FOMC to stand pat and is unlikely to send a strong signal of a March rate hike
Jan 22, 2016 17:33 pm UTC| Commentary Central Banks
Against this background, the US central banks policy committee meets for the first time this year (Wed). As it is only a few weeks since the Fed hiked interest rates, a policy change at this meeting has always been very...
Existing home sales surge in December, capping a solid year
Jan 22, 2016 17:22 pm UTC| Commentary
Existing home sales increased by 14.7% m/m in December, rising to 5.46 million units (annualized). The reading was well-above the consensus forecast, which called for a 5.20 million print. The December gain...
Canadian retail sales fly past expectations, rise robustly in November
Jan 22, 2016 17:00 pm UTC| Commentary
Canadian retail sales rose 1.7% (m/m) in November, flying past expectations calling for a modest gain of 0.2%. The strength in sales was strong in real terms too, with volumes up 1.5% on the month. With the exception of...
Low dollar and diminishing energy prices drive Canadian inflation higher in December
Jan 22, 2016 16:48 pm UTC| Commentary
Canadian inflation picked-up in December to 1.6% year-on-year (from 1.4% in November), but remained below the Bank of Canadas 2% target. The increase in headline inflation largely reflects the fading impact of lower energy...
Poland growth momentum likely to remain rather stable during 2016, but political risks remain
Jan 22, 2016 16:00 pm UTC| Commentary Economy Politics
Higher employment, relatively high wage growth and negative inflation support high growth rates of private consumption in Poland during 2016 and going into 2017. Growth remains on track to reach around 3.5% in both 2015...
Eurozone economy sees a slow start to 2016
Jan 22, 2016 15:21 pm UTC| Commentary Economy
Data firm Markit released earlier today showed a slowdown in manufacturing and services activity in the eurozone in January. Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index hit a three-month low at 52.3, while its services...
Jan 22, 2016 15:13 pm UTC| Commentary
Energy pack is mixed today. Weekly performance at a glance in chart table. Oil (WTI) - WTI rose sharply after ECB stimulus hint and up more than 6% today. Todays range $29.5-31.8 WTI is currently trading at...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects