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Showing 1231 - 1240 of 2991 results for Benjamin Ong

A "chilling" moment for the RBA

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 29 FEB 2016
In case you missed it, finance and central bank head honchos of the Group of 20 (G-20) met over the weekend in Shanghai. But you may as well have (missed it, that is) for it was more of the same - promised-filled and action-short. In its communique ...

ZIRP to bring back "animal spirits"?

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 26 FEB 2016
Actual total private new capital expenditures may have surprised on the upside, rising by 0.8% in the three months ended December 2015 when they were expected to drop by 3.0% but... they're still not a pretty set of numbers. Uglier still, according ...

Australian wages grow slowest on record but real is better

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 25 FEB 2016
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) latest update on wages may have disappointed expectations but also confirmed what workers have been experiencing all along. The Wage Price Index - total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - grew by 2.2% ...

Consumer (un)confidence

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 24 FEB 2016
"Consumers' short-term outlook grew more pessimistic, with consumers expressing greater apprehension about business conditions, their personal financial situation, and to a lesser degree, labor market prospects. Continued turmoil in the financial markets ...

Bad news on global activity and prices is the good news

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 23 FEB 2016
Global economy heading towards contraction, that's the good news A bounce from oversold conditions, short-covering rally, cheapened valuation, or another jump on the price of oil which is a positive for energy companies (and the banks that lent to them) ...

A negative sum game

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 22 FEB 2016
Last week was a happy one for equity markets with most benchmark indices registering sharp gains at the end of five days of trade. Is it now safe to go back in the waters? Or a dead cat bounce? It happened not so long ago, you know -- when the rebound ...

Aussie jobs trend is our friend

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 19 FEB 2016
Another month, another surprise set of numbers from "6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia". In December, 'twas a positive surprise with Australian employment shedding only 1,000 heads (now revised to just an 800 cut) versus expectations for a 12,500 reduction. ...

Another 6-9 months under Downunder

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 18 FEB 2016
This is the picture of Australia painted by the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index of economic activity. The headline index fell to a reading of 97.13 in January from 97.17 in the previous month. This is the index's lowest level on record ...

Dear Chancellor

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 17 FEB 2016
"UK inflation climbs to highest in a year" (Irish Times). "UK inflation nudges up to 12-month high" (Financial Times). "UK inflation gathers steam in January" (Business Spectator). In a world where low and/or declining prices have become the norm, headlines ...

More negatives

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 16 FEB 2016
The Japanese economy shrinks, the Japanese sharemarket sings hallelujah! If this still doesn't capture the "bad news is good news" meme, we might never, never know what will. The Nikkei-225 index soared by 7.2% at the end of yesterday's trade. It even ...