Economic Data
(AU) AUSTRALIA DEC DEWR INTERNET SKILLED VACANCIES M/M: -2.8% V -3.4% PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN DEC RETAIL TRADE M/M: 0.1% V 0.4%E; Y/Y: 0.4% V 0.3%E; LARGE RETAILERS' SALES: 0.0% V -1.0%E
(KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC CYCLICAL LEADING INDEX CHANGE Y/Y: 0.4% V 0.3% PRIOR
(KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC CURRENT ACCOUNT: $2.3B V $6.9B PRIOR; GOODS BALANCE: $2.0B V $6.8B PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND DEC BUILDING PERMITS M/M: 9.4% V 6.0%E (first rise in three months; 9-month high)
Markets Snapshot (as of 05:00 GMT)
Nikkei225 +1.9%
S&P/ASX +0.2%
Kospi +0.5%
Shanghai Composite +0.1%
Hang Seng +0.7%
Mar S&P500 -0.1% at 1,503
Feb gold +0.3% at $1,665/oz
Mar Crude Oil flat at $97.55/brl
Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities
(AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$600M 2023 Bonds; avg yield: 3.50%; bid-to-cover: 3.89x
(AU) Australia PM Gillard: Federal elections will be held on 14th Sept - financial press
(US) Fitch: May cut US sovereign rating if there is no consensus on debt ceiling issue - financial press
(EU) Fitch: Expecting a "pick-up" in peripheral euro zone
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(JP) Japan PM Abe: Plans to boost wages, maintain long-term rates from rising through flexible macro economic policies and fiscal reforms - financial press
(JP) Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) President Iwata: Suggested BoJ should double assets to achieve 2% inflation target - financial press interview
(NZ) New Zealand Fin Min English: New Zealand is making progress towards budget surplus for 2015
Equities
LG Electronics 066570.KR: Follow-up: Reports Q4 Net loss KRW468B v profit KRW89Be; Op profit KRW107B v KRW151Be; Rev KRW13.5T v KRW13.5Te
Sekisui 4204.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥19.8B v ¥17.3B y/y, Op Profit ¥34.9B v ¥36.8B y/y, Rev ¥754.8B v ¥716.1B y/y
000660.KR: Sees Q1 DRAM shipments to decline q/q by mid-single digit - financial press
AWE.AU: Reports Q2 Rev A$77M v A$68M y/y, Oil & Gas Production at 1.3Mboe +33% q/q
3880.JP: May report 9-month pretax profit over ¥3.5B, +70% y/y; Rev seen up slightly at ¥305B - Nikkei News
9104.JP: May report 9-month pretax loss around ¥16B v loss ¥18.6B y/y - Nikkei News
9101.JP: May report 9-month pretax profit around ¥16B v loss ¥24.8B y/y - Nikkei News
9107.JP: May report 9-month net profit around ¥8B v loss ¥42B y/y - Nikkei News
6981.JP: May report FY12/13 op profit around ¥55B, +20% y/y; Rev seen rising 30% to ¥190B - Nikkei News
5214.JP: To expand LCD glass substrate facility in Korea - Japanese press
9983.JP: Plans to open largest store in Shanghai in 2013 - Japanese press
9984.JP: May report 9-month op profit to be around ¥590B, +10% y/y; Rev to be ¥2.5T, +4% y/y - Nikkei News
QAN.AU: Group led by ex-CEO Dixon has sold their stake - Australian press
RYL: Reports Q4 $0.56 v $0.50e, R$440M v $399Me: +3.4% afterhours
BRCM: Reports Q4 $0.76 v $0.74e, R$2.08B v $2.07Be: -1.1% afterhours
AMZN: Reports Q4 $0.21 v $0.28e, R$21.27B v $22.3Be: +8.9% afterhours
TM: Union to seek bonus amount of over ¥2M, first in five years - Kyodo News