Business Digest, November 30, 2012

S&P maintains China's sovereign debt ratings

Standard & Poor's affirmed China's sovereign long-term credit rating of AA-minus and short-term rating of A-1-plus in an annual report yesterday and said the outlook remains stable, citing the country's "exceptional" growth prospects, holdings of overseas assets and modest government indebtedness. Bloomberg

HKMA steps in twice to weaken HK dollar

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority sold a combined HK$5.81 billion for US dollars yesterday in two interventions in the currency markets to prevent the Hong Kong dollar from strengthening past its trading band with the US dollar. Since last month, the central bank has sold HK$41.14 billion. Enoch Yiu

US economy grew faster than forecast

The US economy expanded at a 2.7 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, more than an earlier estimate of 2 per cent, revised figures from the Commerce Department show. Also, fewer first-time claims for unemployment insurance were filed last week as the disruptions wrought by superstorm Sandy ebbed, the labor department reported. Bloomberg