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Economics

Slack Eurozone labour

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 12 JAN 2017
While the region's unemployment rate had clearly been trending lower since peaking at 12.1% in June 2013, it remains below the OECD's non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) estimate of 8.8% this year.

Every American's turning optimist

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 12 JAN 2017
The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index continues to run of rising optimism in the United States following Trump's triumph at the November 2016 US presidential polls.

China's inflation off target

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 11 JAN 2017
China's consumer price inflation eased to 2.1% in the year to December from 2.3% in the previous month. This is below Beijing's target of 3.0% and less than market expectations for a 2.3% increase - sparked by four consecutive months of rising producer ...

Trump makes small beautiful

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 11 JAN 2017
The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) business optimism index surged to its highest level since December 2004, jumping to a reading of 105.8 last month and continuing the optimism - the index gained 3.5 points to 98.4 in November -- ...

Offline Australian retail sales

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 11 JAN 2017
The 0.2% increase in domestic retail spending in November wasn't in line with market expectations for a 0.4% gain.

US at full employment

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 10 JAN 2017
"The job of cyclical recovery is largely done."

Australia housing boom busting?

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 10 JAN 2017
Don't be fooled by the sharp 7.0% jump in the headline total number of dwellings approved in the month of November.

Australia construction activity eases contraction

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 10 JAN 2017
Construction activity in Australia remains in contraction, but the rate of contraction is easing.

Will 2017 be a mirror image of 2016?

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 9 JAN 2017
Could 2017 become a mirror image (an inverted reflection) of 2016? Starting out strong, jubilant and full of hope and then fizzling out?

A$ drop brings good cheers

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 23 DEC 2016
I really can't get my head around the financial media treating the aussie dollar's depreciation as something not be joyful of for this is exactly the support the domestic economy needs to get it out of the third quarter funk.