The hiring in Australia posted a surprise advance in May, reducing need for further interest rate cuts. The number of workers added surged by 38,900 last month, Sydney statistics bureau reported on Thursday. Analysts questioned by Bloomberg predicted flat employment. The unemployment rate slightly climbed from 5% in April to 5.1% in May.
Activity in the UK construction sector slowed for a second month in a row, as a number of new orders declined and confidence in the economy plunged due to the recession-hit UK economy and worsening Eurozone crisis. The construction industry's PMI decreased to 54.4 in May from 55.8 in April. The data came after the PMI for the manufacturing sector
While European countries responding to the Eurozone's debt crisis are tightening belts, French President F. Hollande has provided more generous retirement benefits and moved lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 years old for some workers. The pension decree might increase tension between Germany and France, which are arguing how to effectively address the crisis.
According to a Bank of Italy official, a quarter of Italian economy evades taxes, due to illegal criminal economic activities, causing increasing borrowing costs and poor investment in the most affected by the crisis regions. Last month the European Commission pushed Italy under pressure to undertake measures to combat tax evasion problem in the country.
The overseas investment of China rocketed in Q1 to 21.4 billion US Dollars as China's state-owned firms increased buying of resource-related assets all over the world. Considering yearly moves, China's investments rose more than two times, according to the report of A Capital. The report also outlined rising China's interest in Europe as ongoing Eurozone debt crisis provided opportunities for
Crude oil futures edged up in Asian trading on Thursday amid falling US inventories and hopes that the Fed will provide additional monetary stimulus to boost economy. Light, sweet crude oil futures for July delivery traded at 85.45 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rising by 0.51% from the last session's low of 85.38 US Dollars
Australian construction industry shank for 24th month in a row in May. Australian PCI lost 0.2 points, attaining 34.7 in May; reading below 50 signals contraction. Meanwhile, the sharpest fall was registered in commercial construction and house and building activity. The data mostly reflects cyclical downturn in the industry; however, recent interest rate cuts from the RBA are likely to
Gold futures moved lower in Asian session on Thursday as traders cashed out from the market after recent rally of the yellow metal. COMEX gold August contract traded at 1,623.55 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropping by 0.65%. Meanwhile, COMEX silver for delivery in July traded at 29.415 US Dollars per troy ounce, retreating
China announced that it will postpone the introduction of tougher bank rules until January 2013 as such measures may impact lending amid cooling economy. The new regulation is aimed at increasing reserves banks have to keep to cover losses from bad debts. The financial, institutions will be given sufficient transition period to comply with new requirements, reported China's cabinet.
Australian jobless rate advanced in May, reported Australian Bureau of Statistic. The rate of unemployment in the country rose to 5.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in May as compared to April's reading of 4.9%. The figure is in compliance with expectations. After the data release, Australian Dollar rallied against its US counterpart by 0.26% to trade at 0.9955 US
On Wednesday, futures for crude oil rallied, as dollar was falling and investors were optimistic about ECB measures to combat Eurozone crisis. However, the supply of crude oil, which appeared to be larger than expected, did not allow further increase in oil prices. On the NYMEX, July delivery futures were traded at USD85.79 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the Euro gained significantly versus the U.S. dollar, as the ECB President Mario Draghi said that the ECB will act, if Eurozone's economy slips lower. EUR reached 1.2555 against USD in the U.S. afternoon trading session, after pulling back from a session's low of 1.2441. The support was likely to be found at 1.2409, and resistance was prone to be at 1.2573.
European stock markets rallied up as investors focused on possible stimulus from Fed and did not pay much attention to ECB decision about holding interest rates steady. Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.8% and reached the level of 238.70. Spanish IBEX 35 grew by 1.7% and reached 6,374.40, being affected by Telefonica shares, which gained about 4%.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of U.S. Labor Statistics reported that the figure for productivity of non-farm business sector was revised down to the level of 0.9% drop in Q1 . This is a steeper decline than an earlier estimated drop of 0.5% and also a sharper fall than expected 0.7%. The bureau also reported that unit labor costs grew by 1.3%, which is less than
Crude oil futures increased by 2.2 percent to USD 86.11 per barrel following American Petroleum Institute statement that the supplies in the United States experienced a sharper decrease than anticipated the week before. According to data provided by API, the supplies of crude oil for the previous week dropped in the amount of 1.8 million barrel. In contrast, distillate inventories rose 1.8 million barrels; gasoline
The Daily Telegraph announced that, according to an advisory company PIRC, British banks are facing undeclared losses in the amount of GBP 40 billion (USD 61.5 billion), which does not allow them to provide the necessary loans to families and businesses. The newspaper indicated that PIRC investigated major 5 banks in the UK and concluded the following: Royal Bank of Scotland has undeclared losses totaling
On Wednesday, Germany witnessed a fall of the borrowing costs to a new record low during an auction of 5-year government bonds. Germany's Treasury sold 5-year government bonds for EUR3.978 billion at an average of 0.41%, which is less than an average yield of 0.56% in the previous month. However, demand was dim, exceeding supply only 1.6 times.
Destatis, German federal statistical office, reports that German industrial production decreased by 2.2% in April, which is significantly more than an expected slight 1.0% decline. March's industrial production was revised down from an earlier reported 2.8% gain to 2.2%. The figure for March was revised down to a 1.4% increase from 1.6% reported previously.
On 6 June the E.U. stated that it is planning to establish a banking union for Europe that would be responsible for managing bank-related crises and bailouts. It is expected that the plan encompasses an EU deposit for all banking institutions in the union, which would have a close concept to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Further, the banking union would have a mutual authority
Eurozone's economy stagnated during the first quarter of 2012. Eurostat reported that the gross domestic product of Eurozone was flat, remaining unchanged from its preliminary estimate and meeting expectations. Annualized GDP declined by 0.1%; consumption of households remained flat; expenditure on gross fixed capital decreased by 1.4%.
German DAX index recovered and traded higher on Wednesday as investors hoped for an interest rate cut by ECB. These expectations managed to offset negative effect from weaker German Industrial Production data for April. Index slightly retreated but remained strong after ECB decided to keep benchmark interest rate flat. Banks and car makers rebounded from previous losses. Commerzbank added 1.4%
UK FTSE 100 index rallied on Wednesday as investors returned from two holidays. Growth linked miners and financials supported the index on upside. The provider of alternative investment products Man Group jumped 7.3% after Citigroup upgraded the share from neutral to buy. Banking shares also climbed ahead of ECB key rate decision. The rally slowed down after ECB announced the
Rural commodities were mixed on Tuesday as global economic woes continued to dampen demand perspectives while better weather conditions are likely to boost crops.Wheat was slightly higher as Russia production is likely to fall this marketing season after unfavorable weather conditions in May. Corn managed to add almost 3% as recent fall in corn prices increased its appeal as livestock
Greece's continued issues with tax evasion have become more severe as the election campaign season has been extended. According to the Finance Ministry, Greece failed to reach its target tax collection by EUR 495 million (USD 615 million) during the initial 4 months of the current year. According to Holger Schmieding, Berenberg Bank's chief economist, the EC-ECB-IMF troika most certainly will recognize that Greece missed