The head of Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), which in October set up a $100 billion fund for technology investments, said on Tuesday he would invest $50 billion in U.S. businesses, the investment, which could create 50,000 new U.S. jobs, a move President-elect Donald Trump claimed was a direct result of his election win.
Australia's economy shrank for the first time in over five years last quarter for the first time since 2011 as businesses, consumers and government all cut back on spending, an unexpected blow that will challenge policymakers' optimism for growth.
The local dollar sank about half a cent after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.5 percent in the third quarter.
That was the first contraction since early 2011 and only the fourth since the country's last recession in 1991.
Indonesian authorities said the death toll from a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the northern province of Aceh on Wednesday has risen to 52.
The number of casualties was expected to rise and more than 70 people had been seriously injured, said national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho.
The commercial property sector could pose a risk to financial stability, with foreign investors’ appetite waning since the Brexit vote, the Bank of England has warned.
Despite signs of some recovery in the sector this autumn following demands from investors after the referendum to take their cash out of commercial property funds, the BoE is concerned about “further adjustment in the sector”, according to records of meetings of the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee, released on Tuesday
There was already a “significant” slowdown in the sector in the first half of the year, and that has continued, with the value of transactions in the third quarter of 2016 falling another 10 per cent on the previous quarter, and 27 per cent down on a year earlier, the BoE said.
Oil prices slipped on Wednesday on persistent doubts whether a planned crude production cut led by OPEC and Russia would be deep enough to end a supply overhang that has dogged markets for over two years.
International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $53.82 per barrel at 0608 GMT, down 11 cents, or 0.2percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 17 cents, or 0.33 percent, at 50.76 per barrel.
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers will meet this weekend in Austria's capital to agree details of the output cut, which targets an overall reduction of around 1.5 million barrels per day.
Despite the scepticism around implementing the cuts, analysts said 2017 will likely see a more balanced market.
"Oil markets are on track to tighten over 2017, which will be accelerated by OPEC's decision to reduce production alongside non-OPEC countries," said BMI Research. "If effectively implemented, we expect the global oil market will return to balance in Q1 2017."
Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg
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