Yesterday
Jackson Hole gathering reveals fresh concern for central bankers
Officials from three of the world’s major central banks have signalled they are on course to lower interest rates emerging weakness in labour markets and growth become the chief threat for policymakers.
- Steve Matthews, Mark Schroers and Jonnelle Marte
This Month
- Opinion
- Jerome Powell
An enormous error has overstated the US boom
Markets have been caught off guard by a drastic revision of non-farm payrolls, the worst miss since the Lehman crisis.
- Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
US Fed policymakers signal willingness to cut interest rates
While several officials saw a case for reducing rates last month, the “vast majority” reckon there’s a widening window for a September pivot.
- Craig Torres
US payrolls marked down, heaping pressure on Fed to cut rates
The number of workers will likely be revised down by 818,000 for the year to March, which would be the largest downwards update since 2009.
- Augusta Saraiva
Hurricane-hit US home building slides for a fifth month
Aside from the weather, the housing market remains constrained by higher mortgage rates and house prices.
- Lucia Mutikani
Traders shred bets on big rate cuts thanks to resilient US economy
Financial markets pared back expectations of a super-sized September reduction in interest rates, pricing in less than 30 basis points of easing next month.
- Michael Mackenzie
US retail sales beat forecasts as consumers shake off price rises
The report showcases a consumer that’s holding up despite higher borrowing costs, a cooling labour market and an uncertain economic outlook.
- Augusta Saraiva
- Opinion
- Quantitative easing
Market gyrations reflect fears about the unwinding of QE
Bountiful free money is not a “normal” state of affairs, and the sooner investors realise this the better. And that includes central bankers.
- Gillian Tett
Market panic risks dragging down global growth, economists warn
Analysts say economies in the US and elsewhere are not “nosediving”, but they flag the threat of “self-fulfilling” investor jitters.
- Delphine Strauss
- Opinion
- Opinion
Shouldn’t the world thank China for producing too much stuff?
If trade policy were about consumers, the US and EU would thank China for its cheap EVs, batteries and solar panels and its contribution to lowering carbon emissions.
- Gary Hufbauer
July
China factory activity shrinks for third straight month
The official PMI index hit 49.4. The gauge has stayed below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for all but three months since April 2023.
- Updated
- Shinjini Datta and Zhu Lin
- Analysis
- China
China’s low-tech manufacturers hanging on by their fingernails
China is shifting more to high-tech and EV manufacturing as its clothing, toy and furniture factories struggle against anaemic orders, trade restrictions and competition.
- William Langley
- Opinion
- Trump's White House
What is Trumponomics 2.0, and how will Australia manage it?
Some of Donald Trump’s new economic plans may help Canberra. Most of them will leave us more alone in increasingly volatile world markets.
- Susan Stone
We don’t know when rates will be cut again, ECB says
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde says the question of an interest rate cut in September is “wide open”, and dependent on data.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How to play higher interest rates for longer in equities
Our super funds made two things clear: rates are likely to be higher for longer and equities are back in fashion. We ask some stock pickers to name their calls.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Opinion
- Review
Why Europe is becoming poorer than America
Oversized governments in Britain and on the Continent have crushed productivity growth, allowing US incomes to grow twice as fast.
- Ruchir Sharma
- Opinion
- Populism
When the numbers just don’t add up
MAGA in the US and National Rally in France are both making voters big economic promises, but their ideas have some massive holes, writes Paul Krugman.
- Paul Krugman
China’s home sales downturn slows after cities ease policy
The turn in the trajectory of new home sales may offer some relief for China’s economy, which is on track to undershoot the official growth target this year.
- Jeanny Yu and Tian Ying
June
France’s election could trigger market shockwaves, BoE warns
The Bank of England’s alert comes before Sunday’s first round of voting. Polls now show the populist right potentially closing in on a parliamentary majority.
- Hans van Leeuwen
China’s ‘Summer Davos’ highlights corporate anxiety over tariffs
A surge of cheap exports and industrial production supported by the government has propelled China’s economy this year. That’s prompted a pushback from trading partners.
- Katia Dmitrieva and Lucille Liu
