DATA PREVIEW: PERSONAL INCOME, REVISED GDP AND MUCH MORE

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – It’s time for Christmas already, and the holiday and the fact Christmas Eve is now a federal holiday as well has rearranged some of the week’s data reports. Yet with the possible exception of the weekly claims report, now coming Wednesday morning, very little if any of the week’s data is expected […]

GERMANY’S ECONOMIC SENTIMENT IMPROVES DECEMBER DESPITE LOCKDOWN

By Marco Babic ZURICH (MaceNews) – Improved current economic conditions and expectations pushed overall economic sentiment in Germany higher in December, even with increased lockdown measures due to COVID-19. The Ifo Business Climate Friday rose to 92.1 in December from a revised 90.9 (90.7) the previous month, and was well above the median forecast of […]

JAPAN NOV EXPORTS UNEXPECTEDLY SLUMP, WEAK ENERGY PRICES KEEP TRADE IN SURPLUS

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese exports took one step back from the recent pickup trend and posted an unexpected fall in November, remaining below year-earlier levels for two years as the global economy faces pandemic-caused uncertainty, data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Finance showed. The outlook for domestic growth and a return to […]

STATUS CHECK COMMENTARY: A SPECIAL DAY, A SPECIAL VACCINE

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Monday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes. A special day, certainly. The first vaccinations, the Electoral College certification of the Biden win, Geraldo Rivera on Fox News saying, “It’s over.” And a few Senate Republicans, certainly not all, finally late […]

JAPAN: BOJ DEC TANKAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE JUMPS BUT BIG FIRMS REVISE DOWN CAPEX PLANS

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese firms nearly across the board reported their sentiment improved substantially in December from three months earlier, thanks to Chinese and U.S. economic recovery as well as a gradual pickup in domestic demand, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey released Monday. But the survey also showed […]

DATA PREVIEW: RETAIL SALES, HOUSING STARTS, FED MEETING

By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The November retail sales report from the Census Bureau is the highlight among the upcoming week’s economic data with housing starts along for the ride, readings in two industries doing better than expected during the pandemic. Retail sales through October were up 5.7% from a year earlier according to […]

PREVIEW: FOMC TO REAFFIRM EASY MONEY POLICY; EXTEND FORWARD GUIDANCE TO BOND BUYING

By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – For the Federal Reserve these days, it’s all about shaping and managing expectations – expectations for indefinite continuation of ultra-accommodative monetary policy. That effort will continue at the Fed’s Dec. 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The FOMC heads toward its final meeting of 2020 amid very unusual circumstances […]

ECB EXPANDS EMERGENCY QE, LENDING PROGRAMMES; LEAVES RATES ON HOLD

–Inflation Forecast Reduced for 2020; HICP Not Expected to Reach Target Before 2024 By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank Thursday expanded its emergency asset purchase and lending programmes at its latest policy meeting but left its key rates unchanged, raising questions about whether European borrowing costs have reached its so-called “reversal […]

STATUS CHECK COMMENTARY: WHEN LUNACY BECOMES CHRONIC

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Tuesday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes. A day of settled routine, now that conspiracy theories, a raging president and edge-of-your seat apprehension about what comes next has become routine. Pres-Elect Joe Biden tried to keep to a reassuring regimen […]