World Bank: Singapore is the Best Place to Run a Business, HK second

Singapore is the world’s best place to run a business according to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Hong Kong is on second place despite problems on their real estate regulations.

The rankings done yearly score 189 economies on 10 indicators, focusing on the conditions faced by small or medium-sized businesses.

New Zealand is third, United States bagged the fourth place, while Denmark is fifth. The top five retained their positions from a year ago. The mainland China rose to 96th from an adjusted ranking of 99th.
Chad is the worst place to do business, claiming the position which Central African Republic holds last year.

Ease of Doing Business Rank:

1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong SAR, China  
3. New Zealand           
4. United States  
5. Denmark         
6. Malaysia         
7. Korea, Rep.    
8. Georgia           
9. Norway
10. United Kingdom        
11. Australia         
12. Finland
13. Iceland
14. Sweden
15. Ireland 
16. Taiwan, China  
17. Lithuania         
18. Thailand         
19. Canada           
20. Mauritius        
21. Germany         
22. Estonia
23. United Arab Emirates          
24. Latvia  
25. Macedonia, FYR
26. Saudi Arabia 
27. Japan  
28. Netherlands    
29. Switzerland      
30. Austria
31. Portugal          
32. Rwanda         
33. Slovenia         
34. Chile   
35. Israel   
36. Belgium           
37. Armenia         
38. France 
39. Cyprus
40. Puerto Rico (U.S.)  
41. South Africa  
42. Peru    
43. Colombia
44. Montenegro

45. Poland
46. Bahrain
47. Oman  
48. Qatar  
49. Slovak Republic         
50. Kazakhstan     
51. Tunisia 
52. Spain   
53. Mexico
54. Hungary         
55. Panama           
56. Botswana        
57. Tonga  
58. Bulgaria         
59. Brunei Darussalam    
60. Luxembourg  
61. Samoa 
62. Fiji      
63. Belarus
64. St. Lucia
65. Italy
66. Trinidad and Tobago           
67. Ghana 
68. Kyrgyz Republic         
69. Turkey
70. Azerbaijan       
71. Antigua and Barbuda         
72. Greece
73. Romania         
74. Vanuatu
75. Czech Republic         
76. Mongolia
77. Dominica        
78. Moldova
79. Guatemala       
80. Seychelles       
81. San Marino
82. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
83. Zambia
84. Bahamas, The
85. Sri Lanka  
86. Kosovo
87. Morocco       
88. Uruguay         
89. Croatia
90. Albania
91. Barbados
92. Russian Federation
93. Serbia
94. Jamaica           
95. Maldives        
96. China  
97. Solomon Islands 
98. Namibia         
99. Vietnam        
100. Palau     
101. St. Kitts and Nevis  
102. Costa Rica    
103. Malta      
104. Kuwait   
105. Nepal     
106. Belize     
107. Grenada 
108. Philippines
109. Paraguay           
110. Pakistan
111. Lebanon
112. Ukraine  
113. Papua New Guinea 
114. Marshall Islands 
115. Guyana  
116. Brazil     
117. Dominican Republic         
118. El Salvador        
119. Jordan  
120. Indonesia
121. Cape Verde  
122. Kiribati   
123. Swaziland         
124. Nicaragua         
125. Ethiopia 
126. Argentina           
127. Honduras           
128. Egypt, Arab Rep.
129. Kenya
130. Bangladesh        
131. Bosnia and Herzegovina
132. Uganda  
133. Yemen, Rep.    
134. India
135. Ecuador 
136. Lesotho 
137. Cambodia         
138. West Bank and Gaza
139. Mozambique      
140. Burundi  
141. Bhutan   
142. Sierra Leone  
143. Tajikistan         
144. Liberia   
145. Tanzania
146. Uzbekistan        
147. Nigeria   
148. Madagascar      
149. Sudan    
150. Gambia, The
151. Iraq      
152. Iran, Islamic Rep.
153. Algeria   
154. Burkina Faso    
155. Mali        
156. Micronesia, Fed. Sts.     
157. Togo     
158. Comoros
159. Lao PDR    
160. Djibouti  
161. Suriname           
162. Bolivia   
163. Gabon    
164. Afghanistan        
165. Syrian Arab Republic         
166. Equatorial Guinea 
167. Côte d'Ivoire
168. Cameroon         
169. São Tomé and Príncipe         
170. Zimbabwe         
171. Malawi   
172. Timor-Leste   
173. Mauritania         
174. Benin     
175. Guinea   
176. Niger      
177. Haiti       
178. Senegal  
179. Angola   
180. Guinea-Bissau 
181. Venezuela, RB
182. Myanmar
183. Congo, Dem. Rep.
184. Eritrea   
185. Congo, Rep.    
186. South Sudan  
187. Libya     
188. Central African Republic         
189. Chad      

US Dollar Slightly Up

(Reuters) - The dollar recovered a little from an eight-month low and shares began cautiously on Tuesday as investors anticipate the delayed U.S. jobs data. The US dollar has been battered lately by a budget fight in Washington that put the country close to a default and by the Fed opposed cutting its stimulus in September.

By 0800 GMT the US dollar was holding up 0.1% at $1.3674 against the euro, off an 8-month low of $1.3704 marked on Friday, and gained by similar margin against the yen, at 98.31 yen, adding to Monday's 0.4 percent bounce.

Rates rise at weekly US Treasury auction

WASHINGTON  — Short-term Treasury bills interest rates shoot up to it's highest levels since late August in Monday's auction.

$35 billion in three-month bills were auctioned by the Treasury Department at a discount rate of 0.035%. Last week the discount rate was 0.010%. While the 30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.060% which has risen from 0.040% last week.

The discount rates indicates that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.12 while a six-month bill sold for $9,996,97. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.035 percent for the three-month bills and 0.061 percent for the six-month bills.

The Federal Reserve also said on Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills was up to 0.11 percent last week from 0.10 percent the previous week.

Source AP

Oil falls under $102 after a Partial US Government shutdown

Prices of Oil fall below $102 per barrel on Wednesday after a budget impasse in Washington that resulted to a partial US Government shutdown. It also resulted to 800,000 Federal Workers being furloughed.

The benchmark oil for November delivery fell 44 cents to $101.60 per barrel. The contract fell 29 cents to close at $102.04 a barrel in New York.

It is also expected to weaken the demand for oil in the U.S. as the shutdown curbs economic growth and keep 800,000 federal workers from driving to work.

"Oil prices are very much linked with U.S. consumption," said Andrew Sullivan, sales trader at Kim Eng Securities in Hong Kong. "With 800,000 workers not being paid, short-term demand is likely to be curtailed."