Tag: indicators

U.K. Shop-Price Inflation Held Steady in December, Report Says
World

U.K. Shop-Price Inflation Held Steady in December, Report Says

Annual U.K. shop-price inflation was unchanged in December, with growth at the lowest rate since June 2022, a report by NielsenIQ and the British Retail Consortium showed Tuesday.Prices at U.K. stores were up 4.3% on year in December, matching November’s rate and below the three-month average rate of 4.6%.Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Chinese State-Owned Firms Establish $1.4 Billion Fund
World

Chinese State-Owned Firms Establish $1.4 Billion Fund

Two Chinese state-owned companies will establish a 10 billion yuan ($1.41 billion) fund to invest in companies with real estate project assets.Under the agreement, New China Life Insurance will be the limited partner providing CNY9.9 billion in capital and China International Capital Corp.will act as general partner that will manage the fund, New China Life said late Monday.Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Australia’s Manufacturing Sector Likely on Track for a Soft Landing, PMI Data Shows
World

Australia’s Manufacturing Sector Likely on Track for a Soft Landing, PMI Data Shows

SYDNEY—A slowdown in Australia’s manufacturing sector continued through December, with activity contracting over the month as the broader economy lost momentum due to the impact of higher interest rates.Still, the rate of slowdown is consistent with a soft landing for manufacturers in 2024, according to Judo Bank.Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Shale Is Keeping the World Awash With Oil as Conflicts Abound
World

Shale Is Keeping the World Awash With Oil as Conflicts Abound

Updated Jan. 1, 2024 12:05 am ETA surprise surge in American oil and gas production and exports is helping to keep the world stocked, blunting the impact of widening conflict in the Middle East that has crimped key shipping lanes. When Iranian-backed Houthi militants began launching missiles and drones at ships crossing the Red Sea near Yemen in October, many feared disruption to the vital shipping lane would drive up energy prices. But oil and gas prices this past month have sunk about 5% and 23%, respectively. Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Shale Is Keeping the World Awash With Oil as Conflicts Abound
Money

Shale Is Keeping the World Awash With Oil as Conflicts Abound

Updated Jan. 1, 2024 12:05 am ETA surprise surge in American oil and gas production and exports is helping to keep the world stocked, blunting the impact of widening conflict in the Middle East that has crimped key shipping lanes. When Iranian-backed Houthi militants began launching missiles and drones at ships crossing the Red Sea near Yemen in October, many feared disruption to the vital shipping lane would drive up energy prices. But oil and gas prices this past month have sunk about 5% and 23%, respectively. Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
China’s Xi Is Resurrecting Mao’s ‘Continuous Revolution’ With a Twist
World

China’s Xi Is Resurrecting Mao’s ‘Continuous Revolution’ With a Twist

Updated Jan. 1, 2024 12:08 am ETListen to article(2 minutes)Chinese rulers have long used campaigns against corruption to sideline rivals and consolidate power. Xi Jinping is increasingly tying his authority to a new variation: a purge that never ends.With echoes of Mao Zedong’s “continuous revolution,” Xi has sent fear rippling through the ranks of the Communist Party for more than a decade with the largest campaign against corruption in modern Chinese history. It is now threatening to petrify the party as it tries to steer the world’s second-largest economy through its greatest period of uncertainty in a generation.Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
China Ends Underwhelming Year With Fresh Signs of Weakness
World

China Ends Underwhelming Year With Fresh Signs of Weakness

Dec. 30, 2023 10:18 pm ETChina’s economy showed fresh signs of weakness as the year drew to a close, piling pressure on Beijing to take bold new steps to fire up growth in 2024.Surveys suggest factory activity slid deeper into contraction in December due to thin order books at home and abroad, while the services sector struggled as consumers kept a tight leash on spending.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
How I, and Everyone Else, Got 2023 So Wrong
Money

How I, and Everyone Else, Got 2023 So Wrong

It is good practice to learn from your mistakes, but even better is to learn from other people’s mistakes. My biggest error in 2023 was the same as everyone else’s: being in the consensus that the fastest rate hikes in 40 years would cause a recession. They didn’t, but there is still deep disagreement on why—and the direction of your portfolio depends on the answer.As a reminder, at this time in 2022, predictions of recession were the norm—and on some measures stronger than they had ever been outside an actual recession. I wasn’t persuaded by the economic models, because they paid no heed to the effects of the pandemic on supply and demand. But I thought it unlikely that the nascent stock rally would continue, because it was a bet on inflation’s coming down without the economy being hit. ...
Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024
World

Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024

Updated Dec. 30, 2023 12:10 am ETA resilient U.S. economy and cooling inflation fueled an intense year-end bond rally. Now, some suspect investors are too sanguine about the months ahead.The rally marked the latest in a series of swings that sent the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, which falls when bond prices rise, leaping and diving throughout the past 12 months. Fears of a prolonged stretch of higher interest rates repeatedly drove the yield to decade-plus highs, only for stress on the banking system and a Federal Reserve pivot to drag it down again. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024
Money

Five Investors on How to Navigate the Bond Market in 2024

Updated Dec. 30, 2023 12:10 am ETA resilient U.S. economy and cooling inflation fueled an intense year-end bond rally. Now, some suspect investors are too sanguine about the months ahead.The rally marked the latest in a series of swings that sent the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, which falls when bond prices rise, leaping and diving throughout the past 12 months. Fears of a prolonged stretch of higher interest rates repeatedly drove the yield to decade-plus highs, only for stress on the banking system and a Federal Reserve pivot to drag it down again. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8