Markets Archives - Page 456 of 782

China Mergers and Acquisitions to Heat Up in 2016

In an effort to combat sluggish growth and a collapsing stock market, the Chinese government will turn to merger and acquisition activity next year.

That represents the assessment of analysts at Standard Chartered, a London-based bank that has a substantial presence in Hong Kong. The Standard Chartered report noted that most of the activity will revolve around commodity firms, and will involve state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that have already begun to privatize through equity offerings in recent years.

Australia Pro-Competition Laws Miss the Mark

How can two words create so much confusion?

The government has released its options paper on Australia’s misuse of market power laws. However, all the options miss the key point.

The law is section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act. The Harper review recommended substantial change to this law. Some of the suggestions are sensible. For example, the law should protect competition, not individual competitors. However, it is currently ambiguous. Making the offence an act to “substantially lessen competition” can fix the ambiguity.

Indonesia’s Jokowi Tackles Extractive Sector Reform

Investment in Indonesia’s extractive sectors has languished for years, hurt by regulatory confusion, low commodity prices and endemic corruption. With hydrocarbon and mineral industries, constituting over 40 percent of Indonesia’s exports, and energy consumption rising at home, reform is important to secure the country’s future economic development.

South Africa, China and Brazil Make Emerging Markets’ Headlines This Week

1) South African President Jacob Zuma fired Finance Minister Nene and replaced him with little-known ANZ lawmaker David Van Rooyen; 2) S&P revised the outlook on South Africa’s BBB- rating from stable to negative; 3) People’s Bank of China announced the publication of a new CNY basket on its website; 4) Moody’s put Brazil’s Baa3 rating on review for possible downgrade; 5) Brazil’s Supreme Court suspended for a week the creation of the congressional impeachment committee; 6) Relations between Brazil Vice President Temer and President Dilma Rousseff have dete

U.S. Unemployment Claims Rise

After recent confidence on the labor market from the Federal Reserve and Department of Labor, new data shows unemployment may have started an upswing.

The Department of Labor reported that weekly initial unemployment claims rose to 282,000 in the week ending December 5, an increase of 4.4 percent from the previous week. That drove the four-week moving average for initial unemployment claims above 270,000, above expectations from most economists.

Emerging Markets with Compromised Political Situations Particularly Vulnerable

The US dollar is confined to narrow ranges against the euro and sterling after pushing higher yesterday. The greenback is staging stronger upticks against the yen but is struggling to resurface above previous support in the JPY122.25 area.

Weak commodity prices and the loss of upside momentum have seen profit-taking in the Australian and New Zealand dollars. The Canadian dollar remains heavy. The US dollar has extended its gains to new multi-year highs. It began the week near CAD1.3360 and is currently trading near CAD1.3660.

Australia’s MYEFO Could be Ugly

With the Turnbull government’s innovation package now out of the way, we will soon get the official update on the government’s budget position, the so-called Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO).

And it is unlikely to be pretty.

The budget numbers that then-Treasurer Joe Hockey laid down in May were, at that time, rather ugly. The estimated budget deficit for 2015-16 was to be $35.1 billion, or 2.0% of GDP.

Trying Not to Waste a Good Crisis

It is a common refrain of political strategists that, you should not let a good crisis go to waste. Seven years on from the beginnings of the global financial crisis, we can make an assessment whether one followed that maxim.

Outstanding Mortgage Debt Rises for First Time Since 2009

Total mortgage debt owned by Americans rose for the first time this year after falling every year since 2009.

A new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that real household mortgage debt outstanding rose from $8.66 trillion to $8.67 trillion from 2014 to 2015. Since this data ends in the second quarter of 2015, some analysts believe that outstanding mortgage debt will continuing to rise, and may see a strong increase in 2016 as more home-buying activity spurs the broader market.

Can Australia Innovate Itself Away from the Resource Sector?

The major big business lobby groups have largely welcomed this week’s innovation statement, getting behind its support for entrepreneurs. One wonder why they care since it primarily focuses on research institutes and startups, with which they hardly interact.

“Australia’s innovation challenge means we need to move from fat and happy, to lean and keen,” said Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Kate Carnell.