Can science explain why couples break up? The mathematical anatomy of a fall 
US drone warfare faces questions of legitimacy, study of military chaplains shows 
Yes, Australia’s big supermarkets have been price gouging 
Doing a job you find meaningful is great – until it consumes your life 
New faith schools in England could soon allocate all their places on religious grounds 
How is China being taught at Australian universities? 
A ‘sponge city’ may be your home in 2050 
US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first 
Why you should expect to pay more tourist taxes – even though the evidence for them is unclear 
Divesting university endowments: Easier demanded than done 
Today at 12:30 GMT, US Census Bureau will declare retail sales figure for May.
- In April retail sales excluding autos grew by 0.1%, while headline figure failed to grow at all. Today market is expecting solid growth in May, with headline figure growing 1.1% on monthly basis and sales to grow 0.7% excluding autos.
If retail sales surprise to the upside or even bounce back as expected Dollar will have a strong showing, if not Dollar index is likely to move lower to test its recent low around 93.3. Dollar index, which is value of dollar against basket of currencies is trading at 95.06, up 0.45% today so far.
Why retail sales are so vital for US now?
- Retail sales are proxy for domestic demand from consumers' side and US really is a consumption oriented economy.
- With strong dollar creating headwinds for exporters, lower commodity prices lowering investments in the sector, what US really needs is the support of the consumers to spend more and boost the economy.
- With Strong dollar importing deflation, US inflation really needs support of the consumers.
