US construction expenditure seen on downward shift; construction spending falls 0.6 pct in June

Aug 02, 2016 06:51 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Nominal value of US construction spending reached a seasonally adjusted USD 1, 133.5 billion in June, declining 0.6 percent in the month, the third straight month of decline. This is a huge miss as compared to the...

China will be the winner if US backs out of the TPP

Aug 02, 2016 05:48 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

If the United States backs out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12 member mega regional trade agreement, it could leave a gap for China to emerge the dominant trading power in the Asia Pacific. The TPP has been...

High speed rail plan still needs to prove economic benefits will outweigh costs

Aug 02, 2016 05:47 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The CLARA private consortium claims a high speed rail network between Sydney and Melbourne could be paid for at no cost to the government through a technique known as value capture. What is still not clear is whether there...

A complacent, secretive IMF failed to deal with EU crisis; what's changed?

Aug 01, 2016 07:44 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

In a 650-page report last week, the IMFs own Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has castigated the Funds handling of the Eurozone crisis. The IEO cited a culture of complacency in the IMF; a failure to identify the...

Fundamentals to watch out for this week

Aug 01, 2016 07:09 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Compared to last week, when both Fed and BoJ were to announce monetary policies, this week is relatively less risk heavy but only marginally. Focus is on BoE rate decision. What to watch for over the coming...

Q2 GDP data shows eurozone economy still has some momentum, but, risk of downward revision high

Jul 29, 2016 11:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

According to the preliminary estimates released on Friday, the Euro area recorded a tepid economic growth of 0.3 percent q/q in the second quarter of 2016. The reading was in line with market expectations but was well...

Crippling rural debt looms as biggest threat to our beef producers

Jul 29, 2016 07:46 am UTC| Insights & Views Business Economy

What will happen now that the rains have come to many parched beef lands of Queensland? Current high cattle prices and renewed pastures suggest optimism, even good times. Perhaps record exports from the worlds largest beef...