DATA PREVIEW: 4Q GDP, IMF’S WEO, FOMC, DURABLE GOODS

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The upcoming week is packed with economic data, including the fourth quarter GDP, as well as a Federal Open Market Committee policy update and Chair Jay Powell’s news conference, and an update to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook. The GDP report is Thursday. The various GDPNow estimates don’t agree, with the New […]

JAPAN GOVT SEES CONTINUED ECONOMIC PICKUP AMID MIXED DATA, UPGRADES VIEW ON CHINA

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s government Friday stuck to its recent assessment that the domestic economy is showing signs of a pickup from the pandemic-caused slump, pointing to a mixed bag of data – more cautious consumer spending against brighter spots in business investment and housing construction, according to its monthly report released by […]

JAPAN DEC CPI DROPS FURTHER ON LOWER ENERGY COSTS; HOTEL FEE DROP EASES AMID PANDEMIC

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese consumer prices posted a slightly sharper drop in December as energy costs continued falling. But a spike in coronavirus cases later in the month appeared to have slowed the use of the government-financed hefty discounts on hotel and transport charges, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication […]

ECB SITS ON ITS HANDS. SAYS DECEMBER FORECASTS HOLD DESPITE LOCKDOWN

By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank left all policy instruments on hold at its latest rate-setting meeting, stressing the ECB’s most recent economic projections envisioned the risk of the strong Covid containment measures currently in place through much of Europe. Forecasts published in December “were predicated on lockdowns lasting through”the first […]

BOJ KEEPS EASING POLICY STANCE AMID PANDEMIC, SLIGHTLY MORE UPBEAT ON FY21, 22 GROWTH

–Central Bank Still Sees Under 1% Inflation in 2 Years, Well Below 2% Target By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan has maintained its policy stance, as expected, after extending the period of special easing tools last month amid growing downside risks, while continuing to forecast that the domestic economy will recover part […]

JAPAN DEC EXPORTS POST 1ST RISE IN OVER 2 YEARS AMID UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK

By Mas Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese exports recorded the first year-on-year gain in just over two years, as largely expected, thanks to a recent gradual pickup in global demand, but the outlook for one of the key growth drivers for slow domestic recovery remains uncertain amid a surge in new coronavirus cases in many parts […]

STATUS CHECK: ONE OUT OF MANY, THE RENEWED PROMISE OF INAUGURATION DAY

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Tuesday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes. • Inauguration Day, and in an address tailored to the moment and maybe to the post-Trump era in the months ahead, Joe Biden kept his first day in office focused on the possibilities […]

EUROZONE INFLATION STUCK IN THE RED AHEAD OF THURSDAY’S ECB MEETING

—HICP Falls by an Annual Rate of 0.3% in December, Marking the Fifth-Straight Decline By Laurie Laird  LONDON (MaceNews) — Eurozone inflation remained stubbornly in the red at the close of last year, with the HICP index slumping by an annual pace of 0.3%, according to data released by Eurostat on Wednesday.  That decline matches […]

ITALY’S CONTE WINS SENATE VOTE BUT LACKS STABLE MAJORITY TO PURSUE GOVT AGENDA

By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Tuesday has won a key Senate confidence vote but with only a “relative majority” that hampers the government from fully ruling and efficiently pursuing its agenda. The final vote result was 156 yes and 140 no votes. The political crisis, triggered when the minor […]