US Economics Weekly Powell preaches caution amid jobs bonanza Based on the steer provided by Fed Chair Jerome Powell halfway through this week’s press conference, we now expect the first Fed rate cut to come at the early-May FOMC meeting rather than in mid-March... 2nd February 2024 · 6 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Productivity may finally be improving The upside surprise to fourth-quarter GDP should, somewhat counterintuitively, make the Bank of Canada more confident that inflation is heading back to 2% because it implies that productivity has... 2nd February 2024 · 6 mins read
UK Economics Weekly Fiscal splurge won’t prevent summer interest rate cut The IMF was not wrong when it pointed out this week that by offering pre-election tax cuts, the Chancellor is turning a blind eye to the precarious state of the fiscal position. To meet his fiscal... 2nd February 2024 · 4 mins read
US Rapid Response Employment Report (Jan.) The 353,000 surge in non-farm payrolls in January illustrates why the Fed is apparently in no rush to start cutting interest rates and kills off any remaining chance of a cut as soon as March. Even if... 2nd February 2024 · 3 mins read
Asset Allocation Update What to make of the latest batch of big tech earnings We expect big tech to drive the S&P 500 higher still in 2024, despite a mixed performance from the shares of most of the so-called ‘Magnificent 7’ over the last ten days in the wake of a flurry of... 2nd February 2024 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly End-year bonuses will signal strength of wage pressure The upcoming wage and bonus data for the end of 2023 will provide a check on the temperature of Japan’s labour market. They will show that earnings are still being outstripped by inflation. But what... 2nd February 2024 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly A tale of two central banks Inflation is moderating rapidly in Australia, despite elevated shelter costs. Moreover, there's little evidence to suggest that a tight housing market is supporting domestic demand through housing... 2nd February 2024 · 6 mins read
Global Economics Update PMIs: Lengthening delivery times not too concerning The big picture from January’s manufacturing PMIs was the growing outperformance of industry in major EMs compared to their advanced economy peers. The surveys also highlighted that Red Sea... 1st February 2024 · 2 mins read
Capital Daily It’s about the end, not the start Despite the Bank of England (BoE) following the Fed in pushing back against imminent rate cuts, Gilt and Treasury yields are on track to post big falls today. That partly reflects renewed concerns... 1st February 2024 · 4 mins read
US Rapid Response ISM Manufacturing Index (Jan.) The solid rebound in the ISM manufacturing index to 49.1 in January, from 47.1, indicates that the downturn in the sector is fading and appears to justify the Fed’s view that it can wait a little... 1st February 2024 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Focus Wage growth set to slow The recent acceleration in the Labour Force Survey measure of wage growth seems to be overstating wage pressures. The other wage indicators, which are normally more reliable, show far lower rates of... 1st February 2024 · 11 mins read
UK Economics Update Rate cuts may come sooner than the BoE implies While leaving interest rates at 5.25% for the fourth meeting in a row today, the Bank of England sent a signal that the next move will be a cut, but it pushed back strongly against the idea that rates... 1st February 2024 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Rapid Response Bank of England Policy Announcement (1st Feb. 2024) While leaving interest rates at 5.25% for the fourth meeting in a row today, the Bank of England sent some soft signals that the next move will be a cut, but it pushed back more strongly against the... 1st February 2024 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update Trade to be constrained more by demand than supply World goods trade looks to have had one of its weakest years in over 40 years in 2023. While shipping diversions may weigh on trade in the very near term, we think that they are unlikely to dent trade... 1st February 2024 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia CoreLogic House Prices (Jan.) Although house price gains remained firm in January, we still expect them to soften in the months ahead. While rate cuts are on the horizon, they will do little to improve homebuying capacity. 1st February 2024 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Powell suggests first rate cut more likely to be May Based on the surprisingly explicit steer provided by Fed Chair Jerome Powell halfway through today’s press conference, we now expect the first Fed rate cut to come at the early-May FOMC meeting rather... 31st January 2024 · 3 mins read
