Asian stocks weighed by South Korea; busy week for central banks
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SYDNEY: Asian shares were dragged by a slide in South Korea on Monday ahead of a packed week of central bank meetings that should see borrowing costs take a step lower, while U.S. inflation data are the last hurdle to a further policy easing there. Political tumult in France and South Korea was joined by the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which complicated an already fraught situation in the Middle East. Still, the mood was generally upbeat after U.S. November payrolls showed enough of a recovery to assuage concerns of a slowdown, but not so much as to forestall a rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week. "Incoming data support our call for global growth lift into year-end, despite a slipping Euro area and building political stress," said Bruce Kasman, head of economic research at JPMorgan. "We expect policy rates in Canada, Euro area, and Sweden to drop to 2% or lower over the coming year, whil...