The yield curve for 3 month and 10 year US treasuries inverted for the first time since 2007. The markets seem a little spooked, with big falls in equities in the US on Friday. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Rodrigo Catril whether this does mean a US recession is imminent or is it “different this time”? They also look at the latest Brexit confusion. With the EU granting a two week stay of execution there’s some question as to whether the Tory government will use that time to replace their leader – perhaps not the most constructive step when time is short. Plus the latest evidence that the downturn in Germany might not be as short lived as had been hoped.
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Chinese slowdown? What slowdown?
China continues to surprise. As NAB’s David de Garis explains, we can add a narrowing US deficit to the list of surprises.
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Lockdowns set to ease, house prices set to rise
Monday 22nd February 2021
Unless you’ve been hiding in a bunker (as many of us have) you’ll be aware that Boris Johnson will be announcing the schedule for the easing of lockdown measures today. Phil Dobbie says most papers this morning already have it planned out, as the UK’s vaccine rollout programme continues at pace and ahead of schedule. He explains why Israel will be an interesting test case in the next few weeks – they have rolled out vaccines quickly too, but also opened up shops and schools immediately afterwards. Have they moved too soon? But there’s one western democracy where vaccines aren’t entirely welcome. Listen in for more. You’ll also hear property expert Russell Quirk’s views on house prices. He says they are going to rise this year, even though many other experts are forecasting a downturn. With interest rate slower for longer, and the potential for inflation when the economy eventually bounces back, isn’t increased housing demand inevitable?
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Ten IT Infrastructure Trends for 2011
The year 2011 will be a year of transformation driven by developments in infrastructure. That’s the view of IDC senior IT industry analyst Trevor Clarke.
