Risk markets loved Fed Chair Powell’s long awaited speech at the central back fest at Jackson Hole with a dovish tilt seemingly suggesting that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in September, but only if inflation remains contained from the Trump regime’s tariffs. The hint gave Wall Street the signal to buy after five straight
Since U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off the current round of trade tensions with China back in April with the ‘Liberation Day’ announcement of widespread tariffs on Chinese-made goods, Beijing has responded by aggressively limiting the exports of vital rare earth minerals not only to the United States but also to the rest of the
Independent economist Chris Richardson published the following chart on Twitter (X) showing that Australia has experienced one of the poorest increases in living standards over the past decade among advanced OECD nations. “The good news is that Australia’s average has improved since my last update”, Richardson wrote. “The bad news is we still have a
By Lucinda Jerogin, Associate Economist at CBA It was a relatively quiet week locally. Consumer sentiment lifted to a 3½ year high, providing further evidence the household consumption recovery is gaining momentum. The Economic Reform Roundtable was held in Canberra from Tuesday to Thursday. Offshore, geopolitical events dominated headlines. Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks tookcentre stage, but no
The latest Westpac consumer sentiment survey showed that Australians have become bullish on house prices. House price expectations hit a cyclical high, whereas the ‘time to buy a dwelling’ sub-index also shot higher. The improving sentiment has also been reflected in the auction market, where the national clearance rate has climbed to its highest level
The ferrous complex is trying to hold $100. I expect it to fail. Not on anything especially dramatic. Largely because the seasonal headwinds for September are strong amid weakening Chinese growth. Goldman. Imports pulse is weak. Surprises bearish. Construction steel versus the rest means ongoing pressure on recycling but seasonality should also pull down BOF. It’s
The Market Ear. Watching the sensitive stuff ETH trying to tell tech something? These two have moved in perfect tandem over the past 2 months, but the latest gap is becoming very wide. Source: LSEG Workspace The worrisome part of the calendar The S&P 500 down 5 days in a row – front-running the calendar
DXY is back. AUD has entered freefall. CNY is fine. Gold is confused. Metals are nervous. Big bear intact. EM swoon. Junk hiccupped finally. As yields broke higher. Stocks kept falling. There wasn’t any earthmoving data. All eyes are on Jay Powell. Goldman says he’s going to break. Goldman economist David Mericle expects Powell to
Australian stocks led the way to a new record high today but the rest of Asian share markets were mainly down across the board as risk sentiment continues to shift further into negative space as we all await the Jackson Hole conference tomorrow. The USD remains on a small rally against the majors although Euro
APA Group with the news. AFR. The chief executive of the country’s biggest gas transporter, APA Group, has fired off against plans to import LNG to avert a potential gas shortage, warning that the high cost of imports risks turning consumers and industry against gas altogether. Adam Watson said importing liquefied natural gas into the