Asian Stocks Retreat on Iodine in Tokyo Tap Water, Reactor Woes

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index set for its first loss in four days, after levels of iodine unsafe for infants were reported in Tokyo tap water as workers struggled to reconnect power to a damaged nuclear reactor.Tokyo Electric Power Co. slumped 4.5 percent after rising as much as 7 percent before a Tokyo official warned against giving infants tap water to drink. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker, declined 1.2 percent after extending production halts. Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. plunged 6.1 percent in Sydney after Australia’s second-largest airline forecast an annual loss. China Coal Energy Co. slumped 9.1 percent in Hong Kong after earnings missed estimates.“Investor focus has moved to the medium-term consequences of the natural disaster to the Japanese and...

Read more »

Brazil Mid-Month Inflation Index Slowed Less Than Expected

Brazil’s mid-month inflation slowed less than economists expected, as the cost of transportation and housing accelerated.Consumer prices as measured by the IPCA-15 index rose 0.6 percent in the month through March 15, their lowest mid-month reading since September, the national statistics agency said in Rio de Janeiro. Economists expected the index to rise 0.53 percent, according to the median of 32 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The annual inflation rate accelerated to 6.13 percent from 6.08 percent in mid-February.Brazilian central bank President Alexandre Tombini said in Senate testimony yesterday that policy makers may adopt new measures to curb the consumer credit growth in a bid to cool heated domestic demand and slow inflation. Tombini said he has “confidence” that interest rate increases,...

Read more »