HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - The government said its balance of payments (BoP) in the second quarter of 2006 stood at a surplus of 10.1 bln hkd, down from a surplus of 11.5 bln hkd in the first quarter.
LONDON (AFX) - Business investment in the UK rose 1.6 pct in the second quarter from the previous three months for an annual rise of 4.8 pct, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
MUNICH (AFX) - The Ifo institute said its business climate index for Germany fell slightly to 104.9 in September from 105.0 in August as expectations for the coming six months weakened, though the decline was less than expected.
LONDON (AFX) - Business investment in the UK rose by 1.6 pct in the second quarter from the previous three months for an annual rise of 4.8 pct, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
ZURICH (AFX) - UBS said its consumption indicator for Switzerland fell slightly to 1.71 in August from 1.88 in July and 2.12 in June, due to low growth in new car registrations and softening in retail sales.
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - US life insurers see tremendous market potential in China's combination of strong savings, low penetration rates for insurance products, and an underdeveloped pension industry, according to Frank Keating, the chief spokesman for the US life insurance industry.
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Government efforts to slow investment and credit growth have resulted in a sharp slowdown for listed Chinese companies, the results of the third-quarter Xinhua Finance/MNI China Business Sentiment Survey suggest.
WIESBADEN, Germany (AFX) - Import prices rose 0.2 pct in August from July and were up 5.5 pct from August 2005, the Federal Statistics Office said.
-The key Ifo business climate index is expected to decline for the third month in a row, with economists looking for a fall to 104.3 in September from 105.0 in August, continuing the correction from the 15-year high of 106.8 reached in June.
TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - The corporate services price index rose 0.3 pct from a year earlier to 92.8 in August, the first increase in more than eight years, the central bank said, a fresh sign that Japan continues to move away from years of deflation.
LONDON (AFX) - Pay awards in the UK are still at benign levels, even as the current bargaining year draws to a close, according to pay specialists Industrial Relations Services.
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