Steel sales in Brazil's domestic market fell 10% in August due to increased imports of Chinese machine tools and a strengthening Brazilian currency. In the Joinville area of Santa Catarina state, a major machine tool producing region, production is down 30%, said Roberson Fagundes, director of steel distributor Diferro.
Turkey made important economic progress in recent years and its growth performance has been good, Undersecretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Ocampo said on Thursday. A GDP growth rate of 7.5% for the first 6 months of the year was a sign of “economic vigour,” he said, while also warning that the country’s high curren account deficit could lead to instability.
Standard and Poor’s has cut the outlook on Lebanese banks Bank Audi SAL, Bankmed SAL and Blom Bank to negative. The agency also affirmed B- long counterparty credit ratings on the three banks and removed them from CreditWatch, where they had been placed after the Israeli invasion of the country on July 14. The rating action follows the Republic of Lebanon’s B- rating, announced on Monday.
India’s finance minister Chidambaram said there is ample liquidity in the financial system and that he does not expect interest rates to increase.