Weak housing finance figures unveiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday are confirming that consumers are still cautious about future income and showing unwillingness to take on new debt, preferring instead to pay down the existing ones.
The Bank of Japan decided to refrain from expanding its tools to address bond-market volatility, sticking to its previously announced plan to double the monetary base to end decades of deflation and stoke growth.
The U.K. brief industrial revival came to a halt in April, as manufacturing production unexpectedly fell, the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.
Confidence among small businesses in the world's largest economy climbed to a one-year high in May, as the economic outlook over the next six month improved.
Mario Draghi's pledge to do "whatever it takes" to save the single currency is being challenged by German constitutional court.
"The Swiss economy should consequently gather some momentum" - KOF Economic Research Agency Sales at Swiss retailers rebounded in April, indicating improved consumers' mood and suggesting consumers' are now more confident about economic future and are showing willingness to increase spending, the Federal Statistics Office said Monday. According to the report, the nation's retail sales grew by real 3.3% in
"This is what Mr. Abe needs for major structural changes this year" -Martin Schulz, an economist at Fujitsu Research Institute The world's third largest economy is heating up as the government has revised its growth numbers for the first quarter, helping Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to sustain confidence in his campaign to boost growth and defeat deflation. Japan's gross domestic
"It's encouraging to see that U.K. business confidence has continued its upward trend, and that businesses have retained their healthy hiring intentions"-Peter Hemington, partner at BDO Further signs that Britain's economy is gathering pace emerged on Monday, as a bunch of economic data reported a gain in jobs placement, increasing output and improved confidence in the manufacturing sector. According to
"Low inflation may give the FOMC more leeway to continue its aggressive asset purchase program"-Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James BullardThe weak inflation pressure is adding to the case of the Federal Reserve maintaining the pace of its stimulus programme, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Monday. Even despite some improvement in the labour
"I believe that the crisis, far from weakening the eurozone, will strengthen it" -French President Francois HollandeDespite record high unemployment, anaemic growth at best and struggling to grow manufacturing sector, French President Francois Hollande is sure that the sovereign debt crisis, which has gripped the region over the past four years, is over. He claimed for greater integration of the
"No question this is a staggering report, which puts a much healthier glow on the outlook for Canadian growth" -Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets Canada's economy created the most jobs in more than a decade last month, boosted by full-time employment ranging from construction sector, suggesting resilience in domestic demand even despite weak demand from abroad. On
"The latest franc depreciation, pushed by speculation about an increase in the minimum exchange rate and negative interest rates, actually brought some relief for the SNB" - Alexander Koch, an economist at UniCredit GroupThe Swiss National Bank's foreign-currency reserves soared to a record high in May, after being almost stable for almost eight months, as the Swiss Franc lost ground against
"It seems unlikely that net trade can significantly help the U.K. economy in the near term given current ongoing weak domestic demand in the euro zone and moderate and stuttering global growth"-Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight The U.K. key contributor to overall economic growth fell more than initially was expected in April, as imports declined faster than
"Things aren't weakening in the labour market as much as we'd feared. The unemployment rate rose for the right reasons"-Omair Sharif, a U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. American employers increased the pace of hiring in May, as the U.S. economy weathered the impact of tax hikes and federal spending cuts, the Labor Department figures showed Friday. Payrolls in the
"The German economy is gradually exiting the weak phase that it had around the turn of the year" -Mario Gruppe, an economist at NordLB Industrial production of Europe's largest economy expanded most in more than a year in April, boosted by an increase in construction activity after an unusually long winter that damped output. German production jumped 1.8% from March,
"Although the recent economic news has generally been encouraging, it remains hard to see what part of the economy can power a sustainable recovery"-Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics Ltd.The Bank of England's Governor Mervyn King was defeated in his final vote as a member of Britain's Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday, as the central bank refrained from more stimulus
"The pick-up in GDP growth to 2.5 per cent annualised in the first quarter is unlikely to be sustained because it was partly due to a one-off rebound in energy export" -Capital Economics The pace of purchasing activity in Canada soared to the highest level in 14 months in May, adding to signs the economy is on the path of
"There are still no signs of inflationary dangers, meaning the SNB can stick to its policy. It shows the introduction of the exchange rate floor was justified" - ZKB economist David Marmet Consumer price pressure in Switzerland increased slightly in May, but still fell on a yearly basis, continuing to support the case for the Swiss National Bank to keep
"So far, the threat of massive job cuts related to federal spending cuts has failed to materialise "-Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger The closely-watched labour market is showing signs of stabilization as the number of Americans who applied last week for the jobless benefits fell, however, a modest decline is pointing to small change in the U.S. labour
"The governing council continues to see downside risks surrounding the economic outlook for the euro area"-ECB President Mario DraghiThe European Central Bank has revised down its growth forecast on Thursday, and kept the main refinancing rate on hold, as the economy is still struggling to grow. The ECB President said that the 17-nation bloc is expected to shrink 0.6% in
"You've got a much lower reading coming out of what you might call the guts of the economy than you've got coming out of the total economy " -National Australia Bank Ltd. Chief Economist Alan Oster Clouds are massing on Australian economy after data showed sharper-than-expected slowdown in the first quarter's GDP. Australian economy, which is currently in its 22nd
"The government has come up with rosy numerical targets but I doubt any of these could be met or that such a targeting policy could work out as planned " - Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Amid rising skepticism about Japan's rescue programme, the nation's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled on Wednesday an ambitious blueprint for
"The UK economy has moved up a gear with all cylinders now firing"-Chris Williamson, economist at Markit The U.K. service sector expanded much faster than it was initially expected last month, as new business increased at its fastest rate in over three years, Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said Wednesday. According to official data, a gauge
"I think what is happening, and what has to happen, is that we just finish the healing process that has been ongoing "-Michael Moran, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets Service industries in the U.S. grew at faster pace last month as an increase in orders indicated that businesses are confident demand will be rise after a slowdown in the