SBI rate unchanged at 13.06%<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: The weighted average interest rate on one-month SBI
\npromissory notes was unchanged at 13.06 percent at the weekly
\nauction Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia said it accepted Rp 11 trillion (US$1.2
\nbillion) in bids, or 89 percent of the total.<\/p>\n
The result signals that the central bank has turned cautious
\nin reducing the rate from the current level in order not to fuel
\ninflation.<\/p>\n
Inflationary pressure is expected to rise in December due to
\nextra spending related to the religious festivities.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia has been guiding the SBI rate lower from over
\n17 percent at the beginning of the year to help reduce the cost
\nof bailing out local banks. -- Dow Jones<\/p>\n
U.S. economy grows 4.0%<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON: The U.S. economy, shaking off Iraqi war fears and
\na plunging Wall Street, grew at an annualized 4.0 percent pace in
\nthe third quarter, much faster than first thought, the government
\nsaid Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Growth was much speedier than the first estimate of 3.1
\npercent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the period, the
\ngovernment said, recovering from a second-quarter expansion of
\njust 1.3 percent.<\/p>\n
The growth was achieved despite fears of a war in Iraq and a
\nplummeting Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrials average
\nof 30 top stocks tumbled 17.87 percent in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
But the figures failed to inspire investors, who sold stocks
\non concerns that the economy was already slowing and that
\nconsumers were still dogged by jobs fears.<\/p>\n
The Dow Jones industrials average dropped 172.98 points, or
\n1.95 percent, to close at 8,676.42 in nervous trade, with many
\ninvestors reluctant to take risks ahead of Thursday's
\nThanksgiving holiday. -- AFP<\/p>\n
RP considers ban on Aussie beef<\/p>\n
MANILA: The Philippines is considering a ban on Australian
\nbeef and live cattle imports due to an anthrax scare in Victoria
\nstate, an agriculture department spokesman said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"An official ban may be issued today or tomorrow,\" department
\nspokesman Renato Faustino told AFP.<\/p>\n
Australia is the Philippines' number-one source of beef as
\nwell as live cattle imports.<\/p>\n
Faustino said the government is taking precautions amid a
\nsuspected outbreak of anthrax in Victoria.<\/p>\n
Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor has ordered
\nAustralian live cattle imports be placed on quarantine to
\ndetermine if they have the deadly bacteria, Faustino said.<\/p>\n
\"If they have anthrax the cattle would die within 48 hours,\"
\nhe added. -- AFP<\/p>\n
Aussie cuts growth forecast<\/p>\n
CANBERRA: The Australian government on Wednesday slashed its
\n2002-2003 economic growth forecast by 0.75 percentage points to
\n3.0 percent due to severe drought but insisted the move would not
\nhurt its budget surplus.<\/p>\n
In a mid-year budget review, Treasurer Peter Costello said
\ndrought, weak international markets and increased defense
\nspending after last month's Bali bombing had skewed budget
\nforecasts delivered last May.<\/p>\n
But he remained upbeat about the wider economy and left the
\nbudget's forecast cash surplus at A$2.1 billion (US$1.18
\nbillion), despite market expectations it would be halved to about
\none billion dollars.<\/p>\n
\"This is nearly all related to the drought which is gripping
\nmost of the country... other parts of the economy are expected to
\ncontinue to grow strongly,\" Costello told reporters. -- AFP<\/p>\n
India to get $320m from ADB<\/p>\n
MANILA: India is to get a US$320-million loan from the Asian
\nDevelopment Bank (ADB) to upgrade its national highway system,
\nthe Philippines-based lender said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The project would primarily rehabilitate and widen 504
\nkilometers (312.5 miles) of national highways between the
\nnorthern states of Gujarat and Assam, an ADB statement said.<\/p>\n
The total project cost is $576 million, with the government
\nproviding the balance of $211 million and $45 million from the
\nprivate sector.<\/p>\n
\"An improved road network will increase economic opportunities
\nof rural communities,\" said Shunso Tsukada, the bank's senior
\ntransport specialist.<\/p>\n
\"It will provide better access to services such as health and
\neducation, greater job mobility, and enable villagers to shift
\nfrom subsistence farming to more commercial agricultural
\nproduction.\"<\/p>\n
The loan, from the bank's LIBOR-based window, is payable over
\n25 years including a five-year grace.<\/p>",
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