Senat AS habiskan 11 jam akhiri ancaman default

Kontak Perkasa - KONTAN - WASHINGHTON. Amerika Serikat (AS) akan mengakhiri masa kristis setelah senat melalui debat panjang 11 jam. Senat memutuskan menaikkan plafon utang AS dan menyelamatkan Negara Uwak Sam itu dari potensi gagal bayar alias default.

Kesepakatan diperoleh melalui voting anggota senat yang dilakukan malam hari, Rabu (16/10) atau menjelang tenggat waktu default pada Kamis (17/10). Selain menaikkan plafon anggaran, senat juga menyetujui membuka kembali layanan pemerintah yang telah berstatus shutdown sejak 1 Oktober.

Keputusan senat akan dikirim secepatnya ke Presiden Barack Obama untuk ditetapkan. "Setelah perjanjian itu tiba di meja saya, saya akan menandatangani segera," kata Obama malam waktu Washington.

Obama bilang, usai diteken maka kesepakatan itu akan menjadi Undang-undang yang akan menyediakan dana baru bagi badan-badan federal yang telah ditutup sejak 1 Oktober. Artinya, kesepakatan tersebut akan menempatkan pekerja federal kembali pada pekerjaan masing-masing.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:07 AM

Japan Shares Climb to Three-Week High as U.S. Reaches Debt Deal

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (17/10) -- Japanese shares rose, with the Topix index climbing to a three-week high, after the yen weakened as U.S. lawmakers reached a tentative deal to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. The Topix gained 1.2 percent to 1,210.66 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, with all 33 subsectors climbing. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.3 percent to 14,653.76. The yen fell against all 16 of its major peers and traded at 98.91 per dollar. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 percent. The measure yesterday added 1.4 percent as the bipartisan leaders of the Senate reached an agreement to end the fiscal impasse and increase U.S. borrowing authority. The Senate is currently voting on the deal, while the House plans to do so later today. The White House press secretary said it has President Barack Obama’s support. House Speaker John Boehner said Republicans won’t block the Senate compromise. With no deal, the U.S. would exhaust its borrowing authority today and the government may start missing payments at some point between Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Fitch Ratings put the world’s biggest economy on watch for a possible credit downgrade yesterday, citing lawmakers’ inability to agree.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 8:40 AM

Dollar, Euro Climb to 3-Week Highs Versus Yen on U.S. Debt Deal

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (17/10) -- The dollar and euro climbed to a three-week high versus the yen as the Senate voted in favor of a deal to end a U.S. government shutdown and raise the debt limit, damping demand for haven assets. The yen dropped versus major peers as Asian stocks rose. The greenback maintained yesterday losses versus higher-yielding currencies such as New Zealand’s with markets gauging the impact of the recent impasse on economic growth and prospects for the Federal Reserve to taper stimulus. Policy makers including Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley speak today. Australia’s dollar reached a four-month high before a Chinese report tomorrow forecast to show growth accelerated. “The yen is going to be under a little bit of pressure,” said Emma Lawson, the Sydney-based senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank Ltd. “There is still some uncertainty because the deal is effectively just kicking the problem down the road.” The dollar gained 0.1 percent to 98.89 yen as of 9:10 a.m. in Tokyo and touched 99.01, the most since Sept. 27. It rose 0.1 percent to $1.3523 per euro. Europe’s common currency was little changed at 133.70 yen after touching 133.84, the strongest level since Sept. 26. New Zealand’s currency was little changed at 84.24 cents following yesterday’s 0.5 percent advance. The Senate voted 81-18 to halt the 16-day shutdown and raise the borrowing limit. The House of Representatives plans to vote next and President Barack Obama supports the agreement.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 8:38 AM

Tokyo Share Up 0.18% by close

Kontak Perkasa - AFP (16/10)-- Tokyo shares rose 0.18 percent by the close Wednesday as investors closely monitored Washington's budget deadlock ahead of a crucial deadline for raising the debt ceiling. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index shrugged off earlier losses to add 25.60 points to 14,467.14, while the Topix index of all first-section shares ended flat, slipping 0.06 percent, or 0.69 points, to 1,196.78. The Nikkei see-sawed in and out of positive territory for much of the day with early gains driven by hopes for some sort of resolution after intense partisan bickering in the United States. But the latest efforts to end the two-week US budget impasse fell apart late Tuesday. The Republican leadership failed to muster enough support for its own plans to avert default, with just over a day to raise the debt ceiling by the October 17 deadline. Fitch ratings agency said it may downgrade Washington's AAA credit rating. And the US Treasury has warned that if Congress does not lift the $17.6 trillion debt ceiling by Thursday, it will lose its ability to borrow and could run out of cash to pay all its obligations. 'It is hard to take any positions until the debt issue is resolved,' Daiwa Securities chief strategist Junya Naruse told Dow Jones Newswires. The Tokyo market won some support from a stronger dollar which bought 98.50 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 98.16 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon. A weakening yen is seen as positive for Japanese exporters. SoftBank added 2.20 percent to 7,400 yen, one day after the mobile carrier and Japan's GungHo Entertainment spent $1.5 billion on buying 51 percent of Finnish game firm Supercell, maker of the blockbuster online strategy game 'Clash of Clans'. A report Wednesday said SoftBank was also in the final stages of talks to buy a majority stake in wireless device distributor Brightstar for more than 100 billion yen. In response, SoftBank said the matter is 'under discussion' but that 'nothing has been decided at this point'. Japan Tobacco fell 1.98 percent to 3,450 yen after the mass-selling Yomiuri Shimbun reported the company may hike cigarette prices by as much as 20 yen a pack, a move likely to weigh on consumer demand. Copier maker Canon slipped 0.16 percent to 3,110 yen, Takeda Pharmaceuticals was up 0.42 percent to 4,705 yen, while cosmetics giant Shiseido rose 1.15 percent to 1,746 yen.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 3:09 PM

European Stocks Drop as U.S. Nears Debt-Ceiling Deadline

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  European stocks declined from their highest level in almost four weeks as U.S. lawmakers continued to discuss raising the federal government’s debt limit. U.S. index futures gained, while Asian shares fluctuated. Danone slid 4.4 percent after posting the slowest sales growth in 16 quarters and lowering its full-year forecast. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA dropped 5.6 percent as the world’s largest luxury-goods company reported revenue for the third quarter that fell short of estimates. The Stoxx 600 retreated 0.4 percent to 313.48 at 8:06 a.m. in London after yesterday rising to its highest level since Sept. 19. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1 percent. “The deadline is looming and still no deal to resolve the U.S. fiscal deadlock,” Ian Williams, a market strategist at Peel Hunt LLP in London, wrote in a note to clients. “Markets are growing jumpy again, not helped by Fitch placing its U.S. credit rating on negative watch.” House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, made a last-minute attempt to influence the outcome of the fiscal showdown with a proposal that would extend government funding through Dec. 15, rather than Jan. 15 as the Senate plans. With the U.S. borrowing authority due to lapse tomorrow, Fitch Ratings put the world’s biggest economy on watch for a possible credit downgrade, citing lawmakers’ inability to reach a deal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have restarted negotiations to find a solution that would reopen the government and prevent a default. “Senator Reid and Senator McConnell have re-engaged in negotiations and are optimistic that an agreement is within reach,” a spokesman for Reid said in a statement. They had suspended their talks, while they waited for the House to act on Boehner’s plan.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 3:07 PM

Gold Drops as Last-Minute Deal Is Seen Ending U.S. Debt Wrangle

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  Gold fell for the first time in three days amid expectations that U.S. lawmakers will reach an agreement to lift the debt ceiling before the government’s borrowing authority lapses tomorrow. Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.6 percent to $1,274.51 an ounce and was at $1,279.84 at 11:37 a.m. in Singapore. Prices dropped to $1,251.85 yesterday, the lowest level since July 10, before closing 0.8 percent higher as the negotiations stalled. Gold for December traded 0.5 percent higher at $1,279 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Senate leaders resumed talks aimed at avoiding a default and ending the government shutdown after the House of Representatives scrapped a vote on a plan that would have kept the government open through Dec. 15 and suspended the debt limit until Feb. 7, 2014. Fitch Ratings put the U.S. on watch for a possible credit downgrade, citing lawmakers’ inability to forge a deal even as it expects the debt ceiling to be raised. “History suggests that politicians will pull back from the abyss,” Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, wrote in an e-mailed note today. “Investors appear content to take a wait-and-see attitude to this situation.” The U.S. will begin missing promised payments between Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, may have already hurt the recovery. Data yesterday showed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index fell to a five-month low in October. Gold lost 24 percent this year, set for the first annual drop since 2000, on speculation the Fed will slow its $85 billion-a-month of debt buying as the economy improves. Spot silver lost as much as 1 percent to $21.1567 an ounce and last traded at $21.285. Prices dropped to $20.5088 yesterday, the lowest since Aug. 9, before rallying 0.5 percent. Platinum rose and fell at least 0.3 percent, before trading little changed at $1,386.15 an ounce. Palladium fluctuated between gains and losses, and traded little changed at $707.75 an ounce.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 11:50 AM

China Stock-Index Futures Fall Amid JPMorgan Cut, U.S. Talks

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  China’s stock-index futures fell after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Chinese equities to underweight. Futures on the CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) expiring in October slipped 0.1 percent to 2,456 as of 9:21 a.m. local time. Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., a milk producer, may be active after China tightened regulations on imported baby formula. Kweichow Moutai Co. may rise after third-quarter net income increased. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) slipped 0.2 percent to 2,233.41 yesterday, while the CSI 300 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,467.52. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.9 percent as Hong Kong’s markets re-opened after a holiday. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index fell 0.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite has climbed 15 percent from its four-year low on June 27, boosted by speculation the city’s free-trade zone will attract foreign companies and allow for financial liberalization. The Shanghai Equity Exchange called a report from Shanghai Great Wisdom’s AAStocks.com that the exchange was studying an international stock board at the free-trade zone a “serious misrepresentation of the truth,” according to a statement on the bourse’s website today. The Shanghai index trades at 8.8 times projected earnings for the next 12 months, compared with the five-year average of 12.6, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Trading volumes in the stocks measure were 0.2 percent below the 30-day average yesterday. The government is scheduled to publish third-quarter gross domestic product data on Oct. 18. The economy probably expanded 7.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey, up from the second quarter’s 7.5 percent pace.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:25 AM