Wages Growth Still Hard To Find
Wage growth actually slowed a touch in the December quarter according to data released yesterday in the latest Wage Price Index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Read MoreWage growth actually slowed a touch in the December quarter according to data released yesterday in the latest Wage Price Index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Read MoreMore evidence that the pace of economic activity in China – especially in manufacturing – is weakening.
Read MoreOn the face of it China’s January trade performance was better than expected but once again it has been the timing of the Lunar New Year holidays in February that has distorted the figures.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank of NZ has left its key Official Cash Rate (OCR) steady at 1.75% and says it expects to maintain this level for at least the next two years.
Read MoreAs expected home lending fell sharply in December to be down sharply for 2018 as a whole as loans for apartments and units fell steeply followed loans for owner-occupiers.
Read MoreDespite a small improvement in business conditions in January after December’s sharp fall and a small improvement in business confidence, the National Australia Bank has had significant change of heart and is now forecasting that the Reserve Bank will leave rates on hold for a long time – well into next decade – but with a rate cut not out of the question.
Read MoreThe seasonally adjusted trade surplus for December of more than $3.6 billion was the second largest ever and moreover, Australia notched up a trade surplus in every month of 2018 – the first time every that has been achieved.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank of Australia has revealed it has made a major change in its monetary policy stance, with a cut in the cash rate now even money bet.
Read MoreDecember’s retail and January car sales slowed more than normal with new figures showing big falls in activity.
Read MoreRates have now been on hold at the record low for 30 months straight, but financial markets are starting predicting the next rate move is more likely to be a cut than a hike as declining house prices impact on household spending.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank board will find one or two points of interest from yesterday’s data releases at its first meeting today, but it won’t change the policy stance of no move in rates for the time being.
Read MoreUnlike the worst fears of her critics, the NZ Labour-led government of PM Jacinda Arden has not been bad for the country’s economy or its credit rating.
Read MoreThe change in approach from the US Federal Reserve in its post-January meeting statement for the Open Market Committee is another example of how investors and markets should be ‘careful what they wish for’.
Read MoreThe chances for more rate rises in the US this year have been reduced dramatically after a change of heart by the US Federal Reserve.
Read MorePressures remains on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates after another weak quarter for inflation in the three months to December.
Read MoreNow December was either a one-off so far as business conditions are concerned, or it saw the start of a new lower trend that should see concern rise about the further direction of Australian economic growth.
Read MoreAustralia’s job creation boomed slowed sharply in 2018, but growth still topped long term averages according to the December Labour Force report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday.
Read MoreJapan has joined the likes of China, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia in revealing a sharp slowdown in exports.
Read MoreAs expected the slowdown in the Chinese economy saw 2018 GDP grow by 6.6% – the lowest annual growth rate for 29 years, supporting the picture of recent weaker performance seen in other indicators such as investment, retail sales, and industrial production.
Read MoreThe final dump of Chinese economic data for December and 2018 has confirmed the economy is in the midst of a worrying slowdown.
Read MoreDespite continued volatility, 2019 is likely to be better for diversified investors than 2018 was. Watch the US trade war, the Fed, global business conditions indicators, Chinese growth, politics and the Sydney and Melbourne property markets.
Read MoreBad news or a one-off reaction to signs of movement in the trade war with Donald Trump’s America? We won’t know for several months, but China’s trade performance in December knocked markets across Asia on Monday.
Read MoreChina’s December and 2018 trade figures showed higher imports of oil, LNG, and coal, steady levels of iron ore shipments and lower levels for soybeans and copper.
Read MorePerhaps the best data so far on the extent of the slowdown in domestic demand in China from the car sales data for the country for December and 2018 which showed the first drop in total vehicle sales for 29 years.
Read MoreThe Chinese government has bowed to the inevitable and has set a lower economic growth target for 2019 of 6% to 6.5%.
Read MoreFor Australia, the latest data out of China is both worrying and sort of reassuring.
Read MoreIn this Informed Investor video James McBeath, Portfolio Manager at Paradice Investment Management explains what is behind the current volatility in global markets and examines the macroeconomic factors set to impact markets in 2019.
Read MoreA more cautious Fed should provide some support for markets although more falls are possible into early next year before markets bottom and head higher as investors realise the US/global economy is not going into recession soon.
Read MoreNovember’s unemployment data showed all the hallmarks of an end of year set of data – a fall in full-time work as companies adjust their workforces towards the end of the year (such as TV) and a big jump in part-time work as retailers and suppliers and distributors for the great Christmas – New year sales rush boost employment.
Read MoreIn this article, Michael Collins from Magellan Asset Management discusses how another eurosceptic and indebted country is testing Brussels’s power over the eurozone project.
Read MoreAustralian growth has slowed again and while local shares are still great for income, global shares are likely to remain outperformers for capital growth in 2019.
Read MoreRelaxed, but alert? That’s one way of describing the attitude of the nation’s supreme council of financial regulators to the home price crunch and the tighter lending activity.
Read MoreAustralian business conditions and confidence are clearly cooling, judging by the November NAB business survey as the softening that started midyear continued last month.
Read MoreAfter the turmoil of 2018, the outlook for 2019 comes with greater than normal uncertainty. Here are the main things to keep an eye on in the year ahead.
Read MoreRetail sales rose a sedate 0.3% in October, as online spending hit a record high and spending rose on clothing and footwear but fell in cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services.
Read MoreAustralia’s September quarter GDP has disappointed expectations by a long way, slowing sharply to just 0.3% from the June quarter (when it grew 0.9%), and well below expectations for a 0.6% rise.
Read MoreThere’s a possibility that the September quarter GDP, to be reported in the national accounts for the quarter out later this morning, could be better than expected.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank of Australia has once again kept its key interest rate unchanged at the record low of 1.5%.
Read MoreMixed economic news yesterday ahead of the last Reserve Bank board meeting for the year later today.
Read MoreDonald Trump, the US president, has agreed to hold off on imposing higher tariffs on Chinese imports next year, after reaching a deal with Xi Jinping, China’s president, to slow the trade war afflicting both countries and rattling financial markets.
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