Markets Archives - Page 553 of 782

Federal Reserve to Reduce Bond Purchasing as China Experiments with Loose Lending

The Federal Reserve announced a cut to its bond purchasing program that caused Treasuries to fall and the dollar to strengthen. The Fed also said that the U.S. job market remained lackluster, with the economy improving at a “moderate pace”.

Stocks rallied on the news, while analysts said Fed Chairman Janet Yellen’s comments on the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee signaled a slow pace to rising interest rates, which could help equities remain strong for the rest of 2014.

Could the Stagnation in Italy be the Future of the Whole Eurozone?

Italy fell into a troublesome triple-dip recession during the summer of 2014, facing similar challenges to those in California, New York and Illinois due to high taxes and job killing regulations. After a collapse in 2008-9, the economy began to stagnate, travelling consistently back towards recession in 2011 and struggling to recover. The economic minister at the time, Giulio Tremonti, suggested that everyone should simply wait and see, until that philosophy killed the government.

Has China’s Appetite for Coal Finally Peaked?

A recent report from Greenpeace found that China’s coal consumption declined in the first half of this year and new Chinese government data suggests that the country’s coal imports have dropped. Estimates indicate that by the end of the year, China’s coal imports could be 8 percent below 2013 levels.

China imported 18.86 million tonnes of coal in August, the lowest level since September 2012.

The British Economy Begins to Feel the Heat of the Ukraine Crisis

Data has recently arisen to provide evidence that manufacturers in Britain have suffered a serious slowdown. The stutter in the British economy seems to have come as the crisis in the Ukraine has started to show signs of impacting the UK. The monthly measure of business numbers in UK factories hit an all-time low recently, sparking fears amongst experts that the economic growth of the country is beginning to fall down once again after a celebratory first half to the year, which had left Britain looking strong.

Surprisingly Optimistic Japanese Youth Face a Bleak Future

The youth of Japan appear to face a bleak future — a catastrophic budget deficit, ageing population and collapsing social security system. Despite this, according to data released last year, Japan’s youth are astonishingly positive in their outlook. In the government-run Public Opinion Survey Concerning People’s Lifestyles, levels of youth life satisfaction reached 78.4 per cent — the highest they had been since 1967 and higher than during Japan’s booming ‘bubble economy’ period.

FOMC meeting, Scotland’s referendum headline this week’s events

The week’s key events kick-off today as the FOMC starts its two-day meeting. Thursday features Scotland’s referendum, the ECB’s TLTRO and the SNB’s meeting. Consolidative trading continues to be the dominant theme. The dollar has been largely confined to yesterday’s trading ranges against the euro and yen, which themselves were mostly within the ranges set last Friday.

Poor Americans Debt Burden Highest in History

The poorest Americans now owe 156% of their pretax income to creditors, according to a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank. The poorest have more debt relative to their net worth in American history, owing $1.37 for every dollar they own.

Australia to Suffer a Major Blow because China’s Unravelling Economy

Resources expert for the federal government, Quentin Grafton, has suggested that the iron ore price will continue its rapid decrease as the economy in China begins to show clear signs of unravelling, leading to serious problems for Australia. Speaking at a recent conference, Grafton announced that the price of iron ore was unlikely to see a quick recovery, which will result in a painful drop for Australia’s 2015 economy.

Will trade help defeat India’s terribly high food price inflation?

Indian economic data in July on industrial growth and inflation was disappointing. Industrial sector growth slowed to 3.4 per cent in June 2014 with the manufacturing sector, the largest component, growing at an anemic 1.8 per cent. But the more worrying set of statistics was the rise in retail inflation to 7.96 per cent in July 2014, which also reversed the declining trend observed since December 2013.

The strategic relationship between China and India is carrying more weight

The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India this week, so early in the term of India’s new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, underlines the growing strategic weight of the relationship between the two countries. Modi’s prime ministership, with its ambition to re-invigorate India’s stalled economic reform and growth, more than any other single factor, promises to accelerate its potential growth radically.