China raises rates 4th since Oct to clamp down on inflation

BEIJING: China's central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday for
the fourth time since October in a bid to bring stubbornly high
inflation under control.
The tightening of monetary policy adds to six official increases in
bank reserves over the same period and follows a declaration by China's
top leaders that controlling inflation was their most important task
this year.
Benchmark one-year deposit rates will be lifted by 25 basis points to
3.25 percent and one-year lending rates will be raised by 25 basis
points to 6.31 percent, the People's Bank of China said in a statement
on its website. The rises take effect from April 6.
"This reflects the ongoing concerns that Chinese authorities have
about overheating in some sectors of the economy," said James Shugg,
international economist at Westpac in London.
"Some of the sectors are growing at double digits. The hike also
reflects the issue of an undervalued currency. We expect the lending
rate to be raised to 6.56 percent by June."
Chinese consumer price inflation was 4.9 percent in February,
unchanged from January and economists have said they expect it to tick
up in the coming months.
So far, complaints about rising prices have amounted to little more
than grumbles, but serious inflation has sparked social unrest in China
in the past.
The central bank boosted bank reserves, or the amount of cash that
banks have to put aside, by 50 basis points to 20 percent on March 18 to
lock up cash that banks could otherwise lend out and potentially fuel
inflation in the world's fastest growing major economy. – Reuters

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aihz tmr going to be another red

Hong Kong: Key index highest since Jan 20

SHARES ended higher in brisk trade yesterday, supported largely by financial firms.

Bourse
operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd was the best performing
local blue chip, rising 5.3 per cent to HK$180.90.

"This is a sign of investors' confidence in the Hang Seng Index," said Mark To, a Wing Fung Financial Group analyst.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 348.68 points to 24,150.58, a level not seen since January 20 this year. - Agencies

hlk wrote:Hong Kong: Key index highest since Jan 20

SHARES ended higher in brisk trade yesterday, supported largely by financial firms.

Bourse
operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd was the best performing
local blue chip, rising 5.3 per cent to HK$180.90.

"This is a sign of investors' confidence in the Hang Seng Index," said Mark To, a Wing Fung Financial Group analyst.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 348.68 points to 24,150.58, a level not seen since January 20 this year. - Agencies

tmr might go deep red...hsi v volatile can dip 200-500pts in a single day... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]