By Reuters Staff
7 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada set the taper ball rolling last week, becoming the first major central bank to cut back on pandemic-era money-printing stimulus programmes. So who’s next?
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie
The big guns of central banking - the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan - won’t officially pare stimulus for a while, a message the BOJ reinforced on Tuesday and one the Fed is expected to reiterate on Wednesday.
April 27 - A look at the day ahead from Julien Ponthus.
Three central bank meetings but it’s the huge wave of corporate earnings that’s grabbing all the attention.
Policy status quo is expected at the U.S. Federal Reserve which starts its two-day meeting today, while Japan’s central bank made few waves as it maintained its massive stimulus and projected inflation would miss its 2% target for years .
Little news expected from Sweden’s central bank either.
Meanwhile the earnings torrent so far vindicates the stock market bulls who are regularly accused of stampeding their way to record highs with no regard to the sustainability of the recovery.
3 Min Read
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian retail sales surpassed expectations in March in a positive sign for the economy as soaring house prices and a surge in employment boosted consumer confidence and spending.
FILE PHOTO - A shopper holds items and looks at others on sale at a clothing retail store in central Sydney, Australia, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore
Sales rose 1.4% in March from February, outpacing forecasts for a 1% gain, preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday.
Retail turnover of A$30.72 billion ($23.71 billion) was up a hefty 2.3% on March last year, just when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
3 Min Read
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian retail sales surpassed expectations in March in a positive sign for the economy as soaring house prices and a surge in employment boosted consumer confidence and spending.
FILE PHOTO - A shopper holds items and looks at others on sale at a clothing retail store in central Sydney, Australia, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore
Sales rose 1.4% in March from February, outpacing forecasts for a 1% gain, preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday.
Retail turnover of A$30.72 billion ($23.71 billion) was up a hefty 2.3% on March last year, just when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
2 Min Read
SYDNEY, April 20 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar hit its highest level in nearly five weeks on Tuesday after the central bank sounded upbeat on the country’s economic recovery, while higher commodity prices also underpinned the currency.
The Aussie gained 0.54% to $0.7796 - its highest since March 18 - after minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s April meeting showed the RBA sees a faster rebound from the pandemic. Australia’s economic recovery has surpassed all expectations with an “above-trend” expansion likely this year and next, the minutes showed on Tuesday.
A weaker greenback overnight also helped lift the kiwi dollar by 0.48% to $0.7215, also near a five-week high, with the currency crossing the $0.72 barrier for the first time since March 18.