Macro Horizons covers the main macroeconomic and policy news events affecting foreign-exchange, fixed income and equity markets around the world, as selected by editors in New York, London and Hong Kong.
WRAP: Chinese stocks kept falling overnight, notwithstanding Beijing's efforts to shore up investor sentiment by loosening margin restrictions. Could it be that China is starting to see diminishing returns from ever larger dollops of credit? In which case the whole economy runs the risk of a serious wobble. Greece, meanwhile, continues to capture the headlines. The latest signs are that the Syriza government will pull back from the precipice following Sunday's referendum. A "yes" vote to creditor demands will trigger immediate agreement--if the deal is still on offer. But a "no" vote also is likely to result in Greek capitulation, given insistence on both sides that an agreement was really close. Still, Europe's central bankers aren't taking any risks. The European Central Bank expanded the number of institutions" bonds eligible for its asset purchase program, while Sweden's Riksbank eased policy again. But the major macro event of the day will most likely be the latest U.S. monthly employment report, brought forward a day by tomorrow's public holiday. Analysts expect continued good news on the jobs front.
GREECE: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that if Greeks voted "yes" in the upcoming referendum, he would resign. He also said the two sides were close, and that the Syriza government would abide by any referendum resolution.
It looks like the Greek government is backtracking fast. By saying Syriza's position isn't far from its creditors', Mr. Varoufakis seems to be telling people they might as well vote "yes," notwithstanding the prime minister's position has been "no." In a nutshell, having taken Greece to the edge, the Syriza government seems to have decided it doesn't like the looks of the rocks below. Greeks want to stay in the euro. Notwithstanding the country's massive debt load, Greece's actual debt service is considerably more modest than that of other eurozone economies. The question now is whether a "yes" vote would prompt early general elections and whether Greeks would elect a government more palatable to the country's creditors.
CHINA: Chinese equities continued to fall despite the government's efforts to shore up confidence by relaxing rules on borrowing to buy shares.
The Chinese government is starting to worry about the impact of fast deflating equities. What happens depends on whether Beijing wants a controlled descent from the past years' massive ramp up or to stop further falls. It could always direct government funds to be buyers of last resort. At some point though, it will find it ever harder to manage the slowdown in China's economy with ever greater provisions of credit.
SWEDEN: The Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, cut its repo rate to -0.35% from -0.25% and increased its bond-purchase program.
Worries about what sort of impact a Greek withdrawal from the euro might have on the single-currency region, on top of persistently low inflation and a strong currency, prompted the Swedish central bank to ease policy again, pushing its key repo rate more negative and expanding its QE program. Whether it boosts consumer price inflation or merely feeds through to ever higher house prices is another question. The Swedes place a great deal of confidence in macroprudential measures preventing domestic asset bubbles.
EUROZONE: The European Central Bank expands eligibility criteria for its bond-purchase program to include more government agencies.
With the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro, the ECB is taking no chances of market fallout. So, amid hints that it could increase its monthly asset purchases or lengthen the period, the ECB has expanded its eligibility criteria for whose bonds they can buy to include yet more government agencies, including quasi-corporates. This should ensure a speedier injection of funds into the real economy, according to one analyst.
GERMANY: First-quarter wages rose 2.5% in real terms on the year.
Low inflation pushed German wage gains to the biggest increase since records began in 2008. That has helped to underpin solid consumer demand. But given German unemployment is also at its lowest since reunification, wage pressures arguably ought to be even stronger.
AUSTRALIA: May trade deficit was A$2.75 billion against A$2.2 billion expected and from A$4.14 billion in April.
A drop in capital goods imports and an uptick in raw goods narrowed Australia's monthly trade deficit from April's record. With the Chinese economy struggling, export growth will continue to be difficult, so Australians will have to slice their imports by more to get the deficit under control.
JAPAN: Three-year inflation expectations by businesses fell to 1.5% from 1.6% in the latest Bank of Japan quarterly survey.
Corporate Japan isn't convinced the Bank of Japan's efforts will succeed in driving the country's inflation rate higher. Given that the expectations channel is a prime mechanism through which quantitative easing is meant to work, that isn't such great news for the BOJ, which is committed to hitting a 2% CPI target over the medium term. More QE?
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 02, 2015 06:31 ET (10:31 GMT)
#FX
#Forex
#SaleForex
#SaleForex
#MacroHorizons
#ChinaWobbles
#GreeceResolved
#EuroZone
#Germany
#Australia
#Japan
0 Response to "Macro Horizons: China Wobbles, But Will Greece Be Resolved? "
Thanks for give comment.