Business confidence in Germany slipped slightly in May to 108.5 from April's 108.6, though came in better than the expected drop to 108.4. Solid growth in the business climate remains in place this year; however, the latest reading points out that the upswing in German activity is losing fuel. PMI in Germany fell to a five-month low and German ZEW
Britain's retail sales in the last month rose strongly as sunny weather surged clothing demand. The sales jumped in April 1.2% on a monthly basis, well above the expected increase of 0.4%, as the volume of footwear and clothing sales went up by 5.2%. Spending is supported also by lower UK unemployment and the decrease in prices for consumers.
Industrial activity in Japan, measured by manufacturing PMI, jumped in May to 50.9 from April's 49.9, as new orders and output rose with improvement in domestic and foreign demand. The index measuring output increased to 51.7 from 49.3 in the prior month and new orders boosted to 51.2 from 49.9 in April. The preliminary PMI data are seen as a
Economic sentiment in Germany declined in May to 41.9 and hit a five-month low, while a decrease to 49 from 53.3 in the prior month was expected. Investors are pessimistic after the poor data coming from the powerhouse showed a slowdown in Q1 when German GDP rose 0.3%, after the 0.7% increase in the last three months of 2014.
Britain's consumer prices dropped 0.1% in April on the annual basis and missed the forecast of 0.0%. Negative inflation rate is seen in the UK for the first time since 1960 and is affected mainly by a dip in energy and food prices. With the inflation is well below the BoE's 2% target, the Governor Mark Carney is under a
New Zealand inflation expectations for next two years increased to 1.85 % from the 1.8% expected in February, while year-ahead forecast jumped to 1.32% from the previous 1.11%. Expectations of future inflation can be reflected in real inflation that dampened a pressure on the RBNZ to cut its interest rate. After the release, the Kiwi gained about 0.62% to $0.7436
Average China's property prices fell 6.1% in April on the annul basis, by posting the same decline as in the previous month, while prices calculated on month-on-month remained steady and were up from a 0.1% decrease in the prior month. The Chinese economy seems to be in a slowdown that is likely to keep pressure on the People's Bank of
On Thursday, the oil prices dropped amid Yemen's revived bombing, stronger Greenback, and higher-than-expected crude inventory in the US. The WTI futures slipped 0.59% to $55.83 a barrel, when Brent futures edged lower 0.66% to $62.32 a barrel. Meanwhile, crude inventories added 5.3 million barrels last week, beating the estimate of 2.5 million barrels.
The UK retail sales dropped -0.5%, failing to meet expectations of a 0.4% growth in March, amid the fall in fuel sales of 6.2%. Elsewhere, the BOE's MPC members agreed on present refinancing rate of 0.5% and unanimously settled on the QE amount of 375 billion pounds. Meanwhile, the Sterling weakened against the Greenback and after the data release was
French PMI for services and manufacturing sectors dipped to 50.2 in March, down from 51.5 month ago. Services sector sank to 50.8 compared to 52.4 in February, while the measure of manufacturing activity dropped from 48.8 to 48.4. Despite low oil costs and the QE programme, country's economy remains weak. Meanwhile, France's economy expanded 0.1% in Q4 2014.
The Franc has appreciated 17% against the Euro since the SNB abandoned the currency cap on January 15. Meanwhile, Swiss GDP shrank 0.1% during Q1 and may drop additional 0.2% in Q2, which will be the first recession since the financial crisis in 2008/2009. Accordingly, Switzerland keeps struggling with declining output as a result of diminishing exports.
In 2014, there were the least registrations of companies in Switzerland in the last 10 years. This is deemed to be the result of implementation of laws aimed to curb the level of immigration and of a review of corporate tax breaks. The number of foreign companies operating in Switzerland diminished by 8%. This may lead to a slower economic
Stock market in China expanded the most in almost three months on advance in nuclear and consumer-staples industries. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.7%, reaching a seven year high of 4,194.82, while the Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased 1.7%. The share prices of consumer staples, industrial companies and energy producers grew by more than 3%.
Australia's unemployment rate dropped to 6.1%, since the economy added a surprisingly strong number of jobs. At the same time, an unexpected plunge in jobless rate stimulated a jump of the Australian Dollar, on hopes that the Reserve Bank of Australia's effort to support the local economy with low interest rates is bearing fruits.
European auto sales increased at the fastest pace in one year and a half, since the improving economy stimulated demand for the Volkswagen AG and Renault SA cars. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, the number of registered cars rose 11% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, Volkswagen AG orders increased by 10% in March, while Renault, in turn,
The stocks of famous British–Dutch consumer goods company, Unilever, announced an unexpectedly high first quarter sales growth, pushing the company's shares to a record heights. Current revenue climbed 2.8%, compared to the median estimate of 2.1%. Meanwhile, Unilever shares advanced as much as 5.2% to trade at 3,087 pence in London, showing the most impressive growth in almost three years.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index moves towards a seven month high due to strong US energy stocks and a possible delay of the US interest rate hike. PetroChina Co. and Cnooc Ltd. added 3.4% in Hong Kong, since crude oil soared 5.8% in New York on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index also posted a seven year's record on
The US retail sales grew for the first time since last year in March, reinforcing the view that a sharp economic growth slowdown in the Q1 was temporal. The total value of sales expanded by 0.9% after a 0.5% decline a month earlier, reported the Commerce Department on Tuesday. This is the strongest advance since March 2014.
Global stocks markets dropped on Tuesday amid investors' concerns about the possible impact of the strengthening Greenback on US company earnings. The FTSEurofirst 300 Index edged down 0.2% to 1,643.42. At the same time, the investors remain worried about Greece's debt crisis that drew the attention away from a potential merger between Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent.
Asian stocks keep advancing after the strongest weekly gain since October, being that a rise in energy sector offset a drop in utilities. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. inched up to the highest level in seven years, Inpex Corp. jumped 1.6% and SoftBank Corporation added 2%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index traded in a tight range at 152.37 at
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose, with Netflix Inc. at the head of the Internet companies. Meanwhile, developing-market shares are about to post a record number of days in green in 10 years. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5% to 5,022.08 as of 12:13 p.m. New York time, while Netflix gained 5.7%. However, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index treads water
European stocks advanced the for a fifth day, while Spanish shares reached their strongest level since January 2010. The Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.2% to 413.63 at the end of the London trading session, after adding 0.3% earlier. The IBEX 35 Index rallied 1%, which is one of the largest changes within the western-European countries.
Brent oil surged to near $59 a barrel on April 13 amid the drop in the number of drilling rigs in the US that balanced the fall in Chinese import of oil. Brent oil futures added 93 cents to $58.80 a barrel, while the US crude inched higher $1.10 to $52.54 a barrel. Analysts claimed that oil prices were fluctuating
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday that the Japanese economy has considerably improved compared to the previous year, when the Central Bank was forced to inject record monetary stimulus. Meanwhile, eight board members of the BoJ voted in favour of continuation of the current measures except one, Takahide Kiuchi, a general opponent of Kuroda's easing programme.