China’s imports to pick up later in the year as fiscal and monetary stimulus lift demand

May 26, 2015 18:40 pm UTC| Commentary

Chinas detailed trade data for April paint a broadly positive picture of industrial metals demand. Meanwhile, the export surge associated with the Qingdao port scandal, as stocks were moved into more visible locations,...

U.S. bank loan growth still accelerating

May 26, 2015 18:12 pm UTC| Commentary

Broad money growth has slowed slightly, with the annual growth rate of M3 measure falling to a six-month low of 5.6% in April. More importantly, however, the growth rate of bank loans continues to accelerate and hit 8.1%...

Net capital flows in emerging markets probably rose in Q1 2015

May 26, 2015 17:40 pm UTC| Commentary

According to Capital economics on a twelve-month rolling basis, net capital flows in emerging markets probably rose in Q1 2015, compared to the previous quarter. This was due to a bigger increase in net inflows than in net...

US employment to remain solid in May

May 26, 2015 17:28 pm UTC| Commentary

For the May employment report, scheduled for release on Friday, June 5, Barclays expects nonfarm payrolls to rise by 225k, for private payrolls to increase by 200k, and for government payrolls to grow by 5k.Factors...

Bank of Canada set to leave policy on hold this month

May 26, 2015 16:42 pm UTC| Commentary

At this policy meeting (15.00 BST), Bank of Canada is likely to keep its target for the overnight rate at 0.75%. Tighter financial conditions, however, may have it second guessing if the Jan rate cut was enough insurance...

Small business confidence probably edged up in Japan

May 26, 2015 16:31 pm UTC| Commentary

Firms were predicting a 0.7 point rise in Japan small business confidence for May (06.00 BST), but these forecasts tend to be overly optimistic."The rebound in the flash manufacturing PMI points to an improvement and our...

U.S. consumer spending likely to bounce back over the coming months

May 26, 2015 16:21 pm UTC| Commentary

The Conference Boards Consumer Confidence Index rose to 95.4 in May, from a downwardly revised reading of 94.3 (previously reported at 95.2) in the prior month. The reading came in slightly above expectations, which called...