Deal unlikely on Greece at this week’s Eurogroup meeting

Apr 24, 2015 06:39 am UTC| Commentary

After another week of limited progress on the negotiations front, hopes of a deal at the Eurogroup meeeting have been dashed. Negotiations appear to have stalled on the key pension and labour market reforms and on the...

Japan likely to further weaken

Apr 24, 2015 06:14 am UTC| Commentary

Japans headline flash manufacturing index was slightly lower at 49.7 from 50.4 in March, its lowest level in a year. New orders were weaker at 48.5 from 49.5 in March, and inventories also fell to 50.5 from 51.0. The gap...

Japan's fiscal balance improving as the economy improves

Apr 24, 2015 05:57 am UTC| Commentary

The Japans fiscal balance has improved significantly from -8.9% of GDP in Q2 2012 to -4.7% in Q4 2014. This primarily reflects an increase in tax revenue driven by the recovering economy.Any austerity policies such as tax...

US durable goods to show still-strong industry headwinds

Apr 24, 2015 05:54 am UTC| Commentary

US March durable goods data at 08:30 ET will remain under pressure, as manufacturing is still affected by the rising US dollar and the side-effects of the oilprice slump.With likely slow aircraft orders, Standard Chartered...

Daily Economic Outlook: 24 April, 2015

Apr 24, 2015 05:22 am UTC| Commentary

The German IFO survey (0800 GMT) will provide further indications of economic activity in the euro area at the start of Q2. Coming after the pickup in Q1, recent survey evidence has been mixed. Yesterdays flash euro area...

UK Retail sales were softer than expected

Apr 24, 2015 02:12 am UTC| Commentary

Retail sales were softer than expected (ex-autos 0.2% m/m vs 0.5% consensus). The UK economist wouldcaution against reading too much into the data though, as it is a very difficult dataset to use for a...

Euro area flash PMI also disappointed

Apr 24, 2015 01:53 am UTC| Commentary

The euro area flash PMI also disappointed, as it lost the momentum it had shown in previous months. Manufacturing confidence remained flat at 51.9, while the consensus was expecting it to increase to 52.6.Nonetheless, it...