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Showing 571 - 580 of 2991 results for Benjamin Ong

Chief economist update: The curse of Japan's consumption tax hike

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 15 JAN 2019
About this time last year, financial markets were awash with speculation the Bank of Japan (BOJ) would follow the Fed's lead and start implementing a monetary policy exit strategy. Speculations started to gain prominence as early as January 2018 ...

Chief economist update: Safe as burning houses

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 14 JAN 2019
"As safe as houses" is generally an expression which means with no risk of failure. The US sub-prime crisis (circa 2008-2009) showed us this is no longer the case. The continued drop in Australian property prices provides a warning sign that it could ...

Fed's pause becomes the ECB's problem

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 11 JAN 2019
"Patient and flexible". These are the two words the US Federal Reserve has us mulling over with regards to the conduct of its monetary policy over the course of 2019. How patient and flexible? The CME FedWatch Tool puts the probability of the fed funds ...

Fed steady with a slight chance of a rate cut

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 10 JAN 2019
I hear ya! US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had already come out declaring something along these lines at his first outing for 2018. Still, it's more comforting to have all the members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) put their imprimatur in ...

Why the RBA has reason to cut rates in 2019

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 9 JAN 2019
Our resident chief economist explains why the continued drop in property prices could force the RBA to defy consensus and cut rates. First, some global context. US Federal Reserve has hinted that it will be more dovish with regards to monetary policy ...

Chief economist update: Another year over, a new one begins

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 7 JAN 2019
Happy New Year! I wish you one, although undoubtedly you've all been wished the same thing many times over from the lead up to Christmas and some are still coming in seven days into 2019... better late than never. You, I and Irene certainly need ...

Chief economist update: Fed fail

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 20 DEC 2018
We might just be heading to witness once again the truth about the old adage on Wall Street that "a bull market doesn't die of old age, the Fed murders it." As expected, the US Federal Reserve raised the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%-2.5% ...

Chief economist update: The clown in the White House

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 18 DEC 2018
It's hard not to agree with US President Donald Trump's latest tweet: "It is incredible that with a very strong dollar and virtually no inflation, the outside world blowing up around us, Paris is burning and China way down, the Fed is even considering ...

Chief economist update: Is there a bear in there?

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 17 DEC 2018
It may not be Play School - yes, I was watching this Australian TV kiddie show when the kids were growing up - but the Australian Financial Review (AFR) and Bloomberg's now talking about the grizzly. "The S&P 600 small cap index fell into a bear ...

Chief economist update: ECB bids farewell to QE

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 14 DEC 2018
The European Central Bank (ECB) delivered on its promise. While it kept interest rates unchanged - repo rate at 0%; deposit facility rate at -0.4%; marginal lending facility rate at 0.25% - at its December 13 Governing Council meeting, it also confirmed ...