Thursday, 07 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, dropping the average over the past month to the lowest in 15 years, indicating companies are holding on to workers. Jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 265,000 in the week ended May 2, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 278,000. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, fell to 279,500, the […] Read More
Thursday, 07 May, 2015
More RBA cuts likely without ‘new narrative on debt’, says Goldman by Jacob Greber {http://www.afr.com/news/policy/budget/more-rba-cuts-likely-without-new-narrative-on-debt-says-goldman-20150507-ggw909} The Reserve Bank of Australia may have little choice but to cut the official cash rate again unless politicians drop the political “orthodoxy” on cutting deficit and debt at all costs, says Goldman Sachs chief economist, Tim Toohey. With the deficit to reach $91 billion across 2014-15 and 2015-16 – and national income growth to remain weak for another two […] Read More
Thursday, 07 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks and bonds retreated, extending a global rout, as Japan returned from a three-day holiday. Oil slipped after reaching its highest this year and metals fell with emerging currencies. All major Asian stock gauges dropped by 2:25 p.m. in Tokyo, with Chinese shares sliding after Morgan Stanley ended its overweight call. The yield on 10-year Japanese bonds jumped seven basis points and the Topix index slid 0.8 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 […] Read More
Thursday, 07 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Bill Gross should have listened to Bill Gross. Just before the selloff in German government bonds, the manager of the Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund said the debt was the “short of a lifetime.” Yet instead of betting all-out against German bunds, Gross wagered they would trade in a narrow range for the time being, fund holdings posted on the website of Denver-based Janus Capital Group Inc. show. The trade may have hurt […] Read More
Wednesday, 06 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said long-term interest rates are low and could jump when the central bank raises its benchmark rate. “Long-term interest rates are at very low levels,” Yellen said in response to a question after a speech in Washington Wednesday. “We could see a sharp jump in long-term rates” after liftoff. Most Fed officials predict they will raise rates this year for the first time since 2006. “We saw this […] Read More
Wednesday, 06 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — U.K. services growth unexpectedly accelerated in April, according to a report on the eve of the general election that may ease concerns about the economy losing momentum. An index of services, the largest part of the economy, rose to 59.5, the highest in eight months, from 58.9 in March, Markit Economics Ltd. said on Wednesday in London. Economists had forecast a decline to 58.5, according to a Bloomberg survey. The report suggests the […] Read More
Wednesday, 06 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the dollar’s steepest tumble since 2011 won’t last and investors can profit if they buy now as U.S. growth will improve. A gauge of the dollar fell 3 percent in April, the first monthly decline since June and the biggest since October 2011. Lower-than-forecast data, including first-quarter gross domestic product, fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will keep U.S. interest rates lower for longer. This week’s payroll report is […] Read More
Wednesday, 06 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Asian bonds fell, extending a selloff that’s erased $340 billion in value globally, and shares retreated with copper. Oil traded above $60 a barrel, while New Zealand’s dollar slid as jobs data spurred interest-rate cut speculation. Yields on 10-year government notes from Australia to Singapore rose at least four basis points by 12:44 p.m. in Hong Kong, after rates on Treasuries increased to an almost two-month high and German bunds slid a seventh […] Read More
Tuesday, 05 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — Service industries such as real-estate firms and restaurants unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in April as the biggest part of the U.S. economy picked up after a weak start to the year. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index rose to 57.8, the highest since November, from 56.5 in March, the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s report showed Tuesday. It surpassed all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of 78 economists. Readings above 50 signal […] Read More
Tuesday, 05 May, 2015
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. trade deficit widened in March to the highest level in more than six years, fueled by a record surge in imports as commercial activity resumed at West Coast ports following a resolution to labor disputes. The gap increased 43.1 percent, the biggest jump in 18 years, to $51.4 billion, the largest since October 2008, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday in Washington. The shortfall exceeded the highest estimate of 70 economists surveyed […] Read More
