peringatan Lincoln yang diserbu wisatawan untuk menunjukkan fakta tugu itu beroperasi seperti biasa, seperti halnya tempat-tempat wisata lain di Washington.
Presiden Obama menggunakan kunjungannya untuk menyerukan suatu debat lebih santai tentang anggaran. Obama mengatakan, "kompromi pada menit-menit terakhir, merupakan bentuk kerjasama masa depan yang saya harapkan bisa kita capai.”

Namun, debat pengeluaran yang luas berikutnya akan segera terjadi, dimana Kongres menghadapi keputusan apakah akan menaikkan pagu utang atau tidak.

Departemen Keuangan Amerika meminjam uang untuk membiayai operasi pemerintah dan membayar utang-utang negara yang tampaknya akan mencapai jumlah maksimum 14.3 triliun tanggal 16 Mei. Lalu, akhir tahun ini, Gedung Putih dan Kongres akan memperdebatkan rencana pengeluaran pemerintah untuk tahun fiskal 2012 yang dimulai 1 Oktober. by: voanews.com