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Showing 2901 - 2910 of 3072 results for "Benjamin"

Transcending politics

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 10 FEB 2009
Waiting...waiting. Americans and Australians are both in a holding pattern waiting for the passage of their respective government's latest fiscal dole-outs. Wall Street sat on the fence overnight as investors await the approval of US President Barack ...

Bad news is good news

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 9 FEB 2009
In a weekend interview on ABC Television, US National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers said "We'll see what happens" and "We'll do what's necessary." This is one of the reasons why I've turned. For once, I believe the powers that be. There ...

Focus on the good

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 6 FEB 2009
Whew! Finally a bit of good news. Or rather investors chose to see the good rather than the bad. US equities closed last night's trading up more than 1 per cent, reversing early losses brought on by reports that initial jobless benefit claims jumped ...

Merry Christmas retailers

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 5 FEB 2009
Well there we have it ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday's Australian retail sales figures have swung the pendulum in favour of Kevin 07 and his fiscal stimulus package. The Federal Opposition has been making noises ever since the A$42 billion was first ...

Damned if you do

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 4 FEB 2009
Australians really are a spoiled bunch. Give them bread and they ask for cake. Give them cake and they question why not the bakery instead. And while you're at it, throw in a coffee factory - nay, the whole plantation - but be careful not to spend too ...

Groundhog Day

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 3 FEB 2009
Today, America and Canada held their annual Groundhog Day festivities to see whether spring would come early or winter will stretch six weeks more. Groundhog Day is rooted in ancient European folklore and purports that if a groundhog emerges from its ...

Darkest before dawn

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 2 FEB 2009
Well now, there we have it. If the January effect holds, US equity investors and the rest of us should all go on vacation and come back next year. The January effect postulates that the US stock market's performance for the entire month of January predicts ...

Worst of the worst

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 30 JAN 2009
No prize for guessing but which G-7 country is suffering a worse hangover than the US? Clue: Its name also starts with the word United. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that global growth would ...

Good Bank Bad Bank

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 29 JAN 2009
Bad bank sparks optimism in US equities. Last night's decision by the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Markets Committee to leave interest rates unchanged at virtually zero was a no-brainer. How can it do otherwise when the deepening financial and ...

Bigger fish to fry

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 28 JAN 2009
Inflation is coming back down all over the world. The trend in consumer prices in Australia will be no different. At 11:30 AM this morning, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release data showing how consumer prices fared in the December ...