US stocks and gold rally after the Senate voted overnight to end the longest-ever US Government shutdown. New Zealand’s economy is stirring back to life. And Australian unemployment is expected to fall, slightly.
In our Deep-Dive interview, ANZ FX Analyst Kausani Basak explains why the Philippines peso has weakened through a key level in recent weeks and why ongoing weakness is likely.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
US stocks and gold rallied overnight after eight Democratic senators voted last night with Republicans to resume paying federal workers, until January at least. ANZ Senior International Economist Tom Kenny says a factor breaking the 40-day-long stalemate was an escalation in delays at US airports ahead of Thanksgiving.
Tom says the longest-ever US shutdown may cost around US$5 billion in lost output over time.
ANZ New Zealand’s Chief Economist Sharon Zollner has noticed a change of tone about the economy in chats with business leaders around the country. After years of surprisingly weak retail sales and construction, there are signs of life, she says.
Sharon says the construction sector, in part appears to be turning in particular, with consents 15% above where they were a year ago.
Australia is expected to report on Thursday that unemployment fell slightly to 4.4% in October from 4.5% in September, with monthly jobs growth flat at 15,000, says ANZ economist Aaron Luk.
Cheers,
Bernard.
PS: Catch you tomorrow tomorrow with a look at what the Fed thinks about how AI is changing the economy.
