Mortgage rates are turning higher again, and that was likely behind a major surge in mortgage application volume last week. This often happens at the start of a rising rate cycle, as borrowers realize rates may have hit bottom and rush to get in before they move even higher. Total mortgage application volume rose 9.6% […] Read more
Europe’s real GDP (gross domestic product) for the year is projected to grow at its lowest rate since 2013, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its latest Regional Economic Outlook report, the IMF suggests that real GDP across the continent will moderate to 1.4%, down from 2.3% in 2018, before rebounding to 1.8% […] Read more
China talked up progress on trade with the US on Tuesday, highlighting bulk purchases of American farm products it had already made this year and saying that it was “on the same page” as Washington in negotiations. Asked if the two countries agreed on the degree of progress from two days of high-level talks in […] Read more
The United Kingdom’s sluggish economy looks to have dodged recession in the run-up to its deadline for leaving the European Union this month, official data showed on Thursday. Gross domestic product in the three months to August was 0.3 percent higher than in the previous three months, beating all forecasts in a poll of economists […] Read more
The anti-mask law has thrown the Hong Kong leader’s official programme of talks with the public into doubt, according to political sources, who also revealed that frontline protesters were among those who had attended her closed-door sessions. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has, however, not given up on meeting groups of Hongkongers as a […] Read more
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed less than expected in July as the trade war between the United States and China drags on. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said Wednesday the U.S. international trade deficit came in at $54 billion for July. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the deficit to narrow to $53.48 billion. […] Read more
American and Chinese investors’ appetite to deploy capital into each other’s projects and deals has dropped to a five-year low as trade tensions propelled the decoupling of the two economies. Investment between the United States and China plunged 18 per cent to US$13 billion in the first six months of 2019 and reached the lowest […] Read more
China could learn a lesson for its possible digital currency issuance from the Hong Kong monetary system that allows “commercial entities” to issue banknotes backed by their own private currency assets, former central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said. Zhou, who served as the governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for over 15 years […] Read more
President Donald Trump wouldn’t need to hear much from Chinese officials to at least strike a truce in the trade war between the two sides, a senior administration official told CNBC. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet Saturday at the G-20 meeting in Osaka, Japan, with expectations running high that the […] Read more
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard wanted his fellow central bankers to approve an “insurance” rate cut at this week’s meeting as a guard against weaker growth and low inflation. In a statement Friday, Bullard explained his vote against the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged. He was the […] Read more
