The Spanish manufacturing sector started 2014 on a positive footing

Good Morning,

- Asian stocks fell, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average extending its slump from its close on the final day of 2013 to 10 percent, after a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth added to concern the global economic recovery is faltering.

- Markets in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam are closed today amid the Chinese New Year holidays.

- Emerging-market stocks declined on Friday, extending the worst start to a year since 2008, as signs of a Chinese slowdown and worse-than-estimated Russian economic data bolstered concern the global recovery will falter.

- Investors are betting Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will lead the charge out of record-low interest rates as central banks pivot from fighting stagnation to managing expansions. Economists at Citigroup and Nomura say the strongest growth since 2007 will prompt the U.K. to lift its benchmark from 0.5 percent as soon as this year. Money-market futures show an increase in early 2015.
That’s at least three months before the contracts indicate Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will raise the target for the federal funds rate. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda are forecast to maintain or even ease monetary policy. The BOE will lift rates in the second quarter of 2015 and the Fed will increase in 2016, Morgan Stanley predicts.

- The Spanish manufacturing sector started 2014 on a positive footing as growth of both output and new orders accelerated. Rising workloads led firms to take on extra staff, marking the first instance of job creation since late - 2010. Meanwhile, input prices decreased for the first time in five months and this enabled manufacturers to lower their output prices as part of attempts to imp rove competitiveness. T he seasonally adjusted Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 52.2 in January from 50.8 in December.

- The Swiss National Bank would only consider scrapping its minimum exchange rate of 1.20 Swiss francs per euro if inflation were much higher and there was less upward pressure on the currency, its vice-chairman was quoted as saying on Sunday.

- Germany has signaled it is preparing a third rescue package for Greece – provided the debt-stricken country implements "rigorous" austerity measures blamed for record levels of unemployment and a dramatic drop in GDP. The new loan, outlined in a five-page position paper by Berlin's finance ministry, would be worth between €10bn to €20bn, according to the German weekly Der Spiegel, which was leaked the document.

- Moody's downgrades Ukraine's sovereign rating to Caa2, assigns negative outlook

- Growth in China's services sector slowed to a five-year low in January, an official survey showed, another sign of stuttering momentum in the world's second-largest economy that could deepen investors' concerns about emerging markets around the world. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 53.4 in January from December's 54.6. Monday's reading was the lowest since December 2008.

- Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet edged fractionally lower in January, a fourth month of minor losses that pointed to some sign of stabilization in labour demand. Official employment figures for January are due next week and analysts are hoping for a bounce in hiring following a disappointing drop of 22,600 in December. The jobless rate had stayed at 5.8 percent for a third straight month in December.

- Watch today: Spain, UK & US manufacturing numbers dominate.

Have a nice Week !