Jun 16, 2015 12:05 pm UTC| Commentary
On 3 June, the BCB hiked its policy rate (SELIC) by 50bps to 13.75%, reaching 275bps of cumulative tightening since October 2014. Before 2014s presidential election, the BCB was much criticised for falling behind the curve...
Unexpected fall in Singapore's employment rate
Jun 16, 2015 11:53 am UTC| Commentary
Singapores employment unexpectedly fell in Q1, according to data released yesterday, led by the manufacturing and construction sectors. Total employment fell 6.1k, the first fall since Q2 09, with manufacturing declining...
Jun 16, 2015 11:28 am UTC| Commentary
As expected, deflation in the UK proved temporary, with inflation increasing to 0.1% y/y in May from -0.1% y/y in April. Core inflation increased to 0.9% y/y in May from 0.8% y/y in March. The largest upward...
Fed on track for September lift-off
Jun 16, 2015 11:17 am UTC| Commentary
After six years of near-zero interest rates, the Fed will soon raise rates for the first time in almost a decade. The central bank last lifted rates in June 2006.The Fed has said it will raise rates when it sees further...
Jun 16, 2015 10:49 am UTC| Commentary
While headline CPI inflation of the US is still close to zero, held down by lower energy prices, core CPI is up at a 2.5% annual rate so far this year (April vs December), up from a 1.6% pace in 2014. Compared to 12 months...
US labour market tightening further
Jun 16, 2015 10:43 am UTC| Commentary
Despite the moderation in growth in the US economy, the slack continues to decline rapidly. The short-term unemployment rate, which seems to matter most for wage growth, is back to the levels seen during the 2006-2007 boom...
FTA would boost trade in both directions
Jun 16, 2015 10:28 am UTC| Commentary
The EU and ASEAN have been in FTA negotiations since 2007. Negotiations have stalled, however, and the EU has begun bilateral FTA negotiations with individual countries. According to the EU, the goal is still to reach a...
South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed
Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects