A Quick Glance at News

v Asian stocks rose, heading for the longest winning streak this year, the won hit a two-month high and credit risk fell for the seventh day on speculation Chinese and European central bankers will ease monetary policy. Rubber climbed after U.S. factory orders and auto sales beat estimates.

v The European Central Bank will cut interest rates tomorrow, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, and a government- linked newspaper in China said policy makers may lower lenders’ reserve requirements three more times this year.

v The International Monetary Fund said further monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve may be needed as the organization reduced its growth estimate for the world’s biggest economy.

v The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.2587 and 100.41 yen before data forecast to confirm European services and manufacturing industries shrank. The 17-nation currency also slipped ahead of a Spanish bond sale tomorrow.

v Spain is scheduled to auction three-, four- and 10-year debt tomorrow. The nation’s benchmark 10-year bond yielded 6.25 percent yesterday, compared with a euro-era high of 7.29 percent reached June 18.

v Australian retail sales advanced more than economists forecast in May on stronger spending at restaurants and department stores, sending the local dollar to a two-month high as traders pared bets on an interest-rate cut.

v Gold prices weakened in East Asia trading on Wednesday, after ending at their strongest levels in two weeks in the regular U.S. session amid expectations of imminent policy easing by central banks.

v Indian gold prices fell for a third day on Tuesday weighed by a stronger rupee, that hit its highest level in a month-and-a-half, but price falls were not enough for physical traders seeking to book the yellow metal.

v Oil slid from the highest close in a month in New York on speculation this week’s gains may have been excessive amid concern that a global economic slowdown will reduce demand.

v China Stocks Drop for First Time in Four Days on Profit Concern, Chinese fell for the first time in four days as concern that construction activity is faltering dragged industrial companies lower, overshadowing a rally by energy producers.

v Iran test-fired medium-range missiles, capable of hitting US bases in the region or Israel. The parliament in Tehran, meanwhile, called an urgent debate on a bill to block at least some oil tankers in the Gulf, and there were reports that the leadership might be considering announcing a new, higher level of uranium enrichment.

v On Tuesday, the US was reported to have significantly increased its military presence in the region, doubling the number of its minesweepers while bringing in stealth warplanes in part as a deterrent to any Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply flows each day.

v Talks have begun in Istanbul between Iranian scientists and their counterparts from six major powers in an attempt to resolve an impasse over Iran's nuclear aspirations, as both Tehran and Washington raised the military stakes in a perilous standoff in the Gulf.

v China’s services industry activity in June cooled to levels bordering on stagnation, as a manufacturing slowdown helped put the brakes on the wider economy, according to a business survey released Wednesday.

v BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) jumped more than 2 percent to lead gains among commodity stocks as a surge in raw-materials prices over the past week boosted the earnings outlook at the world’s largest mining company.

v Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to debut a smaller, cheaper iPad by year-end, two people with knowledge of the plans said, to help maintain dominance of the tablet market as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) prepare competing handheld device.