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Showing 171 - 180 of 2991 results for Benjamin Ong

Chief economist update: Victoria's victory

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 27 OCT 2020
"This day belongs to every single Victorian, every single Victorian who has followed the rules, stayed the course, worked with me and my team, to bring this second wave to an end." This was what state premier Dan Andrews told all Victorians and the ...

Chief economist update: A V, a W and an L

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 26 OCT 2020
The latest results from the monthly Markit Economics PMI (purchasing managers' index) draws a picture of the three shapes of the economic recovery or otherwise. The letter V. Masked or unmasked, the IHS/Markit flash US composite PMI continues to ...

Chief economist update: The UK's new plan... after two plans

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 23 OCT 2020
Multiplying rates of coronavirus infections forced the UK government to impose strict lockdown measures, giving "bobbies" power to fine people leaving their homes for "non-essential" reasons on March 23. These restrictions were then gradually eased ...

Chief economist update: Good or bad news is good Wall Street news

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 22 OCT 2020
It may have gone up and down and round and round but the US equity market has trended higher and higher and is outperforming its peers. Despite topping the list of total cases of coronavirus infections (8.6 million), new cases (0.6 million) and deaths ...

Chief economist update: Japan's second wave

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 21 OCT 2020
It's been just over a month when Yoshihide Suga took over from Shinzo Abe - who resigned for health reasons -- as Japan's prime minister. It wasn't a great time for a handover given the significantly weakened state of the global and domestic ...

Chief economist update: Middle Kingdom on top

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 20 OCT 2020
China's cruel to be kind policy continues to pay dividends. Criticised and condemned they may be, but the swift and continued improvement in the economy prove that the Politburo's draconian restriction and lockdown measures implemented at the ...

Chief economist update: COVID-19 returns to Europe with a vengeance

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 19 OCT 2020
It won't be long now till we again hear "balcony concertos" - the ones started in Italy back in March this year (and gone viral on cyberspace) when the government imposed a hard lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic - for infections in Europe ...

Chief economist update: Lowe taking interest rates lower

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 16 OCT 2020
The numbers may be better than market expectations but they still don't diminish the fact that Australia's labour market remains weak. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the country's unemployment rate increased to 6.9% in ...

Chief economist update: Money buys happiness

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 15 OCT 2020
Happy consumer makes the economy grow stronger. The result of the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment survey disproves the aged-old adage that "money doesn't buy happiness". Australian consumer sentiment surged by 11.9% to a reading ...

Chief economist update: Get shorty

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 13 OCT 2020
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut the foreign exchange risk reserve ratio for forward contracts to 0% from 20% over the weekend, effectively giving its blessing to currency traders to "get shorty". The PBOC imposed the 20% risk reserve ratio ...