South Korea

"NATO and the United States should change their policy because the time when they dictate their conditions to the world has passed," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Dushanbe, capital of the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan

The Asian Economy's 'Canary In The Coal Mine' Just Got Crushed

Business Insider,

26 April, 2012

Goldman Sachs considers Korean trade data to be Asia's "canary in the coal mine" due to its high correlation to economic activity in mainland Asia.

Unfortunately, the canary is looking sick.

South Korean July exports plunged 8.8 percent from a year ago.  Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for a decline of 3.7 percent.

This disappointing number comes as global PMI data shows that deterioration in the world's manufacturing sectors.

Jim O'Neill, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management has previously argued that PMI and South Korean trade data were among the most reliable economic indicators in the world.

So, there's not much good news coming from the Asian economies.  At this point, it seems the data is increasingly justifying further easy monetary policy measures from local central banks.

 

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