Australia's Westpac-MI consumer sentiment index rose by 7.8% in August
Aug 12, 2015 02:10 am UTC| Commentary
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index rose by 7.8% in August from 92.2 in July to 99.5 in August. This is a very surprising result. Movements of the Index of this magnitude are unusual and generally...
Emerging market weakness led by China stagnation and Brazil’s collapse
Aug 12, 2015 00:52 am UTC| Commentary
The emerging market weakness was led by the China stagnation and Brazils collapse. At 50.1, the Markit Emerging Market PMI remained close to the recent low of 49.6 seen in June, suggesting emerging market GDP grew at a...
Eurozone periphery plays catch-up as core struggles for momentum
Aug 12, 2015 00:36 am UTC| Commentary
The Eurozone periphery plays catch-up as core struggles for momentum. Eurozone showed resilience in the face of Greeces crisis. The regions PMI held close to Junes four-year high, despite the Greek PMI showing a record...
Developed world growth edges higher
Aug 12, 2015 00:27 am UTC| Commentary
Developed world growth continued to be led by the UK, and the US where a rate hike later this year looks a strong possibility. However, resilient growth in the eurozone and signs of improving demand in Japan also provided...
Global growth held back by emerging market stagnation
Aug 11, 2015 23:44 pm UTC| Commentary
Global economic growth picked up slightly for the first time in four months in July. The JPMorgan Global PMI rose from 53.1 to 53.4 in July to signal a rate of global GDP growth of just over 2% per annum. A marked...
Aug 11, 2015 23:32 pm UTC| Commentary
The PBoC has lifted the daily USD/CNY exchange rate fixing to 6.2298 - an 1.86% devaluation compared to the fixing of 6.1162 on 10 August. The move was in response to the very weak exports in July and the broad-based...
PBOC enters a new currency regime
Aug 11, 2015 22:44 pm UTC| Commentary Central Banks
The PBOC entered a new currency regime last night, effectively switching from a currency peg to a managed float. The move was probably motivated by two factors: (1) the delay of the SDR decision by nine months served as an...