Bangkok  - Thailand's gold prices hit an historic high of 16,500 baht (465.40 dollars) per 15.2 grams Thursday, in tandem with rising prices for the precious metal on the world market.

"This is the highest gold price in the history of our market," Gold Traders Association chairman Jitti Tangsithpakdi said.

Thursday was the fourth consecutive day for local gold prices to rise to historic highs, starting at 15,950 baht per one baht weight (15.2 grams) on Monday.

Gold is commonly sold in jewelry form in Thailand, mostly at gold shops in Bangkok's Chinatown district, at prices slightly below the world market's as the gold content is not 100 per cent.

After opening with a small gain of 19.72 points, Indian equities continued to trade marginally higher with selective buying and selling seen across some of the pivotal stocks.
 
For the week ended Feb 7, 2009, India’s benchmark wholesale price index (WPI), inflation fell below 4% to 3.92%, as compared to 4.39% during the last week, mainly because of declining worldwide crude oil prices

The annual inflation rate was 4.98 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has got complaints of insider trading by Reliance Petroleum (RPL) and 18 other companies during the last 3 years.

Without disclosing the companies’ names, Mr. Pranab said that the market regulator (SEBI) received complaints of alleged insider trading in the shares of nine companies.

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks bounced back Thursday as investors bought mainly export-oriented issues on the US dollar's advance against the yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 37.93 points in morning trading, or 0.5 per cent, to 7,572.37. The index hit a four-month low the previous day on worries over a prolonged recession worldwide.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also up 3.09 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 752.35.

Washington  - US stocks were mostly unchanged Wednesday as the Federal Reserve put forward a mixed economic forecast for the coming years and President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to help homeowners.

The US central bank said the economy would shrink between 0.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent this year, but would likely recover to a rate of 2.5 per cent to 3.3 per cent in 2010, according to the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting in January.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said "aggressive" government action could lead to a modest recovery in 2009.

Taipei - Taiwan's economy shrank a record 8.36 per cent in the fourth quarter and was expected to contract 2.97 per cent this year, reflecting the battering the island is taking in the global economic downturn, a government agency said Wednesday.

The declines in the gross domestic product (GDP) was due mainly to the hit Taiwan's exports and industrial production has taken in the global slump and a resulting shrinking of domestic investments, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said.