Good morning and welcome to Money Minute, your comprehensive preview of this week’s biggest financial stories.
The ongoing spread of the coronavirus and the resultant slide in markets will overshadow the majority of this week’s economic data releases, much of which will date back to before the virus disruption kicked in.
However, there are some key events that will give investors some insight into how the authorities are reacting to the panic.
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The Reserve Bank of Australia makes its latest decision on interest rates on Tuesday. The central bank is seen as unlikely to cut the key Australian interest rate from its current all-time low of 0.75%. That’s because Australian economic data has been neither amazing – nor terrible – in recent months.
However, given the Australian economy’s dependence on China, it’s hard to believe that the coronavirus won’t hurt its economic growth. As a result, a cut at some point in the near future seems likely, and it might be signalled at the latest meeting.
Later the same day we get a raft of news from the eurozone, including employment data and inflation figures, plus the latest update on GDP growth for last year. The data will mainly be useful for gauging how vulnerable the eurozone is to any pending coronavirus-related slowdown.
In the US on Friday, we get the latest nonfarm payrolls data. This will give us an idea of how many jobs the US economy added in the past month. Markets typically pay a great deal of attention to these figures, because of the implications for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy. However, with the coronavirus occupying much more of everyone’s attention, the jobs data may be deemed less important than usual.
Finally, we also get UK house price data from the Halifax. No doubt there will still be evidence of a Boris Bounce lifting prices. The question is whether we’ll see an offsetting Corona Crunch later in the year.
Have a good week!
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UK wages grow at a record paceThe latest UK wages data will add pressure on the BoE to push interest rates even higher.
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Trapped in a time of zombie governmentIt’s not just companies that are eking out an existence, says Max King. The state is in the twilight zone too.
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America is in deep denial over debtThe downgrade in America’s credit rating was much criticised by the US government, says Alex Rankine. But was it a long time coming?
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UK economy avoids stagnation with surprise growthGross domestic product increased by 0.2% in the second quarter and by 0.5% in June
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Bank of England raises interest rates to 5.25%The Bank has hiked rates from 5% to 5.25%, marking the 14th increase in a row. We explain what it means for savers and homeowners - and whether more rate rises are on the horizon
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UK wage growth hits a record highStubborn inflation fuels wage growth, hitting a 20-year record high. But unemployment jumps
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UK inflation remains at 8.7% ‒ what it means for your moneyInflation was unmoved at 8.7% in the 12 months to May. What does this ‘sticky’ rate of inflation mean for your money?
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VICE bankruptcy: how did it happen?Was the VICE bankruptcy inevitable? We look into how the once multibillion-dollar came crashing down.
