CommSec morning report
European sharemarkets were firmer on Friday after China cut the 5-year loan prime rate by a bigger-than-expected 15 basis points to 4.45%. In economic data, British retail sales rose unexpectedly in April while German producer prices posted a record increase in the month. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.7% on Friday but lost…
Australia’s unemployment rate now begins with a ‘3’
Early in the election campaign, on April 14, we learned that Australia’s unemployment rate had slipped below 4% in March, to 3.95% – the lowest rate in 48 years. But the Coalition was denied the bragging rights that would flow from an unemployment rate beginning with “3” because of a Bureau of Statistics convention of…
How blockchain can revolutionise the financial system
Another year, another burst of extreme crypto volatility. But the blockchain technology behind bitcoin, stablecoins and other digital assets continues to grow in importance. Sometimes innovation happens overnight. The Monday after the Big Bang in 1986, when the market was deregulated and stepped into the electronic age, the noise and bustle of the trading floor…
Is the dollar done?
We assess whether the freezing of Russia’s FX reserves could ultimately cool the dollar’s dominance as a reserve currency. Last month the Russian government missed a payment on a Eurobond because financial sanctions meant that it was unable to service its debt. Russia managed to evade a default by making a payment shortly before a…
CommSec evening report Friday
The Australian sharemarket has finished the week on a positive note and nearly reversed yesterday’s losses, after lifting by 1.15 per cent or 81pts, to 7146. Gains were seen across the market today after nine of eleven sectors finished in positive territory. Energy stocks however dragged the index lower after a 1.6 per cent slide…
The week ahead
Australia: Key Reserve Bank officials to speak Business investment is the key data highlight in the week ahead while two Reserve Bank senior officials deliver speeches. And the week kicks off on Monday with a speech by Christopher Kent, Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) at the Reserve Bank, at the KangaNews DCM Summit 2022. And in…
ASIC bans financial adviser for 5 years
Financial adviser Walter Yaolong Guan, of Sydney, New South Wales, has been banned for five years from providing any financial services or controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business. ASIC found that between March 2017 and August 2021, Mr Guan, through his company Perennial Growth Pty Ltd, carried on a financial services…
Lowest jobless rate in almost 48 years
Employment rose by 4,000 in April with full-time jobs up by 92,400 but part-time jobs were down by 88,400. Total employment hit a record high of 13.4 million in April. To two-decimal places, the unemployment rate was 3.85 per cent in April, down from 3.93 per cent, the lowest level since the current monthly series…
BRICS bank issues 7-billion-yuan bond
SHANGHAI – BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has issued an RMB-denominated bond of 7 billion yuan (about 1.04 billion U.S. dollars) in China’s interbank bond market with a maturity of three years, the bank said Thursday. Upon the completion of the issuance, the bank would have a cumulative total of 30 billion yuan bonds issued…
CommSec morning report Friday
In US economic data, initial jobless claims rose by 21,000 to 218,000 last week (survey: 200,000). Existing home sales fell by 2.4% in April to an annual rate of 5.61 million, the lowest since June 2020 (survey: 5.64m). The Conference Board leading index dipped 0.3% in April (survey: flat). The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index fell…
