Eurozone Undoubtedly Is Weighing

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review The Story of Moderate Growth Continues To Unfold Personal income figures for November indicated that personal income rose a meager 0.1 percent. Personal spending rose slightly for the month supported in part by consumers choosing to save less. Housing starts came in better than expected in November as unusually warm weather and possible seasonal adjustment factors helped to boost the headline number. The final estimate of third quarter GDP indicated that the economy grew at a 1.8 percent pace in the that quarter on news that healthcare consumption fell. Stronger Home Building Activity Supports Q4 Growth The majority of economic indicators focused on the housing market this week with the release of housing starts and ...

Forex News and Events: The shock downgrade of New Zealand’s credit rating by Fitch not only made the number of countries with a triple-A rating one smaller today, but it also came as a rude reminder to the markets that economic strife is not wholly limited to the Eurozone. Greece’s woes and in turn Europe’s dreadfully disjointed attempts to address the crisis have hogged the spotlight and the media pages for most of the past few weeks, leaving the discussion of risks elsewhere sorely neglected. The impact on New Zealand’s currency has been relatively limited taking into consideration the moves in most commodities currencies this morning, and indeed the country’s headline equity index, the NZX 50, has actually posted strong gains today of 1.3%. However, the lingering effect of Fitch’s ...