QUANTITATIVE EASING

Asian shares steadied Thursday as investors took to the sidelines, waiting for more clues over the timing and extent of any further stimulus to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis and support global growth.

Consumer prices were flat in July for a second straight month and the year-over-year increase was the smallest since November 2010, giving the Federal Reserve room for further monetary easing to tackle stubbornly high unemployment.

The three-martini lunch has gone out of vogue in the last fifty years, but maybe, just maybe, it's time to return to the time-honored, vermouth and gin soaked tradition of the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

With South Korea's economy continuing to slowdown, investors feel that the Bank of Korea (BoK) will be under pressure to announce monetary easing measures at the next meeting in September.

Despite most central banks slashing interest rates in 2009, there is still room for central banks to maneuver and stimulate their sluggish economies.

Asian stock markets advanced for the fourth straight session Thursday after data showed that Chinese inflation continued to cool down in July, providing more room for further policy easing to boost growth.

Crude oil futures advanced during the Asian trading hours Thursday after data showed Chinese inflation continued to cooled for a fourth straight month in July, rising hopes for monetary easing measures to support growth.

The Bank of Japan Thursday kept its key policy rate unchanged and refrained from announcing any monetary easing measures citing that the country's economy is picking up moderately.

Most of the Asian markets rose Thursday as hopes for monetary easing measures to be announced by China grew following reports that the country's inflation slowed down in July compared to the previous month.

The Federal Reserve sent some strong messages in its latest policy statement that it is heading toward new easing measures to buck up the weak economy. But the central bank may have a different caliber of weapon in mind other than launching another round of large-scale asset purchases, or QE3.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open Monday as investor worries about the weakening economy were alleviated following the recovery in the jobs data in July.

Asian stock markets rallied Monday as better-than-expected jobs data from the U.S. and optimism at European action to boost the faltering regional economy buoyed sentiment.

Most European markets fell Monday as investors remained watchful following a disappointing last week when the European Central Bank (ECB) made no announcement on monetary easing measures to rejuvenate the faltering euro zone economy.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Sunday that a fresh round of monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve would not help the fragile U.S. economy.

The Fed will drop its wavering plans for a fresh spate of monetary stimulus measures, according to Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group.

Most of the European markets moderately rose Friday after investors were disappointed with the European Central Bank not announcing any monetary easing policy measures to rejuvenate the faltering euro zone economy.

Most of the European markets rose Thursday amid hope that the European Central Bank would announce stimulus measures later in the day to boost the faltering euro zone economy.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered a gloomier view of the economy as the labor market showed no sign of improvement since its last meeting. However, despite mounting signs of a sharp slowdown in the U.S. economy, central bank officials decided to take more time to make up their mind and refrained from enacting another monetary stimulus.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday lowered its view of the U.S. economy, but kept interest rate policy and its non-traditional quantitative easing policy the same. The Fed said it now sees "economic activity decelerated somewhat over the first half of the year," compared to a previous view of the "economy has been expanding moderately."

Most of the Asian markets fell Wednesday amid increasing concerns over the slowdown in economic growth in China as the country's manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in July compared to that in the previous month.

The jobless rate in the U.S. has stubbornly remained above 8 percent for more than three years, and the labor market likely saw little improvement in July, economists say in anticipation of the July nonfarm payrolls report due Friday.