Eurozone Inflation Again Driven Higher by Energy Costs

ZURICH (MaceNews) – Pushed by continued double-digit growth for energy costs, consumer prices in the Eurozone rose more than forecast for September, the latest data from Eurostat showed. Consumer prices as measured by HICP rose 3.4 percent in September according to preliminary figures, exceeding the median of 3.3 percent in an Econoday survey of economists’ […]

BOJ Sept Key Tankan Business Sentiment Up But Outlook Uncertain

— Higher Energy, Commodities Markets Support Some Producers— Automakers Report Worse Sentiment As Supply Constrains Linger— Face-To-Face Service Providers Suffer Amid Covid-19 Spike— BOJ Survey Also Shows Companies Revise Up FY21 Capex Plans By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Higher energy and commodities prices this year further boosted confidence among many manufacturers, big and small, while […]

Japan Aug Factory Output Slumps as Global Supply Chain Disruptions Continue 

— Japan’s METI Downgrades View: Factory Output Pausing Vs. Picking Up –METI Repeats: Watch Effects of Rising COVID Cases, Global Chip Shortages By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted an unexpectedly large decline in August as pandemic-caused lockdowns in Southeast Asia are straining parts supplies further and global semiconductor shortages lingered, preliminary data […]

MaceNewsViews: Commentary – Even With a Prisoner Exchange, China Seen as Heavy-Handed

By Eric Ham WASHNGTON (MaceNews) – Now that China has completed a prisoner exchange with Canada and the United States with high-stakes trade and economic ramifications, its international reputation as heavy-handed and clumsy has not necessarily been improved. Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor landed in Calgary, Alberta early Saturday in exchange for Meng Wanzhou, […]

ECB’S Lagarde Downplays Prospect of Early Eurozone Rate Hike Despite Rising Inflation

— HICP expected to top 3% in December LONDON (MaceNews) – Eurozone interest rates are likely to remain at record lows for the foreseeable future, with the recent rise inflation seen as temporary, according to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. “The key challenge is to ensure that we do not overreact to transitory supply shocks,” […]

Japan Aug Core CPI Flat Y/Y After Year-Long Drop; Energy Pickup Slows

— Total CPI Marks 11th Straight Y/Y Drop As Fresh Vegetable Prices Slump — Downward Pressure From Low Cost Mobile Phone Plans Intensifies By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Higher costs for energy and processed food continued easing the downward pressure on Japan’s core consumer prices, which was flat on year in August after a year-long […]

MaceNewsViews – Commentary: Nihilism’s Dream – The US Defaults

By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Those knowing think pieces and Op-Eds by veteran graybeards, scoffing at the super-hyped headlines about the dangers of a pending debt-limit impasse, should be reassuring. They’ve seen it all before, the six dozen or more times Congress allows the nation’s Treasury to start borrowing again, often at the last […]