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Showing 151 - 160 of 3072 results for "Benjamin"

Chief economist update: Light at the end of the Euro tunnel

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 12 FEB 2021
It's beginning to look a lot like the Eurozone economy wouldn't be able to dodge a double-dip recession given tighter and/or extended coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns remain in place in many of its member countries. Eurozone GDP fell into ...

Chief economist update: Money plus confidence

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 11 FEB 2021
"The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money." - James Madison, 4th President of the USA (1809-1817) and Founding Father The Morrison government circulating more money which, according to the Budget Papers 2020-21, amounts ...

Chief economist update: Nikkei not so fine

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 9 FEB 2021
"Oh Nikkei, you're so fine You're so fine you blow my mind, hey Nikkei..." My apologies to Toni Basil for re-wording the lyrics to her 1981 hit "Mickey", but anyone watching the rise and rise of the Nikkei-225 index will understand. The Japanese ...

Chief economist update: The US inflation dilemma

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 9 FEB 2021
"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards." - Shane Patton Did current US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (under Biden's administration) just call former US Secretary Lawrence Summers (under Clinton's) a coward? I refer of ...

Chief economist update: Disappointing jobs results raise Biden's stimulus bid

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 8 FEB 2021
Talk about perfect timing. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) disappointing update on the state of employment in America couldn't have come at a more opportune time - the time when fresh president of the US, Joe Biden, is bidding the Congress ...

Chief economist update: NIRP embedded in BOE forecasts

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 5 FEB 2021
The Bank of England (BOE) gave financial markets what they wanted and kept monetary policy settings unchanged - the bank rate at a record low 0.1% and QE at £895 billion - at its first Monetary Policy Committee meeting on February 4. It was hoping ...

Chief economist update: Oil gush

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 4 FEB 2021
Crude oil prices jumped to one-year highs - WTI oil to US$58.46 per barrel; Brent oil to US$55.73 - this early in the New Year. Well, they have to bounce some time especially given the battering it received in 2020 as the covid-19 pandemic grounded ...

Chief economist update: RBA extends QE

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 3 FEB 2021
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) painted a pretty picture of the Australian economy in its first board meeting for 2021. RBA governor Philip Lowe's statement at the conclusion of the Australian central bank's February meeting was optimistic ...

Chief economist update: Overvaluation tests FOMO and TINA trades

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 1 FEB 2021
Wall Street's down. Repeat, Wall Street's down! The CBOE VIX index - the fear gauge - jumped by 9.5% in the last trading day of the first month of 2021 to 33.09 points, marking the highest since the renewed COVID-19 outbreak in Europe that subsequently ...

Chief economist update: Taper talks are premature

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 29 JAN 2021
A new year, a new administration but its same old, same old for the US Federal Reserve. As expected and in a unanimous decision, the Fed confirmed: "The Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25% and expects ...