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Japan used $59bn to prop up the yen but consumers may still cut back

Government interventions this week fail to ease concerns about plunging currency When Japanese authorities deployed tens of billions of dollars to try to prop up the weakening yen this week, it was partly with an eye on the growing grumbles from people such as Keiko Shimoharaguchi.   The 60-year-old retired in March looking forward to [...] READ MORE

U.S. job growth totaled 175,000 in April, much less than expected, while unemployment rose to 3.9%

KEY POINTS: Nonfarm payrolls increased by 175,000 on the month, below the 240,000 estimate from the Dow Jones consensus. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9% against expectations it would hold steady at 3.8%. A more encompassing jobless rate edged up, to 7.4%, its highest level since November 2021. Consistent with recent trends, health care [...] READ MORE

Has pay kept up with inflation?

Key takeaways: Different ways of calculating real pay can lead to conflicting conclusions about whether pay has kept up with inflation. This interactive shows changes in real pay using four pay metrics, two inflation measures, and your choice of reference period. The interactive and analysis will be updated as new data are available.   There [...] READ MORE

Top Yen Forecaster Sees Currency Sliding to Lowest Since 1986

Yen may test 165 per dollar level this year, RBC’s Tan says Traders have been selling yen on interest-rate gap with US   The yen may weaken to 165 per dollar despite potential efforts from Japan to halt its decline, according to the currency’s top forecaster.   Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at [...] READ MORE

4 smart reasons to invest in gold this May

You could turn a quick profit if you invest in gold this May. It's never a bad time to review your investments. But at the start of a new month – and against the backdrop of sticky inflation and elevated interest rates – this May is a critical time to do so. One investment that [...] READ MORE

Expect Higher Interest Rates Through the End of 2024. Fed Blames ‘Lack of Progress’ on Inflation

Key takeaways The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday, saying it wants “greater confidence” that inflation is moving sustainably toward the central bank’s 2% goal. Inflation has been higher than expected for the first three months of 2024, squashing hopes that it had been tamed enough to lower interest rates. Even if the Fed [...] READ MORE

Higher interest rates make government debt unviable as an economic solution

The national debt clock in midtown Manhattan in New York City, US, in May 2023. For more than a decade, numerous economists – primarily but not exclusively on the left – have argued that the potential benefits of using debt to finance government spending far outweigh any associated costs. The notion that advanced economies could [...] READ MORE

Chinese Gold Trading EXPLODES

Join Alan Hubbard in today’s update on the massive increase in Chinese gold trading activity. This data is something that has to be seen to believed…what is afoot? Join Alan to hear his thoughts.   Alan Hibbard first became curious about the world of investing in 2007. He studied business at a university during the [...] READ MORE

Fed Chair Jerome Powell Projects Optimism, But Inflation Data Are in the Driver’s Seat

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tried to keep the central bank’s options open Wednesday by sticking with his view that interest rates are restrictive and that inflation was likely to resume its decline.   But a string of disappointing readings on price and wage pressures have led investors to put less weight on the central [...] READ MORE