Financial News
- Dennis Shen
The weak governance behind the crisis in South Africa’s energy sector is contributing to sluggish growth and rising government debt and has implications for South Africa’s credit ratings.
- James Hyerczyk
Deutsche Bundesbank President Nagel warns of high inflation and calls for acceleration of quantitative tightening to reduce ECB’s bond portfolio.
- Bob Mason
German business sentiment figures impressed this morning. The Ifo Business Climate Index improved despite rising interest rates and banking sector woes.
- Vladimir Zernov
The surprising PMI reports provided material support to stocks. Traders also focused on Yellen’s attempts to stabilize the situation in the banking sector.
- James Hyerczyk
US manufacturing faces challenges as spending shifts to services and borrowing costs rise, while business equipment investment may decline again.
- Levon Kameryan
Most Central and Eastern European EU countries (CEE-11) have improved their public-debt profiles in the past decade. Further fiscal consolidation looks difficult but remains crucial to contain debt.
- Thomas Gillet
The government’s decision to force through unpopular pension reform improves the resilience of public finances in the long term but risks further political fragmentation and weaker reform momentum.
- Bob Mason
UK retail sales surged in February, supporting the BoE’s more bullish economic outlook. However, the latest numbers will keep the BoE under pressure.
- Vladimir Zernov
New Home Sales increased by 1.1% month-over-month in February.
- James Hyerczyk
US initial jobless claims fall slightly to 192,000, while the labor market remains strong with 1.9 job openings per unemployed person.
- James Hyerczyk
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favor of the 25 basis point increase, bringing the Bank rate to 4.25%.
- Vladimir Zernov
The central bank noted that the U.S. banking system was “sound and resilient”.
- James Hyerczyk
ECB President Christine Lagarde outlines strategy for bringing inflation to target in timely manner.
- Bob Mason
Things just got complicated for the Bank of England, with the UK CPI Report set to test the Bank of England’s commitment to tame inflation.
- Vladimir Zernov
The housing market may have hit bottom after months of decline.
- Julian Zimmermann
UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse, with the full write-down of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds, underscores Switzerland’s financial-sector risks and the degree to which they are mitigated by robust regulation and public finances.
- James Hyerczyk
The German ZEW and the eurozone experienced significant declines in March 2023 due to high uncertainty in the international financial markets.
- Bob Mason
RBA meeting minutes revealed discussions on pausing rates to assess the impact of rate hikes on inflation and the economy, leaving the AUD/USD in the red.
- Vladimir Zernov
Switzerland is reportedly ready to provide as much as $280 billion in support to the troubled banks.
- Bob Mason
German producer price index numbers beat forecasts today, which could make things tricky for the ECB.