Economic and company news by ForexMart

April 20, 2017

March and June Fed Rate Hikes Possible, According to Economists

Several economists are speculating that the US Federal Reserve could possibly be in for two more rate hikes this coming March and June, with the central bank possibly increasing its short-term rates within the week and another rate increase during the Fed’s meeting this coming June. Fed officials have maintained their current rates after they increased their federal funds rate last December 2016. The central bank had already penciled in a total of three possible hikes for this year but refused to indicate the exact date of the implementation of these said rate hikes.

April 24, 2017

Inflation Weighed on the Economy of Britain

The British economy has cooled significantly in the months of January to March this year because higher inflation put pressure on disposable incomes. The Office for National Statistics is scheduled to publish the estimated GDP data for the first quarter this Friday.

Great Britain almost forgot the impact of the Brexit referendum on June and had an unexpectedly quick recovery. The growth rates in the third quarter of 2016 reached 0.5% while 0.7 for the last quarter.

Based on the forecast of city economists, the country will experience an arduous year ahead linked with a 0.4$ steep decline on growth during the first three months of 2017.

The country previously earned 0.2% which is considered as the weakest performance in the Q1 of 2016.

Moreover, the sterling became weaker which increased the price for imports and drove the inflation towards its three-year high obtaining 2.3%.

China’s Bullish GDP Growth Stabilizes Yuan
The first quarter data of China has come out after a solid positive gain causing a slowdown in capital outflows to stabilize the currency following a selloff last year. They are optimistic to attain the 6.5 percent GDP growth for this year as mentioned by the Finance minister Xiao Jie. This is a good signal indicating the strengthening of yuan and capital flows are gaining back by the country.
The interest rates are moving in an upward direction despite tighter policies to curb the fast growth of credit hampering the economic progress. Yet, economic growth advanced faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first quarter, weakening capital outflows and more stable cross-border flows have strengthened yuan substantially. This has then eased the pressure regards to Foreign exchange reserves as it retreated with the surge of the greenback.
However, further tightening cannot be ruled out as it may change again abruptly especially when the currency come again under pressure with the global appreciation of the U.S. dollar.

April 24, 2017

ECB Reassures EU Citizens amid French Election Concerns

An official from the European Central Bank has offered his reassurances to a very worried EU audience amid pre-election anxieties stemming from the French national elections by saying that the ECB has enough reinforcements should the said elections result to an eventual fallout. Austrian central bank governor Ewald Nowotny has stated that the ECB has several instruments on hand if ever liquidity becomes a problem for French banks after the conclusion of the said elections. Nowotny is currently part of the ECB’s rate-setting governing council.

April 25, 2017

Asian Stocks Abated Due to High Risks

The appeal of Asian stocks to investors has subsided because of political and economic risks that overshadowed continuous returns over the past 26 years. Asian business has been good in the second half last year up to early this year and is the impetus is slowing down soon

This put the Asian equities for a sell-off as investors have become cautious compared a few months ago. Moreover, political elections in Europe and profit taking in the U.S. bring in corrections that are not good. Another concern is the decline in cyclical upswings in China and the United States which has a big effect on global trading including equities of Emerging market.

Nevertheless, investors do not totally leave despite the high costs of stocks compare to other emerging markets but are still lesser cost than developed markets. The analysts forecasted earnings to rise by 17% this year.

April 25, 2017

Russia Ranked Third Among Military Spenders

Based on a study issued on Monday, the Russian Federation ranked third with high expenditures on the military during 2016. Even though the country experience low-cost in oil and economic penalties due to increase in global expenditure after two successive years

The country’s spending reached $69.2 billion last year which is 5.9% higher in 2015 as shown in the report of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

During the year 2015, Saudi Arabia ranked third, however, settled in the fourth place in 2016 after its outlay declined by 30 percent or equal to $63.7 billion. Even if the desert country had a continuous engagement in regional wars.

Moreover, the United States preserved its position as the top spender with 1.7% raise amid 2015-16 to $611 billion. China, on the other hand, had lifted its spending funds by 5.4 percent to $215 billion which is relatively lower.

The total military spending of the Central Europe boosted by 2.4% last year.

April 25, 2017

Trump Proposes Corporate Tax Cuts by Up to 15%

White House aides have been ordered by President Donald Trump to draft a corporate tax plan which will cut down the corporate tax rate by up to 15% in spite of the fact that this will be translating to significant profit losses. Trump has told his staff at an Oval Office meeting last week that he is looking for a large-scale tax cut which could be sold to American citizens, with the possibility of a federal budget deficit notwithstanding. Trump had also reportedly told his officials to finish it in time in order to release a comprehensive tax plan this coming Wednesday.

April 26, 2017

Sweden-Maharashtra Collaboration For Climate Issues

The Kingdom of Sweden seems eager to join forces with Maharashtra with regards to waste disposal, urban development, and renewable resources.

Eva Svedling, Swedish climate deputy minister had a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis along with the state environment minister Ramdas Kadam to discuss the partnership about global warming and its solutions.

There are roughly 100 firms in Sweden have already prepared advanced solutions for air quality, energy sources, public transport and waste disposal whereas these operating companies could underpin this clean agent, according to Svedling.

The visit she made indicates the continuity of pursuing the joint statement made by the Indian PM Narendra Modi with Stefan Lofven as his counterpart in the Scandinavian country.

The long-term goals of Sweden are to minimize emissions up to 70 percent in the year 2030 from the level registered in 2010. They further aim to become the first country to be the fossil fuel-free by 2040 while the net zero carbon dioxide emissions are balanced in 2045.

April 26, 2017

Credit Suisse Sets to Raise $4B CHF Rights Offering

Credit Suisse bank increased its capital estimated by 4 billion Swiss francs equivalent to 4 billion U.S. dollars through rights issue in an initial public offering that aims to follow the pace of European competitors. This would bring its CET1 ratio up by 13.4 percent, the pro forma with tier 1 leverage ratio also rose by 5.1 percent supported by the 1Q12 end data including risk-weighted assets and leverage disclosure as mentioned by the released statement of the bank based on Zurich on Wednesday.

May 5, 2017

Trade Disparity Between US and Mexico Expands

The MXN experienced downward pressure after trade war anxieties stemming from Trump’s tough take on trade negotiations with Mexico caused a surge in the US demand for cheaper and more affordable Mexico-sourced goods, thereby increasing the trade disparity between the two countries. Mexican trade deficits jumped by up to 14% just in the first quarter of 2017, a stark contrast to the trade deficit recorded last 2016 in the same period. In addition, the Mexican Peso is also down by 8% against the USD as far as 2017 is concerned. Prior to this development, Trump has repeatedly threatened to build a border wall between the two countries and is now even considering a cancellation of the NAFTA agreement as part of the president’s plan to give new life to US-based factories. The NAFTA trade agreement involves Mexico, Canada, and the US and has enabled lower tariff levels, among others.

May 22, 2017

New Economic Development Project Proposed by Owasso City

During the council held in early May, the staffs of Owasso City made a project proposal for a new Economic Development Strategic Planning intended for the community itself.

The proposal highlighted an agreement with the TadZo Consulting, known to be a consulting firm specializes in the economic development and site selection, they are part of the project in order to administer strategic services towards the city.

This is because the town has seen growing rapidly over the past few years and presumed further responsibility in developing its own economy. They gave importance on establishing defined objectives as well as devising policies effective for achieving their economic goals.

With the involvement of TadZo, it ensures that the town is able to execute such task through engaging, educating and empowering everyone concerned in the project through a definite method.

The economic developer would offer further assistance for the Owasso to catch the eye of its target audience through conducting comprehensive researches in identifying new community offerings.

The range of work is divided into three phases which include the current situation, strategic priorities, and strategic plan. This is done in order to have an efficient task in customizing the challenges, necessities, and opportunities for

The plan will undergo for a vote scheduled on Wednesday, July 5. In case the economic project will be approved, the cost will not exceed at $60,000 and would take six to eight working months which will start in July.

May 22, 2017

Japan Exports Rallied for 5 Months

Exports from Japan notably increased for five consecutive months indicating a strong offshore demand and increased shipments of semiconductors and steels that boost economic growth. In April, exports climbed up to 7.5 percent compared with the previous year and lower than the median estimate of 7.8 percent yearly growth.

On the other hand, its trade surplus with the U.S. also decreased by 4.2 percent from a year ago while the exports jumped by 2.6 percent and continuously grows in the past three months because of high volume of car and auto parts shipments. An economist predicts that this upsurge will continue including domestic imports but the protectionist trade policies of Donald Trump raises concerns with Japan being an export-reliant country.

May 25, 2017

China’s Debt-rating Downgraded by Moody’s to A1 from Aa3

The credit rating of China was downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday, the previous Aa3 (Double A-3) were down to A1 which means that the Chinese economy is going to grind lower for the next years as the country showed slow growth and its debt continuously increase. The downgrade is done due to the financial pressure that the government faces after years of credit-driven stimulus.

Craig Erlam, a Senior Market Analyst of Oanda, said in an interview, “Because talk of Chinese debt and concerns about the size of Chinese debt has been going on for the last few years. They seem to be very reliant on these high levels of growth, which has been slowing.” He further added that the credit downgrade does not surprise him at all.

The second largest economy in the world gained 6.7 percent last year and 6.9 in 2015, this pace is the slowest based on the records since 1990 by which Erlam believes that the following years appears to be challenging.

The bond credit rating company has expectations that the direct debt burden of China’s government will climb higher reaching 40 percent of 2018’s Gross Domestic Product which is close to the 45 percent as the decade ends. However, it remains lower to the 60 percent for the European Union.

The Finance Ministry of the republic claims that the downgrade is based on an improper approach that overestimated the risks on the increasing debt.

May 25, 2017

NZ’s Budget Surplus Apportioned to Infrastructures

New Zealand anticipates exceeding the budget excess prediction for 2017. The former projected amount to NZ$473 million surpluses in December and significantly increased to NZ$1.62 billion for the first six months. These figures are crucial yet the government has cope with the cost of a huge new capital investment that the authorities consigned to.

These higher-than-expected results were supported by potent corporate levies and pending rehabilitation following the November earthquake. The government targets to trim the net credit budget up to 10 to 15 percent the forecasted 23.2 percent for the first half of the year.

The country also intends to invest the excess money in infrastructure to further enhance the progressing economy according to the Finance Minister Steven Joyce. The budget amounts to NZ$11 billion allocated for infrastructures including road, train railways, prison and housing in the succeeding four years. Part of this allocation as much as NZ$6.5 billion aims to raise family incomes through modification of tax threshold and grants from the government.

May 26, 2017

Trump Calls for Investigation Following Manchester Leaks

US President Donald Trump has already called for an investigation regarding the “Manchester leaks” in order for the US government to determine how top-secret information were able to make their way towards the headlines of news reports, when these sets of information were actually only divulged to the key allies of the British government. Several UK officials have already expressed their dismay and disappointment with regards to this particular matter, among them being UK Prime Minister Theresa May. The bombings in Manchester last Monday night had killed a total of 22 people and has left more than 100 people with injuries. The victims were attending a pop concert before the bombings occurred.

May 26, 2017

Drop in Oil prices as investors discontented in its low figure

Oil prices declined by 5 percent following the extension of production cuts by Opec causing other oil producing countries to be dismayed who are expecting bigger reduction. Consequently, crude prices dropped to a highest percentage drop since early March.


During the last OPEC meeting, they reached an agreement to prolong supply cuts constitute of 1.8 million barrels per day until the first quarter ends next year and investors are anticipating around half a million extra barrels to be contracted. However, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Khalid al-Falih said that other ministers find it unnecessary to lessen the output further and nine months is the “optimum” duration.


On the other hand, U.S. shale producers are motivated to provide more supplies because of cheap cost of oil at $50 bpd. Although, they have to be careful since it could exceed the target increase and being down further the price, stated by the Texas shale oil producer president David Arrington.
May 26, 2017

Drop in Oil prices as investors discontented in its low figure

Oil prices declined by 5 percent following the extension of production cuts by Opec causing other oil producing countries to be dismayed who are expecting bigger reduction. Consequently, crude prices dropped to a highest percentage drop since early March.


During the last OPEC meeting, they reached an agreement to prolong supply cuts constitute of 1.8 million barrels per day until the first quarter ends next year and investors are anticipating around half a million extra barrels to be contracted. However, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Khalid al-Falih said that other ministers find it unnecessary to lessen the output further and nine months is the “optimum” duration.


On the other hand, U.S. shale producers are motivated to provide more supplies because of cheap cost of oil at $50 bpd. Although, they have to be careful since it could exceed the target increase and being down further the price, stated by the Texas shale oil producer president David Arrington.

May 26, 2017

Reserve Bank of South Africa Left Rates on Hold

The South African Reserve Bank kept its interest rates unchanged on Thursday as it played down the thought of a lower cost of borrowing that further influenced the price pressures versus the projections regarding a much slower recovery of the economic struggle

Reuters polled 26 economists last week have forecasted that the benchmark repo rate will remain at 7 percent as Lesetja Kganyago, the Bank Governor stated that the constricting cycle is over.

He added that the yearly CPI inflation fell to 5.3 percent in April, however, there is still a possibility that risk might emerge again, especially the pressure relative to the rand currency due to uncertainties in domestic politics along with the downgrades in the debt ratings.

As the Fitch Ratings Ltd and S&P Global Ratings decided to cut South Africa into a junk status while Moody’s reviewed the downgrade following the cabinet reorganization wherein Pravin Gordhan was dismissed from his job as the finance minister.

The central bank hopes that the inflation will hit 5.7 percent for 2017 and will acquire 5.3 percent in 2018, with its target that ranges from 3 to 6 percent.

The ZAR increased on the back of the rate decision reaching 12.8600 per USD to 0.5 percent stronger. The government bonds, on the other hand, lose its strength.

May 29, 2017

Fast track Economic Recovery of India in the First Quarter

The economy of India is considered as the fastest developing major economy globally in the previous quarter, induced by positive performance in manufacturing and services. For short-term, the demonetization has affected the demand but was able to recover. The forecast for this year ranged between 6.5 and 7.8 while the actual data achieved a 7.1 percent growth from January to March this year. It has significantly risen from last year’s Q1 growth of 7.9 percent.

The upswing in the economic growth was mainly pushed by positive domestic factors taking into account a notable progress of the central bank easing of policy rate into lending rates of financial institutions that made investment appealing to investors. Moreover, the infrastructure spending has substantiated growth and probability for better agricultural output when the monsoon rains become beneficial.

On the other hand, the goods and sales tax (GST) is also anticipated to contribute to the economy as its removal will encourage more businesses in India. This will be implemented on July 1st.

May 29, 2017

G-7 Summit Pushes Through Amid Trade and Climate Concerns

Amidst the ongoing G-7 summit in Italy, US President Donald Trump has stated via his adviser that he currently has no plans on backing down with regards to his Russian sanctions, thereby quelling any speculations that the US government might be toning down its stance towards Russia. On the other hand, Trump has left a slew of confused allies as he still refuses to confirm whether he will be eradicating the 2015 Paris climate agreement altogether, a move which has been wholly supported by a lot of European nations. The European Council has already stated that this two-day G-7 Summit could possibly be the most challenging summit in years. The summit will have its culmination this coming Saturday.

May 30, 2017

EU in Need of Additional ECB Stimulus, Says Draghi

ECB President Mario Draghi stressed in a statement made last Monday that the eurozone is still in need of more monetary stimulus from the central bank in spite of the region’s apparent economic recovery. Draghi warned that the underlying inflation in the EU economy minus highly volatile food and energy prices are still too insignificant for the ECB to make any actual adjustments with regards to its current monetary policy. The central bank is currently facing mounting pressure from several EU politicians as they call for the ECB to instigate a full-on policy reversal as the European Union enters a new era of increased inflation rates and a recovering economic status.

May 30, 2017

Germany Negotiate Wages Increased by 2.8 Percent

The negotiated wages in Germany climbed by 2.8 percent in the first quarter which has significantly improved than the previous year according to the data released on Tuesday. These wages comprise of basic pay, one transaction settlement, yearly bonuses and back remuneration from salary deals. An estimated 17 million workers in Germany from companies who transact every one to two years.

In comparison, the present 2.8 percent growth from January to March is more than the long-term average of 2.5 percent than the last quarter of 2016. It also ascended at a faster rate than the 2.5 percent for the past five years indicating a rise in wage growth from a 2.2 percent elevation in the fourth quarter last year. It exceeded that increase in consumer costs augmenting by 1.9 percent in the same period implying that households have more disposable income amid a rising inflation.

May 30, 2017

Asian Market Weakened as it Traded Sideways

The stock markets of Asia were unsteady on Tuesday since investors hovered in the sideline prior the publication of the raft of economic statistics scheduled this week. While, the Taipei market coupled with Shanghai, Hong Kong are not in operation due to a holiday.

Moreover, the Nikkei 225 of Tokyo declined by 0.5 percent to 19,576.19, seeing the Kospi of South Korea to plunged to 0.6 percent to 2,338.21, S&P/ASX 200 of Australia lower down by 0.1 percent to 5,701.60. Likewise, Singaporean market had a dip along with the Philippines and New Zealand but the Indonesian benchmark surge.

Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG based in Singapore, said that the Asian house market is projected to maintain its thin volumes which start in the countries of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan which are all closed in consideration of the market holiday.

The data were to be issued this week would likely offer some hints for the investors about the current state of the international economy. Investors anticipate for the consumer confidence index along with the eurozone business data later this day.

On the energy sector, the benchmark for US crude dropped 4 cents up to $49.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had increased by 90 cents up until $49.80 per barrel yesterday. The Brent crude further decreased by 20 cents till $52.44/barrel in London.

AUD/USD Technical Analysis: May 31, 2017

The Australian dollar declined during the Tuesday trading session. Enough supportive is found close to the 0.74 region to reverse the trend and raise the price much higher. If the bullish pressure is sustained A break higher than the 0.7450 level will bring the price up towards the 0.75 level which was resistive before.

It won’t take long before the prices to go up and further be supported by the gold market with chances to go higher also when the “risk on” rally starts. However, if the gold market is used as a safety net instead, the market would fear trading and the will stagnant the Australian dollar. Nonetheless, there is still a chance to move higher when the market condition gets better.

The Aussie is gaining momentum over the New Zealand dollar which is most of the time correlated to. The Kiwi is also getting stronger going forward since there is a strong bullish tension in the market. It is much more favored in the market although both will most likely head to the same direction.

If the price breaks lower than the 0.74 level, this would not be a good sign and will affect the Australian dollar move downward. Traders should expect high volatility in the market but would not be different in the AUD/USD pair where it seems that there is an endless loop in the price trend. Hence, traders should look closely to stop losses since there will be high volatility in the market.

May 31, 2017

US Budget Concerns Casts Doubt on Fed Plans

The US Federal Reserve is more than ready to raise its interest rates this coming June, but the possibility of the Congress rattling up the markets by slowing down progress on increasing the debt ceiling of the US economy has cast a shadow of doubt on the Fed’s next scheduled rate hike on September. Prior to this development, the Fed has been saying that they are currently planning to implement two more rate hikes before the year ends, but has now reverted to saying that the third rate hike for year might be in for some delays if the market gets shaken by possible disagreements on fiscal policies.

May 31, 2017

Manufacturing Activity of China Kept Unchanged in May

Based on the data issued on Wednesday, the growth in the manufacturing activity of China was unchanged in the previous month and on the other hand, the services sector revived. This indicates that the Chinese economy slowed down.

The manufacturing purchasing' managers index earned 51.2 for this month which is the same with April result, says by the National Bureau of Statistics. The PMI utilizes a 100-point scale and a 50 mark that divides contraction against the expansion, it generally serves as an early indicator for China. The struggling factory sector had 10-month consecutive increase as it plays an important part in the Chinese economy while employing a heap of laborers.

A total of 3,000 manufacturers were polled and learned that export orders surge, however, the new orders, in general, remained steady and the global demand should perk up instead of the domestic demand so the index could creep higher. According to further reports, the factory output slid while the job rate accelerated.

Moreover, the official non-manufacturing PMI bounced back to 54.5 on the back of its six-month decline of 54.0 in the past, suggesting an improved strength for the services industry of the world’s second largest economy.

The economic growth of the Republic weakened in 2016 which is the slowest pace for almost 30 years. Nevertheless, in the latest quarter, it was able to gain 6.9 percent due to government expenditures along with the booming of the debt-fueled real estate. The growth is predicted to be unprogressive for the next months with a 6.5 percent expansion target of the government.