Here's my summary of the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news of strong house building in the US.
Today is the news for other than the Fed decision. We will have a separate report on that when it is available after 8:30am this morning.
There were other things going on in the world, and that included American housing start data which rose a stunning 22% in November above its October level. In fact, it is now at its highest level in nearly six years. Residential building consent data also came in above expectations.
In China, the country’s biggest Bitcoin exchange stopped taking deposits in the Chinese currency, sending the price of Bitcoins tumbling in one of its biggest markets globally. There is even talk of 'panic selling'.
Going the other way, average prices of new homes in 70 Chinese cities rose to another fresh high. Demand remains strong despite the government's efforts to cool the market.
In Japan they reported their biggest November trade deficit on record as imports climbed more than 20% from a year earlier, because consumers are buying ahead of a sales-tax increase next April. The Bank of Japan is also talking about doing even more bond buying (QE).
In Australia, the Government there has announced a AU$100 mln package to create jobs for Holden workers, but also announced it will end so-called corporate welfare and resist corporate rent-seeking.
And finally, the size of China's aluminium over-capacity has become apparent overnight with some amazing figures announced. Even with 20% of its existing industry idle, it is adding major new capacity, and taking out relatively little. The world-wide aluminium industry is facing a very bleak future and prices will plummet.
All the major commodities and financial instruments are pretty much marking time ahead of the Fed announcement.
The NZ dollar starts today at 82.2 USc, 92.6 AUc, and the TWI is unchanged at 77.5.
The easiest place to stay up with today's event risk is by following our Economic Calendar here »
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2 Comments
Re Aluminium ... A lot of good news about , but the Gold price fall last week will affect marginal mines like the Waihe operations in the future and the aluminium story is not a good one at all .
What a pity Scwartz made the fundamental mistake of counting the underwriting planet as an 'externality'.
I had a chat with a Professor the other day - claimed that you could easily have a 'steady state economy' - all you needed was a steady dividend.
That report is in the same category. My discussion-partner failed to assess the resources underwriting the dividend, including pollution. The report fails in the same manner - but in another; there are an increasing number of younger folk in the First World, who are choosing to limit their number of offspring because they realise we're in overshoot.
If Schwartz overlaid that as a question, I'd suggest the trend would fall off the further down the socio-economic scale you went. 8-kid families are probably not represented outside of South Auckland.
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