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Economics

Chief economist update: Friday when the trade war began

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 9 JUL 2018
If the escalation of a trade war is so grim, why did equities rally on the day the war began?

Chief economist update: Minutes of concerns

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 6 JUL 2018
The FOMC minutes revealed "participants" discussed the flattening yield curve at the June meeting - some were concerned, others tried to explain it away.

Chief economist update: Japan feels the heat

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 5 JUL 2018
Japanese manufacturers' trepidation over the potential escalation of the trade war is clearly palpable in their export growth expectations.

Chief economist update: Steady at 24 and counting

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 4 JUL 2018
It has been 24 months now - the longest in recent history - that the official cash rate has remained stuck at 1.5%.

Chief economist update: Draining the swamp

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 3 JUL 2018
The US President is draining the rising global tide that lifted all boats last year with his trade protectionist policy aimed at "making America great again!"

Chief economist update: US inflation hits target

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 2 JUL 2018
The US Federal Reserve's favoured inflation gauge - the core PCE price index - is now smack bang where the Fed wants it, rising by 2% in the year to May.

Chief economist update: It's always slow in America in Q1

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 29 JUN 2018
A detailed review by CNBC of 30 years of the government's gross domestic product data, the most followed measure of U. growth, suggests a longstanding problem of under-reporting Q1 expansion.

Chief economist update: Shanghai's drop is China's problem, the yuan's slide is everyone's

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 28 JUN 2018
Those who still remember their history will recall that time in August 2015 when the People's Bank of China (PBOC) devalued the yuan from 6.21 to 6.40 per one yankee dollar.

Chief economist update: Chinese dragon now a bear

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 27 JUN 2018
The strong momentum in the US economy as against a weakening one in China would only exacerbate China's trade surplus which, by extension, would deepen Trump's trade stoush.

Chief economist update: Rate hike hawks in RBA dove's shadow

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 26 JUN 2018
Moving monetary policy settings back to normal is a good thing, especially when Australia's peers are moving in the same direction. But is now the time?