Shutdown day four. Clouds are gathering above the White House, as budget deal is still elusive and a deadline on the debt ceiling is approaching.
Change in the price of goods sold by German manufacturers turned into negative territory unexpectedly in August, amid growing uncertainty about the coalition government, German statistics office said Friday.
Government shutdown. Postponed job reports. Optimistic Draghi's comments and strong fundamental data from Britain were the main drivers last week, and even though currencies have not risen or fallen significantly, important highs and lows were reached.
During the last policy meeting the Reserve bank of New Zealand hinted at a possible rate hike in the next year in order to curb the inflation; however, there are risks now interest rates may rise even faster unless house-price inflation, which expanded at the fastest pace since early 2008, is brought under control.
In light of the signs of economic amelioration and following Shinzo Abe's decision to raise consumption tax in April the formed BOJ board member Atsushi Mizuno said the central bank is likely to stay in a "wait-and-see" mode at least until the second quarter of 2014 before deciding whether to add more stimulus.
A key pillar of Britain's economy, services sector, which accounts for 78% of the total economic output, posted solid growth last month, bouncing off to its strongest quarter in more than 16 years on the back of a strong recovery in the housing market.
While the latest White House meeting failed to break the budget logjam, and the widely-discussed government shutdown entered its third day, the economy continued to send mixed data, bolstering the case it is too early to speak about tapering of the Fed's stimulus.
The recovery in the Eurozone is building up steam, as order books filled at the fastest pace and layoffs fell to a trickle, pointing to a very mild expansion in the third quarter.
The Oz trade balance worsened more than initially was expected in August, as demand for raw materials from Asian countries remained robust, even though mining companies benefited from falling Aussie that boosted the total value of commodity shipments.
After months of work, series of reports and plenty of analysts' comments, providing their forecasts and assessment of current situation in the world's third largest economy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to raise the consumption tax from 5% to 8% in April as it was planned earlier.
At least two out of three pillars of Britain's economy are still gathering pace, as report from Markit showed construction sector still expanding, albeit slower, and following Tuesday' data that indicated expansion in manufacturing sector.
Another worrying sing for the world's largest economy emerged on Wednesday, as report from the ADP Research Institute showed the economy created less than expected jobs, indicating labour market is struggling to build up steam.
The single currency soared to the highest level in seven months on Wednesday, hitting 1.3590 against the greenback after ECB's Draghi provided additional information on economic situation in the region, while Enrico Letta's confident win boosted the currency even higher.
Analysts are split on whether Australian authorities will cut interest rates before the end of this year or not, after the Reserve Bank of Australia refrained from additional stimulus measures on the back of strong property market.
Activity at Swiss manufacturing sector expanded for a sixth consecutive month in September, accelerating further from previous month's reading, suggesting a modest recovery is underway, while improvement in employment is pointing to greater confidence.
Britain's manufacturing sector disappointed market participants last month, dragged down by weaker demand from overseas market, although the sector is still keeping pace with the economic amelioration.
While the White House struggles to make compromise on the budget to avoid the prolonged government shutdown, the economy is sending positive signs, supporting the case of tapering of Fed's stimulus programme.
Another sign of stabilization in Europe appeared on Tuesday, as official data showed the unemployment rate stalled in August, suggesting brighter prospects for the economy.
Confidence among New Zealand's companies climbed to a new five-year high in September, on the back of strong profits from construction firms, hiring and investment.
After a sharp fall in June, Canadian economy rebounded in July, expanding at the fastest pace in two years, supported by a strong construction output and adding to evidence the economy will build up steam in the coming months.
The number of mortgage approvals hit the highest in almost five years in August, while property values advanced the most in six years in September, fuelling concerns of a growing housing bubble, while the tendency is expected to persist in the nearest future.
The U.S. government has begun a partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting 800,000 federal employees out of work with no guarantee of back pay once the stalemate is over, and halting some government services as the Republican-led House of Representatives declined to approve a budget for the upcoming year.
Amid decent signs of economic amelioration in the 17-nation area that has single currency in circulation, the latest inflation report is supporting the case for the ECB to keep borrowing costs at current level to stimulate the economy.
Following Swiss National Bank's projections of a stronger growth in the coming months, the leading indicator from a research company KOF showed a sharp gain in index, supporting the case of acceleration of domestic economy.