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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australians on Thursday cheered new proposed laws that give workers the right to ignore calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours, but some business leaders slammed it as overreach. The “right to disconnect” is part of a raft of changes to industrial relations laws proposed by the federal government …

Australians cheer law giving workers right to ignore after-hours work calls Read More »

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve may have lopped more than $1 trillion off its balance sheet but it’s difficult to envisage a scenario where its bond holdings return to anywhere near pre-pandemic or pre-2008 levels. If several trillion dollars worth of assets held by the Fed effectively act as a permanent …

Get used to bloated Fed balance sheet – it’s here to stay: McGeever Read More »

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook In Beijing’s biggest wholesale food market the butcher blocks are quiet. The lead up to the Lunar New Year should be the busiest season, but pensive consumers are holding back. Thursday’s China price data reflects their reticence. Food prices were the …

Marketmind: China’s deflation worry a bad omen for new year Read More »

By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Brigid Riley (Reuters) – Japanese stocks have started the year strongly and analysts say it could be a signal of further gains and expect the inflows that pushed the Nikkei to three-decade highs will keep coming. Japanese equities received a net 1.16 trillion yen ($7.8 billion) from abroad last month, adding …

Flow rider: January gains portend a winning year for Japan’s Nikkei Read More »

By Qiaoyi Li and Ryan Woo BEIJING(Reuters) -China’s consumer prices fell at their steepest pace in more than 14 years in January while producer prices also dropped, ramping up pressure on policymakers to do more to revive an economy low on confidence and facing deflationary risks. The world’s second-biggest economy has been grappling with slowing …

China’s consumer prices suffer biggest fall since 2009 as deflation risks stalk economy Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is ready to cut rates if consumption falls sharply, a senior official said on Thursday, a day after it kept monetary policy unchanged amid pressure from the government to ease. “If we look at the numbers and private consumption falls sharply and there is a clear change …

Thai central bank ready to cut rates if private consumption falls sharply Read More »

By Promit Mukherjee OTTAWA (Reuters) -Members of the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) governing council were concerned about cutting borrowing costs too soon amid persistent inflation when they decided to keep the key overnight rate on hold on Jan. 24, minutes published on Wednesday showed. The policy-setting governing council was “particularly concerned about the persistence of …

Bank of Canada wary of premature rate cuts as underlying inflation persists Read More »

By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Michael S. Derby (Reuters) – U.S. central bankers want to hold off on cutting interest rates until they have more confidence that inflation is headed down to 2%, and on Wednesday gave a range of reasons for feeling little urgency to start easing policy soon or to move quickly once they …

Fed policymakers signal no rush to cut US interest rates Read More »

By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) – A top Federal Reserve Bank of New York staffer said Wednesday efforts to shrink the size of the central bank’s balance are proceeding smoothly and officials are closely watching for market signals that it’s time to stop the draw down. “Balance sheet reduction has been proceeding as …

Fed balance sheet draw down going well – NY Fed staffer Read More »

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday projected a slightly smaller $1.507 trillion federal deficit for fiscal 2024 as increased revenues from a strong economy and employment offset higher outlays for clean energy tax credits and public debt interest. The CBO said the deficit would dip this year from $1.695 …

U.S. CBO forecasts slightly smaller $1.5 trillion deficit for 2024 Read More »