Economies

Australia's economy is officially above pre-pandemic levels. Economic activity has bounced back in the past two quarters. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 1.8 per cent in the March quarter of 2021. But will continued State lockdowns see that growth continue? The news was delivered on June 2nd, in parliament by Josh Frydenberg, Australia's Treasurer: ''Todays national accounts, show that Australian…

In its latest policy decision, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand offered a hawkish surprise, by announcing the discontinuation of its Large Scale Asset Purchases (LSAP)

The Reserve Bank of Australia maintained its cash rate at the record low of 0.1% and extended its bond buying past the current September due date, albeit at lower pace

Yes, they are! And they are not alone. It's not a secret that China is quickly becoming the biggest and most competitive market for Electric Vehicle ("EV"). Other brands like [Nio, Xpeng, BYD] are also in fierce competition with the American giant. Although primarily targeting the Chinese market, these companies have also managed to spark worldwide attention. In fact, the legendary investor Warren Buffet, claims his most profitable investment in…

The US central bank maintained its interest rates and QE pace yesterday, but upgraded its economic forecasts and view on rates path, sending the US Dollar higher

Central Banks Introduce Hawkishness On 21 April, the Bank of Canada was the first industrial country's central bank to signal a reduction in stimulus and a normalisation of monetary policy. Since then, there has been a hint of hawkish sentiment from the Bank of England by chief economist Andy Haldane who views inflation as an increasing threat. We have also seen a positive statement from the Reserve Bank of New…

It has been a few months since we saw the first reports of economic recovery in China. If we look at the GDP stats, China's significant down fall was first quarter of 2020, at the outbreak of Covid, which was compensated in the next two quarters. Another indicator of recovery has been the decline in the jobless rate. During the worst of covid lockdown in the spring of 2020, between…

Australian Unemployment and the RBA's Response During the Covid Pandemic The Reserve Bank of Australia or RBA is Australia's central bank. It is the custodian of the country's monetary policy and aims to contribute to: The stability of the currency of Australia; The maintenance of full employment in Australia; and The economic prosperity and welfare of the people of Australia. As the central bank decides on and institutes its various…

The U.S. presidential election of 2020 was a hotly-contested battle between two candidates with very different ideologies. Among the key areas of contrast were views toward climate change and energy production. Accordingly, the electoral cycle was defined by conflicting policies from pro-energy incumbent President of the United States (POTUS) Donald Trump and environment-friendly challenger Joe Biden. Upon Biden securing a 306 to 232 victory in the Electoral College, U.S policies…

What Is Ant Group? Ant Group is a large Chinese financial services and technology company that is closely affiliated with Alibaba, the giant Chinese ecommerce site. Ant was founded in 2004 and then spun off as a separate company in 2014. Alibaba still owns a 33% stake in Ant. Ant is the parent company of Alipay, China's largest mobile payments platform, which was created largely to facilitate spending on Alibaba.…

What Are Investment-grade Bonds? Investment-grade bonds—also known as "high-grade" bonds—are debt securities issued by corporations and municipal governments that are generally considered to have a low risk of default. Bonds in this category are generally rated Baa or better by Moody's Investors Services and BBB or higher by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, the three main credit rating agencies. By contrast, bonds rated below these designations are called non-investment…