Monday 23rd March 2020
US equities continued to fall at the end of the week, even though Australia and Europe saw a brief reprieve. But NAB’s Tapas Strickland says it’s likely prices will fall further as more countries and regions go into lockdown, including almost a third of the US population. Phil Dobbie asks whether the US’s slow response to an effective fiscal response is hurting markets over there, what’s now driving an upward move in bond prices, and whether more uncertainty will drive even more investors to the safety of US treasuries. A question being asked repeatedly is how long will this go on for, and how deep will be the impact?
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Who controls interest?
Interest rates are going up. I ask Steve Keen if it’s a good idea in this environment, and what if you took this key instrument away from central banks and interest rates never changed?
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Aussie dollar dips lower as risk sentiment rises
The Aussie dollar has been hit hard by global uncertainty? NAB’s Ray Attrill is asked whether the prediction of 74 US cents by the year end still stands.
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Mobile termination rates: distorted by fixed line callers?
The ACCC has asked the industry to comment on proposed changes to the rate carriers charge each other to complete calls on their mobile networks. Crosstalk looks at how these charges are distorted by Telstra’s fixed line charges.
