U.S. Fed keeps policy interest rates unchanged, likely to hike in March

Jan 31, 2018 20:44 pm UTC| Commentary Central Banks

The U.S. Fed kept its policy interest rates on hold today during its FOMC meeting, as was widely anticipated. The balance sheet policies were also kept unchanged. There were changes made to the FOMC statement, in line with...

German consumption continues to be weak, retail sales fall in Q4 2017

Jan 31, 2018 19:46 pm UTC| Commentary

Consumption in Germany continues to be weak. In spite of the tighter labor market and the highest levels of consumer sentiment since the beginning of the millennium, consumer spending in the nation has been comparatively...

U.K. consumer sentiment index rises in January, real wages developments likely to be significantly better

Jan 31, 2018 18:50 pm UTC| Commentary

The latest GfK consumer sentiment survey showed that the U.K. consumers began the New Year in a slightly better mood. The headline indicator rose 4 points in January to a four-month high of -9. All the survey components...

U.S. employment cost index rises in Q4 2017, wages and total compensation costs to rise in 2018

Jan 31, 2018 17:54 pm UTC| Commentary

The total employment costs in the U.S. continued to accelerate at the end of 2017. The U.S. Feds measure, the Employment Cost Index (ECI), rose 0.6 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2017. Cost strength was...

U.S. pending home sales rise sequentially in December, likely to rebound further in Q1 2018

Jan 31, 2018 17:12 pm UTC| Commentary

Pending home sales in the U.S. rose sequentially in December. The index of pending home sales rose 0.5 percent, consistent with the consensus expectations. However, the activity was not evenly distributed throughout...

Canadian economy grows sequentially in November, likely to have expanded 2.4 pct in Q4

Jan 31, 2018 16:41 pm UTC| Commentary

The Canadian economy expanded in November on sequential basis. The GDP grew 0.4 percent as the manufacturing and resources sectors rebounded after earlier setbacks. Out of 20, 17 major industries recorded rises in output,...

Euro area headline inflation slows in January, likely to reach above 2 pct in summer

Jan 31, 2018 15:33 pm UTC| Commentary

The euro area economy is booming, while the joblessness has fallen to its lowest level in eight years. However, there are still no signs of stronger underlying inflation. Although the core inflation rate rose slightly to 1...