Asian markets rise as Italy vows debt crisis plan

HONG KONG: Asian markets rose on Monday as Italy's new leader vowed to pull the debt-laden country back from the brink of a fiscal disaster that has threatened to tear apart the eurozone.

Former European Union Commissioner Mario Monti was nominated on Sunday to replace Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister and pledged to get to work on tackling a crippling debt crisis in the eurozone's third-largest economy.

Tokyo ended 1.05% higher, adding 89.23 points, to 8,603.70, while Sydney gained 0.19%, or 8.1 points, to 4,304.6 and Seoul climbed 2.11%, or 39.36 points, to 1,902.81.

Hong Kong finished 1.94% higher while Shanghai gained 1.92% by the close.

The euro climbed against the dollar on the back of the political shuffle with Monti's formal appointment expected within days.

The single currency also got a boost as debt-laden Greece ushers in a new government headed by the European Central Bank's ex-deputy chief Lucas Papademos under a power-sharing deal between the country's main rival parties.

"Investors are thinking these political developments will help Europe find a way out of its debt crisis," said Peter Copeland, senior institutional trader with Sydney-based brokerage BBY.

"(But) a lot of people will see these developments as just kicking the can down the road."

Italian lawmakers on Saturday approved a package of economic reforms that Berlusconi set as the precondition for his resignation amid global market turmoil.

Investors have been nervous for months as worries mounted over Greece's accounts while Italy's borrowing costs soared amid worries it would be the next eurozone country to collapse under a mountain of debt.

The European Union, which together with the International Monetary Fund is auditing Italy's accounts, said it would monitor Rome's reforms and that the country may need to pass extra austerity measures to tackle a staggering 1.9 trillion euro ($2.6 trillion) debt.

"Markets are likely to be cautious in their enthusiasm for the new governments at this stage," Ric Spooner, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires.

"Both have a fragile hold on political power and their capacity to implement the kinds of reform needed to restore market confidence is yet to be tested."

In early European trade, Milan stocks were 1.59% higher, London's FTSE 100 added 0.28%, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.66% and the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.64% higher.

Asian markets also reacted to Japanese government data showing the country's economy grew by 6.0% in the July-September quarter, the first gain since March's earthquake and tsunami disaster.

In Tokyo, Olympus -- which is embroiled in a loss-covering scandal -- surged more than 17% as concerns eased that it would be delisted after the firm said it would file its earnings results by a December 14 deadline.

The stock exchange has warned it will be taken off the index if it does not file by the date.

US markets rose Friday on growing optimism over Europe's debt problems, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 2.18% higher.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 1.95% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.04%.

Traders will be keeping a close eye on key US economic figures due to be released this week, including October retail sales and housing starts.

On currency markets, the euro stood at $1.3754 in Tokyo trade, up from $1.3739 in New York late Friday. It was at 105.92 yen from 105.97 yen.

The dollar was slightly lower at 77.03 yen compared to 77.12 yen.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, gained 16 cents to $99.15 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude, also for December, was 44 cents higher at $114.60.

Gold was trading higher at $1,782.77 an ounce by 0825 GMT, up from $1,763.50 on Friday.

In other markets:

Taipei jumped 2.15%, or 158.36 points, to 7,525.65.

Leading smartphone maker HTC was 7.0% higher at Tw$688.0 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 3.41% to Tw$75.9.

Manila closed 1.02%, or 43.91 points, higher at 4,356.87.

Philippine Long Distance Co. rose 0.91% to 2,440 pesos while San Miguel Corp. gained 2.56% to 120 pesos. However property giant Megaworld Corp. bucked the trend to fall 0.51% to 1.95 pesos.

Wellington fell 0.37%, or 12.15 points, to 3,309.86.

Telecom shed 2.8% to NZ$2.62, Contact Energy lost 1.6% to NZ$5.48 and Air New Zealand slipped 0.5% to NZ$1.045 but Fletcher Building limited the market's losses, rising 2.7% to NZ$6.43.

12 killed as Sudan bombs refugee camp

Officials say Sudan’s military dropped several bombs in and near a refugee camp in the new country of South Sudan, killing at least 12 people and wounding 20. 

Miabek Lang, the commissioner of Pariang County in South Sudan’s Unity State said the planes dropped bombs on Thursday in an area called Yida. He said 12 were killed but that the toll could rise. 

Jonathan Hutson, a spokesman for the U.S. advocacy group the Enough Project, said aid workers inside the Yida refugee camp told Enough at least one bomb landed in the camp, and three or four fell outside it. Mr. Hutson said at least 15,000 refugees who fled violence in Sudan are living in the camp. 

South Sudan become independent from Sudan in July, but violence has flared along the disputed border.

Justin Bieber Wants to be a Dad?

Despite battling allegations that he fathered a child, Justin Bieber said he wants to be a father in the future - just not now. "Hopefully in 20 years or so I'll have kids and stuff so…Bieber told CBS News when asked how he would spend the holidays 20 years from now. Mariah Yeater claims that Bieber is the father of her 4-month-old son. Bieber said he never met Yeater.

India, Pakistan Leaders Vow “New Chapter” in Troubled Relationship

Leaders of the Asian subcontinent gathered in the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean to discuss various political, economic and social topics that affect nearly two billion people in the region.

The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) is comprised of eight heads of state of South Asia.

At the top of the agenda is the relationship between India and Pakistan, the historic nuclear enemies who have recently renewed peace talks.

Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and his Indian counterpart , Manmohan Singh, have vowed to introduce a "new chapter" between the two countries, after holding an hour-long meeting.

"The next round of talks will be more positive, more constructive and will open a new chapter in the history of both countries," Gilani told reporters.

“We should build on convergence, minimize divergences and most of all seek to augment complementarities for the greater good of the people of this region.”

"The time has come to write a new chapter in the history of our relationship,” Singh said.

"We have today had a very extensive discussion, and we welcome some positive movement but more needs to be done. The next round of talks should be far more productive and far more practical-orientated in bringing the two countries closer."

Bilateral peace negotiations between Islamabad and New Delhi were disrupted after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 – which killed 165 people -- and which were blamed on Pakistani militants.

New Delhi wants Pakistan to crack down harder on militants within its midst.

Indeed, Pakistan’s interior minister, Rehman Malik said that Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving Mumbai gunman, should be hanged.

"Qasab is a terrorist. He is a non-state actor. He should go to the gallows," Malik told reporters in the Maldives.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign minister Rabbani Khar, who is also attending the meeting, noted that while relations between the two nations are slowly improving "we have many, many more miles to move ahead.”

India’s foreign minister SM Krishna said it is "necessary for Pakistan to work out a joint strategy with India in order to fight terror".

Pakistan recently granted “most favored nation” trading status for India, a measure which is hoped to escalate commerce between the two states.

On Thursday, India agreed to adopt a ‘Preferential Trade Agreement’ which will lead to zero custom duty on all goods traded between the two nations by 2016.

One of the most difficult issues between India and Pakistan is the northern province of Kashmir – which both countries claim in its entirety and which they have already fought two wars over.

Nonetheless, Gilani expressed optimism.

 “We must enable SAARC to capture the imagination of our peoples and contribute to creating strong mutually beneficial bonds as this alone will assure a glorious future of peace and prosperity,” he said.

“Pakistan completed its democratic transformation and is now well on its way to realizing democracy’s dividends by pursuing development at the grass roots level. We must strengthen regional cooperation through sharing of experiences, best practices and establishing institutional linkages.”

Obama's Personal Assistant Leaving Job

President Barack Obama's personal assistant is leaving the White House.

Reggie Love, the former Duke basketball player who has been a constant presence by Obama's side since the 2008 presidential campaign, will depart the White House by the end of the year, a person familiar with his decision said.

Love, 30, is the latest in a string of longtime Obama aides to leave the White House this year, including senior adviser David Axelrod, press secretary Robert Gibbs, deputy press secretary Bill Burton and deputy communications director Jen Psaki. All were part of Obama's team since at least since the 2008 race.

But it is Love who has had perhaps the most unique access to the president.

As Obama's personal assistant — a job that's also known as the president's "body man" — since the beginning of the administration, Love has been a near-constant presence by Obama's side, both at the White House and in travels around and outside the United States.

Love first started working for Obama in his Senate office, and was promoted to personal assistant during the presidential campaign.

His job requirements have included everything from carrying copies of the president's speeches, his iPod, and a steady supply of gum, newspapers and aspirin, to taking photos for audience members as they shook the president's hand. Wherever the president goes, Love has rarely been more than a few steps behind.

"I have an iReggie, who has my books, my newspapers, my music, all in one place," Obama said in an interview last year.

The president also credited Love for expanding his musical repertoire, introducing him to artists like Nas and Lil Wayne. Love has been a frequent teammate on the court for the sports-obsessed president. During the 2008 campaign, Obama and Love started a tradition of playing basketball on the day of every primary or caucus.

Love's immediate plans upon leaving the White House were unclear. The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Xbox 720 Codenamed 'Loop', to be Cheaper and Smaller than Xbox 360, Rumours Claim

The next Microsoft console, previously dubbed Xbox 720, will be called Loop, feature a 'far smaller' design and be cheaper than the current Xbox 360, according to reports.

Xbox gossiper MS Nerd has posted on his blog that the Xbox Loop will be smaller and cheaper than the current model, and offer more Kinect integration, but he does not offer any speculation on when the new console might be available.

"With a heady mix of rumors, tips and speculation, I am now stating that Xbox codename 'loop' will indeed debut a modified Win9 core."

The blogger, who doesn't cite his sources, claims that the Xbox Loop will be "far smaller" and cheaper than the Xbox 360, while featuring "a Zune HD-like hardware platform - a 'main' processor with multiple dedicated assistive cores for graphics, AI physics, sound, networking, encryption and sensors.

"It will be designed by Microsoft and two partners based on the ARM architecture. It will be cheaper than the 360, further enabling Kinect adoption."

MS Nerd also explains how Windows Phone could be integrated with the new Xbox: "It will also demonstrate how Windows Phone could possible [sic] Win9's dev platform on the lower level." This could lead to games being made available for Xbox and Windows Phone, or maybe a system where mini levels of the Xbox Loop game could be played away from the console on a Windows Phone smartphone.

Although there are no sources, MS Nerd has been reliable in the past and a replacement Xbox is definitely expected in the next couple of years - although Microsoft may be keen to hold out until 2015, thus giving the 360 a 10-year life span, as is traditional with games consoles.

Obama team likes Clinton book

President Obama's White House is giving good reviews to predecessor Bill Clinton's new book on jobs and using it to bash congressional Republicans along the way.

"I would say that the book is very helpful, in that it reinforces the positive steps that President Obama has taken and the positive steps he is now trying to take with Congress and is taking independently through his executive authority," spokesman Jay Carney said today

Those steps include Obama's campaign for his $447 billion jobs bill, which congressional Republicans oppose because of tax increases.

Carney said Obama welcomes Clinton's involvement in the jobs debate, noting that as president Clinton dealt with both the economy and congressional Republicans. Carney pointed out that Americans have listed the economy and jobs as their top concerns, by a wide margin, concerns shared by President Obama.

"He hopes that Republicans will hear the voices of their constituents and understand that they need to respond to this urgent demand for action," Carney said.

Carney said, "There's great frustration in the country with the dysfunctionality that has been demonstrated in Congress lately, with its refusal to take very simple, bipartisan, mainstream decisions that would have a positive impact on economic growth and job creation."


Clinton discusses his book, Back to Work, in an interview with USA TODAY.

When a reporter asked Carney whether the former president has given Obama any advice on how to deal with congressional Republicans, the spokesman said he had no specific readout.

"But certainly there are a number of people in this White House, beginning with the president, who have conversations with President Clinton," Carney said. "And, you know, communication goes both ways and is very positive and helpful."

Oil Agencies Revised Global Oil Demand Outlook

Three major oil agencies have released their latest outlooks on global oil demand. The US official DOE/EIA, based on a +3% global GDP growth assumption in 2011, expected oil demand to increase to 88.23M bpd in 2011, up +1.16M bpd or +1.3% from last year. Again, much of the gain would be driven by Chinese demand. For 2012, oil consumption will rise to 89.62M bpd, up +1.39M bpd or +1.6% from 2010, based on a downwardly revised GDP growth of +3.1%.

As per OPEC, global oil demand will rise +0.9M bpd, or +1.0%, to 87.8M bpd in 2010, and then by +1.2M bpd, or +1.4%, to 89.0M bpd in 2012. Demand in advanced economies has declined 'as a result of slowing economic momentum, particularly in the EU'. The cartel also warned that 'uncertainties in the world economic outlook for the coming year have increased due to the challenges facing the OECD economies'.

The IEA forecast global oil demand will rise +0.9M bpd, or +1.0%, to 89.8M bpd in 2010, and then by +1.3M bpd, or +1.5%, to 90.5M bpd in 2012. According to the agency, Libya's oil output was 0.35M bpd in October. The progress of resumption of oil facilities after the civil war 'is on a far faster track than initially anticipated'.