EN
Economic Updates
Melbourne Lockdown: Local Investors Mull Worsening Economic Outlook
Following the highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day, the Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews reinstated “Stay at Home” restrictions across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire from 11:59 pm on Wednesday 8 July. The Treasurer warned that the cost of locking down Victoria could be up to $1 billion a week which will fall heav...
Quarter 3 Outlook: Coronavirus Resurgence May Threaten Recovery
The Great Lockdown and Grand Reopening The Great Lockdown in the first quarter followed by the Grand Reopening in the second quarter took the financial markets on a wild swing. Given the unprecedented nature of the various forms of lockdowns, global equities have plunged to bear levels in a very fast manner. Massive fiscal stimulus, ultra-low lev...
A Summary of Major US Earnings Reports
A Summary of Major US Earnings Reports IBM, Netflix Inc, Snap AT&T, and Intel Corp were among the major large-cap corporations reporting earnings.Even though the pandemic is expected to portrait a dire outlook, earnings results are much awaited to gauge if large companies can muddle through the crisis and how they are preparing for an eventua...
First Quarter: Crisis, Volatility, and Opportunities
The first quarter of 2020 was marred by unpredicted events that rattled the financial markets: Tensions between US and Iran; The extreme weather conditions across the globe as a result of climate change; The novel coronavirus; and An oil price war between Saudi Arabia, the oil kingdom, and Russia. A Trio of Crises Faced by an unpreced...
RBA: “QE is not on our Agenda!”
This year’s Annual Dinner of the Australian Business Economists was probably the most important event before the year ends. In a year that saw the RBA cutting interest rates three times, the speech around “Unconventional Monetary Policy: Some Lessons From Overseas” fueled speculations that the RBA is to tap into the unchartered territory...
Is Germany on the Brink of a Technical Recession?
Is Germany on the Brink of a Technical Recession? Europe’s largest economy and the world’s fourth-largest economy is at risk of going into a technical recession. Such recession arises after two consecutive quarters of economic decline. In the second quarter of 2019, the German’s economy had contracted by 0.1% compared to a growth of 0.4% ...
Did China Retaliate with a Currency War?
A Currency War Did China retaliate with a Currency War? Monday kicked-off with a bang with plenty of big moves in the financial markets. A risk-off sentiment prevails in the markets as dark clouds of trade tariffs resurfaced and are overshadowing the markets. Investors are awaiting for China to retaliate. However, the significant fall in the Chin...
New UK Prime Minister Labelled “Britain Trump”
“Britain Trump” Britain has a new Prime Minister and as highly expected, Boris Johnson won the race over his opponent, Jeremy Hunt to become the new Tory leader. It was a convincing win despite the controversial headlines about Boris Johnson. Again as widely expected, we saw a few ministerial resignations following Boris’s victory: Sir ...
Back-To-Back Interest Rate Cuts
Second Rate Cut The Reserve bank of Australia (RBA) cut interest rate by 25 basis points which marks the first back-to-back rate cut since 2012. The RBA also sets the interest rate to a record low at 1%: “Today's decision to lower the cash rate will help make further inroads into the spare capacity in the economy. It will assist with faster...
Hong- Kong Protests Add to Market Angst
It is reported that nearly two million people joined the mass protest against the controversial extradition bill on Sunday despite the government announcing a pause in the legislation on Saturday. It is because the demonstrators do not only want the bill suspended but eliminated altogether as they fear that such law brings the territory closer ...
Preview: Non-Farm Payroll Announcement
It’s a new month which means the latest Non-Farm Payroll figures will be released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest data will be released at 13:30 PM London time on Friday. Why is the announcement important? Non-farm payroll is one of the most closely watched indicators and is considered the most wide-ranging measure of ...
European Parliament Election 2019
European Parliament Election 2019 The 2019 EU Parliament election is one of the most important ones for the bloc amid the rise of nationalism and populist parties. Brexit is also the constant reminder that leaving the EU would not be easy and the election is, therefore, providing some fresh insights on the balloting across the 28 European Union c...
Housing Market and the Federal Election
Housing Market and the Federal Election "Labor – A fair go for Australia” “Liberal – Building our economy and securing our future” “Nationals – A strong vote for regional Australia” “Greens – A future for all of us” “The Centre Alliance – Making sure South Australia always comes first” The economy is facing fundamental...
An Election Rate Cut?
Among the few interest rate decisions this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia stands out. The Federal election 2019 is fast approaching and analysts are debating whether a rate cut before the election is justified or not. The Rate Cut Debate The Australian economy is facing real challenges but the rate cut debate ahead of the election exubera...
Preview: Non-Farm Payroll Announcement
It’s a new month which means the latest Non-Farm Payroll figures will be released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest US jobs data will be released at 13:30 PM London time on Friday. Why is the announcement important? Non-farm payroll is one of the most closely watched indicators and is considered the most wide-ranging mea...