Podcasts about UST

On this week's show we find you the best Black Friday deals for your home theater, well at least at the time of recording. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. News: YouTube TV and Disney reach agreement to restore channels Disney+ and Hulu near 200 million combined subscribers New Study Finds 38% Of Respondents View TV With Speaker Sound Off Content Discovery Still a Challenge for Streamers Other: ONKYO - Adding Internet Radio Stations Bright Side Home Theater MOVEMBER MEGA RAFFLE 2025 Movember Raffle — Bright Side Home Theater Black Friday 2025 Each year we go through the Black Friday ads from various stores and list items. It's a long list and can be tedious to listen to. So this year we decided to search out what we thought were the best deals on various items for your Home Theater and Smart Home. This year many retailers are not releasing their sales until the last minute and since we are recording one week before Black Friday our list may be missing a few items that pop up later. But here is our early list of things we think you will be interested in: The standout deal for the largest screen size at the lowest price is the 98-inch TCL Q Series 4K QLED Google TV at Walmart for $998 (down from $1,798, saving $800). This is a 2025 model with premium features like 144Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, and Google TV smart platform—making it ideal for movies, gaming, and streaming without breaking the bank under $1,000. Hisense has a slightly more expensive model that hits that magic 100" mark.  The 100-inch Hisense QLEDs (priced between $1,000–$1,200) delivers the biggest diagonal size for the cheapest absolute dollar amount right now. Deals can fluctuate or sell out quickly, so check often and lock in your price. The Best soundbar deal with dolby ATMOS we have seen so far is the Samsung HW-Q990D 11.1.4-Channel Soundbar System at $1,000 (save $1,000 off $2,000 MSRP) at Best Buy. It's praised as the "best Dolby Atmos soundbar system" for its massive scale, precise 3D sound, and gaming features (4K/120Hz HDMI). At 50% off, it outperforms pricier competitors in value and power (656W total). If you want something more compact, the JBL Bar 1300X ($1200) edges it for portability. The Govee Holiday sale starts November 20th at Amazon. We don't know what the savings will be but Ara owns some Govee light strips and is very pleased with them. They support Matter and can be installed permanently outdoors.  The best deal on a Samsung high end TV is the Samsung S95F OLED for 2025, known for being bright, vivid colors, deep blacks, and excellent motion handling, this TV is ideal for bright rooms or mixed use. It includes the NQ4 AI Gen2 processor for 4K upscaling, four HDMI 2.1 ports, and Tizen OS with free channels and cloud gaming.  Current Black Friday deal: 65" for  $2,298 at Amazon (save $700 from $2,998)—matches the all-time low. There are 77 and 83 inch models for $3500 and $5000 respectively. The Best Deal on high end wireless speakers the Kef LS50 Wireless II ($2000) is more than a high-performance loudspeaker; it's the perfect all-in-one speaker system, streaming from any source thanks to wireless compatibility with AirPlay 2, Google Cast and more, plus wired connections for your TV, games console and turntable. Great sound, no strings attached. If you are looking for a gift for the Home Theater enthusiast in your life, and that may mean you buy it for yourself. Check out The Home Theater Store. They are running a black friday sale on seating, decor, and accessories. Some examples include popcorn machines starting at $40 and going all the way up to $2000. With savings up to $600. They also have sound panels normally priced at $750 on sale for $500.  The Best deal on the Ring Battery Doorbell is $50 at Amazon. And as long as we are here. THis deal is crazy! Two Blink Mini 2 Home Security & Pet Cameras with HD video, color night view, motion detection, two-way audio, and built-in spotlight for $28! The best overall deal on an OLED TV is the LG 77" C5 Series OLED evo AI 4K UHD Smart webOS TV (2025 model) at $1,999.99 at Bestbuy (down from $3,699.99—a $1,700 savings, or 46% off). The LG OLED evo C5 is powered by the next-gen Alpha 9 Gen8 AI Processor —exclusively made for LG OLED—for ultra-realistic picture and sound along with boosted brightness for luminosity and high contrast, even in well-lit rooms. Dolby Vision for extraordinary color, contrast and brightness, plus Dolby Atmos for immersive sound you can feel all around you. FILMMAKER MODE allows you to see films just as the director intended. Packed with gaming features, the LG OLED evo C-Series comes with everything you need to win like a 0.1ms response time, native 120Hz refresh rate, with VRR for PC gaming and four HDMI 2.1 inputs. AWOL Vision LTV-3000 Pro 4K Laser Projector, (I found a better deal at Amazon after we recorded. $2300!!) has a compact ultra-short-throw (UST) model that transforms any wall or table into a massive, vibrant cinema screen without the bulk of a traditional TV setup. Unlike standard projectors that require dark rooms and precise mounting, this one projects up to 150 inches from just inches away, with built-in speakers delivering Dolby Audio and a sleek, furniture-like design that blends into your space. Priced at $2,999 (down from $3,999—a $1,000 savings with discount code obtained at the AWOL site) A killer deal on an AVR is the Denon AVR-X2700H for $680. At this price it would have made our list of best AV receivers for enthusiasts. It has 95W per channel, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats for up to 5.1.2 setups, Audyssey room calibration. It features 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz video passthrough with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR, and HDMI 2.1 connectivity, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and voice control via Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.  The best deal on a no-frills subwoofer that packs a punch is the Klipsch Reference R-121SW ($350 at Walmart regular price $650). 400W peak power, 29-120Hz response, front-firing port for room-filling punch; ideal for movies/gaming. Compact at 16"H x 14"W. Known for it's "chest-thumping" bass without the boominess. Perfect starter upgrade for under $350. The craziest 50-Inch TV Deal we have seen is the Insignia 50" Class F50 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV at $169.99 at Best Buy. Is this a great TV? No but it's shockingly good value with Alexa voice control, built-in Fire TV streaming, and DTS Virtual:X audio for immersive sound without extra speakers. Picture quality is decent for bright rooms. Home Depot has great deals on Nest Thermostats. Some deals are active now and others on Black Friday. We are reading that Home Depot will have the Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) available for $199. It's regularly priced at $279. Check out their site for more BLACK FRIDAY DEALS FROM GOOGLE SMART HOME.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with markets investors are looking sceptically at restarted US data and the outstanding Nvidia result.First, the American initial jobless claims reporting has restarted, and they say 216,700 new people filed for these benefits last week, up from 214,000 in the same week a year ago. There are now 1.727 mln people on these benefits, up from 1.66 mln a year ago and the highest since 2021.And for the record, they released their September non-farm payrolls report overnight too, claiming +119,000 new jobs created in the month. The non-seasonally adjusted data records a rise from the same month a year earlier of +1.2 mln, the least year-on-year rise since the pandemic. The related wage growth data was weak. And they also announced that they will not be releasing an October report.Meanwhile, the Philly Fed factory survey for October weakened again, including for factory orders. Inflation pressures were reported as higher. Despite all this extended depressed state, these firms say they are optimistic about the future.It was the inverse story for the same report from the Kansas City Fed. Current conditions were mildly positive and stable, cost pressures eased, but future prospects are less enthusiastic. New order levels dipped here too, but only slightly.In Canada, their October PPI came in +6.0% higher than year-ago levels, a rise. They may be surviving the trade war punishment from the US, but it is coming with higher costs.In Taiwan, their October export orders rose +25% from the same month a year ago. As high as that is, it just continues the stellar expansion they have reported all year.In China, they say they are going to extend their trade-in subsidy program, to keep their modest consumer spending levels underpinned.And as widely anticipated, the People's Bank of China kept its key lending rates at record lows for a sixth consecutive month in November. But there is increasing talk that they will be [pressured into reducing them at some stage to weigh against below-target growth.In Europe, German producer prices fell in October, down -1.8% from the same month a year ago.In Australia, the IMF told them that they should hike their GST, abandon their tax cuts, and spend more carefully if it wants to keep a fiscally sustainable economy.And Australia released its GDP by State (they call it GSP). On a real basis for the year to June 2025, NSW expanded +0.9%, Victoria by +1.1%, Queensland by +2.2%, South Australia by +1.0% and Western Australia by +1.3% from the equivalent 2023/24 year. The national rise was +1.4%. But on a per capita basis, only Queensland and Tasmania recorded gains. Nationally it was a -0.3% decline per capita.Global freight rates for container cargoes were unchanged over the past week, to sit -46% lower than year ago levels. But the weekly change masks rising outbound China to Europe rates, while outbound China to the US rates are falling. Meanwhile, bulk cargo freight rates rose +11% over the past week and are now +39% higher than a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.11%, unchanged from this time yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$4055/oz, and down -US$16 from this time yesterday.American oil prices have softened another -50 USc from yesterday to be just under US$59/bbl, with the international Brent price little-changed and still under US$63.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56 USc, and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 86.8 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at 48.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 60.7, and little-changed from yesterday, and still its lowest since July 2009.The bitcoin price starts today at US$87,411 and down another -2.4% from yesterday and -11% below year-ago levels. In fact, it is falling as we publish. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with markets are even more skittish today, with key activity moving into bond markets even at higher yields.First, American mortgage applications fell back last week and by their most since late September. Fears about rising interest rates are getting the blame as it sinks in that highish inflation isn't going away. Refinance activity was the hardest hit. Still, it and purchase application levels remain well above year-ago levels.There was also official data released overnight, old catchup data for the US trade balance for both goods and services. That came in at the expected -US$50 bln deficit for August, exports flat, imports also flat. That was slightly better than August 2024 but almost identical to August 2023.And there will be no October jobs report from the US. It has been cancelled, officially because they "couldn't collect some data", but more likely because it would have delivered news the White House didn't want.Meanwhile reports circulate that the US is not only rolling back tariff-taxes on food imports, it is also close to rolling them back on steel and aluminium, maybe like the food rollback, somewhat selectively.The latest US Treasury 20 year bond auction raised US$17.8 bln at a median yield of 4.65%, up from 4.46% at the prior equivalent auction a month ago.The US Fed minutes of their last meeting on October 30 are due to be released at 8AM NZT. There is intense interest in these, more so because Trump as one acolyte in on the meetings pushing for [dangerous] rate cuts. If there is important stuff that emerges, we will update this item here.In Japan, September machinery orders rose a better-than-expected +11.6% from the same month a year earlier, up an impressive +4.2% from August. (This result is not twisted by large, volatile items like for ships or major infrastructure machinery such as electric power plants. That would have pushed the rise even higher.) Export orders were particularly notable.And Japan's 10-year government bond yield rose above 1.77% on Wednesday, a 17-year high. A year ago it was at 1.06%. The recent climb comes ahead of a crucial ¥800 bln debt auction (US$5.1 bln) that could indicate investor appetite signals. That is important because the new Takaichi government plans major debt-financed stimulus which is raising fiscal concerns.Meanwhile, China has raised US$8.6 bln in USD and EUR bonds. While that is a lot for them, it pales compared to the US$234 bln that was bidIn Malaysia, they are still an export powerhouse with October exports up +15.7% from a year ago and to a record high, imports up +11.2%, also a record high, resulting in a larger positive trade balance than expected. In fact, they haven't run a trade deficit in any month since the pandemic.As expected, the Indonesian central bank left its policy rate unchanged yesterday at 4.75%.In Australia, payroll costs rose pretty much as expected in the September quarter. They were up +3.4% year-on-year in Q3 2025, unchanged from the previous quarter. Public sector wages increased +3.8%, slightly above the +3.7% rise in Q2, while private sector wages grew by +3.2%, easing from +3.4% previously. (Overall, total wages and salaries for all employees rose +5.3% for the year to September, boosted by an expanding workforce.)The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.11%, down -3 bps from this time yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$4071/oz, and up +US$10 from this time yesterday.American oil prices have softened -50 USc from yesterday to be just under US$59.50/bbl, with the international Brent price down to under US$63.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56 USc, and down -60 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -30 bps at 86.7 AUc. Against the euro we are down -40 bps at 48.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 60.7, and down -50 bps from yesterday, to its lowest since July 2009.And we probably should note that the NZD has now fallen below 4 Chinese renminbi for the first time in three years.The bitcoin price starts today at US$89,524 and down a sharp -4.2% from yesterday and well lower than year-ago levels. In fact, it is falling as we publish. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news risk aversion is the theme of the day for investors who seem particularly jittery about AI valuations, crypto prices, and the prospects for the US economy.But first, we start today with the results of another full dairy auction, and they aren't good. Not so much because the overall result was down -3.0% in USD terms, more because that makes it seven declines in a row from early August, taking the cumulative drop to -13%. And the recent retreats seem to be getting more intense. We now have prices lower than year-ago levels. And the decline in USD is being matched by the decline in NZD now, down -2.9% in this latest event.Clearly analysts will be dusting off their current season payout forecasts because they are risk of being downgraded. Behind the softness is a faster-than-expected rise in dairy production levels due to good weather conditions globally. That is as true for New Zealand as anywhere, where milk production is rising. The pointy end of this pressure is the butter price, and that dropped -7.6% at this latest auction. WMP was down a lesser -1.9%, SMP down only -0.6%.In the US, the ADP weekly payrolls report delivered another drop, the one for the week to November 1 not as sharp as the prior week however. This data suggests the US labour market lost momentum in late October, with a number of large companies announcing job cuts during the month, including Amazon and Target.Official data releases are being restarted in the US, but the data is old now. Overnight they said August factory orders rose to be +2.0% higher than year-ago levels. But because this is not inflation-adjusted and the past US PPI rise was +2.6%, it probably means shrinkage in real terms. There has been no indication this things have improved from August.And restarted official jobless claims data is only for October 18, but it rose then to +232,000 and above the expected level of +223,000. Continuing claims were a touch under 2 mln (1.96 mln) and notably above the 1.85 mln in the same week in 2024.The US NAHB housing market index came in essentially unchanged for October from September and -17% lower than year-ago levels. But they will be pleased it didn't drop back.Yesterday we reported a good improvement for factories in the New York region. But today the report for the very much bigger services sector in the same region has remained very negative.We could perhaps note that the Atlanta Fed monitors home loan affordability for the US is a similar way we do for New Zealand. They say that in September 2025, 43% of take-home pay was required to service an American mortgage and that is 'unaffordable'. They say affordability starts when it is 30% or less. (Our New Zealand September HLA was 33.0%.)In Canada, housing starts dropped sharply in October to their lowest in six month and to levels lower than the same month a year agoThe Australian central bank released the minutes of its last meeting on November 4 yesterday, closely-watched because they have rising inflation and a relatively strong labour market. But they downplayed both aspects, calling them 'slight' and expecting them to be transitory. Policy was still viewed as slightly restrictive, and the board saw “no need to adjust” the cash rate. They said patience was deemed appropriate while assessing spare capacity, labour trends, and policy stance. Scenarios supporting a hold included stronger demand, lower supply capacity, or a view that policy was no longer restrictive. Conversely, further easing could be warranted if labour conditions weaken or growth disappoints. Basically, you don't learn anything by reading these minutes.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.14%, up +1 bp from this time yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$4061/oz, and down -US$6 from this time yesterday.American oil prices have softened very slightly from yesterday to be just under US$60/bbl, with the international Brent price down -50 USc to US$64/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.6 USc, and down -10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 87 AUc. Against the euro we are also little-changed at 48.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.2, and down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$93,460 and down -0.4% from yesterday and it is still lower than year-ago levels. At one point in the past 24 hours it dipped below US$90,000. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news there are more twists and turns in international trade to report today.But first in the US, the NY Empire factory survey came in positively in November, on the back of a good rise in new orders. But they got a similar jump in November 2024, and this latest 2025 result is -7.5% lower than that.In Canada their inflation rate dipped slightly in October to 2.2% from 2.4% in September, and far less than the 3.0% and rising inflation rate last reported in their southern neighbour. Canadian petrol prices fell sharply, and the steam seems to have gone out of their grocery prices.Meanwhile, foreign investors are finding Canadian securities attractive, raising theri holdings sharply. They increased them by +C$31.3 bln in September, an unusual spike for a month that usually attracts only modest levels. Canadians themselves are choosing local securities increasingly too, in a substantial out-of-cycle rise of their own.In China, there is increasing talk that the weekend's very soft economic data will bring rate cuts to their loan prime rates when they are next reviewed on Thursday, even a cut in their reserve ratio requirement of banks. Both are currently at record low levels already.In something of a big positive surprise, Singapore's October non-oil exports rose sharply to S$17.2 bln, up more than +23% from year-ago levels up +15% from September. That is up from the +7% rise in September. Their non-oil exports to Thailand rose a massive +91%, to Taiwan a massive +61%, to South Korea by +38%. Going the other way, their exports to the US dropped -12%, and to both China and Japan were virtually unchanged.India exports fell almost -12% in October from a year ago, but Indian imports surged more than +16% in the same month. Indian exports to the US fell notably. That has resulted in a huge merchandise trade deficit blowout of -US$41.7 bln and by far and away their largest trade deficit. Fortunately they run trade surpluses for services, but even after than it was still a record -US$22 bln deficit and more than double year-ago levels.And we should note that aluminium prices, which are already very high, are likely to rise further on tight supply. Rio Tinto is adding surcharges on shipments to the US, where prices are globally elevated anyway due to tariffs, due to the supply shortage and the need for American to have to pay to get the product. That cascades through to consumer prices and inflation. These cost increases will be particularly troublesome for US-made cars.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.13%, down -2 bps from this time yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$4067/oz, and down -US$14 from this time yesterday.American oil prices have held from yesterday to be just over US$60/bbl, with the international Brent price still just under US$64.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.7 USc, and down -10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 87.1 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at 48.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.3, and also little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$93,687 and down -0.5% from yesterday and it is now lower than year-ago levels. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.5%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news inflation is rising more quickly in one large economy, the US, and policymakers and financial markets are getting skittish.Firstly, this week will be dominated by the Reserve Bank of Australia's release of the minutes of its November 5 meeting. There will be intense interest on their views of inflation risks. Then the US Fed will release the minutes of its October 30 meeting and observers will be looking for similar clues.Locally we will get another full dairy auction, and trade data this week, preceded this morning by the REINZ October results at 9am.Trade, inflation and PMI data will be coming from a range of countries. From the US, we await how they will be catching up with their official data releases. There will be the usual prosaic private sector data releases but the new weekly ADP employment data will bring intense interest, as will some earnings reports, especially from Nvidia.There will be little major data this coming week from China, because they released most of it this past weekend. And that was headlined by an big unexpected negative surprise from their fixed asset investment data. They said it fell -1.7% for the year to October. But that belies a huge -11% drop in the month from the same month a year earlier. For a country as large as China, that is a mammoth and sudden shift. The really large decrease was in the industrial northeast region. And it is puzzling analysts, especially in the light of the electricity data surge. Perhaps a clue is in this factoid in their data release: "fixed asset investment by foreign-invested enterprises decreased by 12.1%". The slump raises important questions about the health of their domestic demand which is still over-reliant on exporting. The internal economy still hasn't gotten over the real estate slump and the resulting defensive change in attitudes by their consumers.China's new home prices in October across their 70 major cities were unchanged from September, officially, but dropped -2.2% from the same month a year ago. This was the same year-on-year decline they had in September. Most analysts expected a lesser decline of -2.0%. Seven of the 70 cities posited modest year-on-year price gains. None posted any gains for resales.Meanwhile, China's retail sales held up better than expected, up +2.9% from a year ago with better holiday spending. Their official industrial production was up +4.9% from a year ago in October, a rather large easing in their 6.0% September growth rate.China's electricity production fell in October, but that was less than expected and less that the usual seasonal pattern so it was up an unusually large +7.9% from a year ago. That may have something to do with the electricity appetite by AI infrastructure.In India, bank loan growth stayed very high in October to easily a new record, even if the percentage rise wasn't as high as September. That is now three consecutive months where new debt has risen by more than +11% from the same month a year ago.In Canada, they released some September data over the weekend and it was quite positive. Their manufacturing sales rose +2.7% real, and their wholesale trade rose +0.6% real, both from August. Year-on-year it isn't so positive although manufacturing sales are almost back to those levels (-0.8%) after being down -4.1% in May. Both data sets indicate remarkable resilience, and their fast transition even after being dumped-on capriciously by the US.And there was some interesting data out over the weekend from the EU, where their trade surplus rose to +€19 bln in September. That was its best in five months and +50% better that year ago results. Driving the gains were exports to the US and the UK, offset somewhat by imports from India and Mexico. Imports from the US rose too but at a slower pace than the export activity. Imports from South Korea fell sharply. Trade activity with China was little-changed although it remains deeply negative (that is, more imports from China than exports to China).In the US there are clear signs investors are getting quite skittish about the risks of bonds tied to AI companies. Don't forget bonds have priority over equities, so the dive for insurance on bonds isn't a great sign. Bloomberg is reporting the demand for credit default swaps is surging for these bonds and they cite what is happening in Oracle's case. A surge in debt is expected to flood debt markets soon as these AI companies ramp up funding of their plans.And there is the news that Trump is now rolling back some of his tariff-taxes, because even he can see they have caused household inflation and the 'affordability crisis' he is being blamed for. US inflation pressure is moving the dial in money markets. The chance of a Fed rate cut on December 11 (NZT) is fading, and quite quickly, as professional traders scale back the bets on a cut rather sharply.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.15%, up another +1 bp from Saturday at this time up +7 bps for the week.The price of gold will start today at US$4081/oz, and down -US$17 from this time yesterday. That is up +US$17 for the week.American oil prices have held from Saturday to be just over US$60/bbl, with the international Brent price now just under US$64.50/bbl, up less than +US$1 from a week ago.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.8 USc, and unchanged from Saturday, up +60 bps from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 86.9 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 48.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.3, little-changed from yesterday, up +60 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$94,374 and down another -1.5% from yesterday. That is its lowest since May 2025 and down -8.9% for the week. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that we have unexpectedly weak data from China and unexpectedly strong data from Australia.But first in the US, it is back to work for their Federal government after the record 43 day shutdown impasse ends - at least until January 30 when the current deal needs renewal again. Missed official data releases there may in fact be skipped, so there may not be a catch-up until the next scheduled releases.Meanwhile, American companies continue with their big job cuts.Across the Pacific in China, their new yuan loan levels for October came in unexpectedly weak. They dropped sharply to just ¥220 bln, down from ¥1.3 tln in September and ¥500 bln in October last year. Markets had expected ¥500 bln, so the actual data underscores the continued weakness in credit demand. To put it in perspective, apart from July's unusual dip, this October result is their weakest of any month in at least ten years.After a disappointing retreat in August, EU industrial production bounced back far less in September than expected. It is now only +1.2% higher (real) than a year ago, less than the expected +2.1% rise most analysts had anticipated. They will be disappointed, but for them at least it is still growing in real terms.In Australia, they delivered another very strong set of employment data with jobs expanding by +42,200 and full time jobs expanding by +55,300. Their jobless rate fell more than expected to 4.2% (NZ is 5.3%.) This, along with inflation above target, will have the RBA thinking hard about their December 9 cash rate target which is currently 3.6%. Aussie bond yields spiked higher on the news, taking the NZGB yields up with them.Australian consumer inflation expectations slipped slightly to 4.5% in November from 4.8% in October, the lowest reading since August. Actual CPI inflation in September came in at 3.5%.Also in Australia, the opposition Liberal Party has dumped its commitment to net zero policies, a capitulation that will likely isolate it further from the electorate. It will now really struggle to hold its big city electorates from spirited challenges by teal candidates. In an odd 'compromise' they committed to staying in the Paris Agreement, but without Net Zero that is just greenwashing which will fool no-one. We are probably witnessing the demise of a political party that once was their 'natural' governing political force. Australia will now need a proper liberal opposition to Labor, maybe one born out of the teals.Just as the Aussie Liberals were making that Trumpish decision, the IEA released its 2025 World Energy Outlook. It concluded that technology has moved so far so fast that "options to reduce emissions substantially are well understood and, in many cases, cost effective." From here, staying with fossil fuels will come with cost penalties.Globally, freight rates for containerised cargoes dipped -5% this past week mainly on China-US rates, although China-EU rates rose marginally. Overall that makes them -46% lower than year-ago levels. Bulk freight rates are little-changed this week, to be +25% higher than year-ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.10%, up +4 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$4198/oz, up another +US$8 from this time yesterday. It is rising again but it is still below its record US$4350 on October 21, 2025. Silver is moving up too, now at US$53/oz but again still lower than its its recent peak of US$54.50 on October 17, 2025American oil prices have recovered +50 USc from yesterday to be just on US$59/bbl, with the international Brent price now over US$63/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.7 USc, and up +10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have held at 86.6 AUc. Against the euro we are down -10 bps at 48.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 61.2 and little-changed from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$101,032 and down another -0.6% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.5%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news that with the Indian subcontinent on the edge of armed conflict and tit-for-tat terrorist moves and retaliation, the world's economy is ignoring these new risks.First up today, the US House of Representatives is set to vote to end their latest and record-long shutdown, and by the time you read this, have probably approved the compromise. This has seen Wall Street react with a split personality. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen to a new record high. But the broader S&P500 is becalmed, and the Nasdaq is lower. The bond market is more risk-averse. The USD is weakening. Just guessing here, but it seems markets think the shutdown pain was a wasted exercise and the result will be negative for the giant US economy. Rebooting their economy won't be easy.Meanwhile, US mortgage applications were little-changed last week, with the refinance market dipping slightly and the smaller new purchase market rising, actually with a notable increase. This came despite mortgage rates rising in the week.And more Americans than ever are falling behind on their car payments. According to Fitch Ratings, the share of subprime borrowers at least 60 days past due on their car loans rose to 6.65% in October, the highest in data tracking that started in 1994. And selling a used car to pay off the debt won't help. Record numbers of people doing that still owe loan balances after these sales.A well-supported US Treasury 10yr bond auction today brought a median yield of 4.02%, down from 4.06% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.In Canada, there were more positive economic signals. Building consents rose in September from August more than expected, led by multi-family projects in Alberta and Quebec and single-family homes in Ontario. But overall, they were still -8% lower than year-ago levels.In Japan, machine tool orders rose in October by more than +17% from the same month in 2024, driven by a +21% rise in export orders. They would have been happy about the +6% rise in orders from local manufacturers too.In China, residential real estate developers are under pressure to generate cash - again. Meeting year-end sales targets is crucial to hold on to their finance lifelines. So there are not only steep discounts on offer, but other creative incentives, such as "move in, buy later". One Guangzhou developer as a scheme where buyers front with a ¥100,000 deposit (NZ$25,000), move in for one month, and if they are not happy can move out with the only cost being one month's rent.In Malaysia, they have a buoyant retail sector with retail sales rising +7% in September from a year ago, accelerating from the +5% gain in the previous month. It was up +4.3% in volume terms and was their largest increase since January.In India, CPI inflation there has fallen to a record low +0.3% pa, down from +1.4% in September. Driving this is -5% deflation for food. In turn, that was caused by very good food growing conditions and heavy haervests.The RBI has an inflation target range of 2%-6% and this was the third consecutive month it has been below the bottom of that target. They will likely now move to cut their 5.5% policy rate soon, maybe at their next meeting on December 5, 2025.In Australia, the value of new owner-occupier home loan commitments rose +9.8% in September from a year ago. Investment lending for housing soared +18.7% on the same basis to a record high. The housing surge is in full flight of unbridled enthusiasm.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.06%, down -1 bp from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$4190/oz, up another +US$77 from this time yesterday.American oil prices have dropped hard by -US$2.50 higher from yesterday to just on US$58.50/bbl, with the international Brent price just over US$62.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.6 USc, and little-changed from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have dipped -10 bps to 86.6 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 48.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 61.2 and up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$101,589 and down another -1.9% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news economic optimism seems to be on the rise in many places, but not in the world's largest economy.First in the US, not only is the federal government shut down still, but it is Veterans Day, a Federal holiday, although many firms still operate including the NYSE. But the Wall Street bond market is formally closed.The US Senate passed a short-term compromise to end the shutdown impasse, and the lower House is now getting ready to consider the measure and they are likely to go along with it when they vote.Meanwhile the new weekly ADP Employment report recorded a decrease in private payrolls last week, and unexpected softness. Even though this is very new weekly data, it is a key way the US labour market is being monitored now given the temporarily-closed official data agency (and doubts about its partisan leadership).And prospects for the upcoming holiday hiring season seem to have turned gloomy. And it may not only be hiring that will be restrained; prospects for US Black Friday and Thanksgiving holiday retail sales aren't looking too bright as tariff-taxes weigh on the 'bargains'.The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell marginally in October but to a level that is the lowest in six months. These firms say sales increases are harder to find.But across the Pacific in Japan, the October Economy Watchers Survey delivered an upbeat result that was better than expected, not only about current conditions but also the outlook six months ahead.In China, sales data for October shows their car sales rising yet again, up from the high September level to be +8.8% above year-ago levels at 3.3 mln vehicles. NEV sales were again the strongest sector. October sales start the push to the seasonally peak month in December and that will almost certainly come in at a new record month, likely somewhere near 3.8 mln units. That would mean 2025 sales will exceed 35 mln units, almost double that of the US.In Germany, the latest ZEW survey continues the "cautiously optimistic" tone they have had for six month now.In Australia, the Westpac consumer confidence survey was suddenly quite positive, the first positive result since early 2022 and a seven year high. It reported that Christmas spending plans will be less restrained than last year. Consumers think the domestic economy is improving while they think trade risks are subsiding. One group however reported less confidence - those in their 'mortgage belt. They see interest rate risks along with job security risks.Meanwhile, there wasn't the same uplift in business confidence however. The NAB business sentiment survey reported little-change in October, just marginally lower than in September.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.07%, down -4 bps from yesterday at this time after the ADP payroll news.The price of gold will start today at US$4113/oz, up +US$22 from this time yesterday.American oil prices are +US$1.50 higher from yesterday at just on US$61/bbl, with the international Brent price at US$65/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just under 56.6 USc, and up almost +30 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are also +30 bps firmer at 86.7 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 48.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 61.1 and up +20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$103,599 and down -1.5% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the US is moving to end its government shutdown.First, Wall Street has started its week positively with the S&P 500 rising, the Nasdaq rising even more, and the Dow Jones gaining over 240 points as optimism grew that the US Federal government shutdown could soon end. In a procedural vote yesterday, the Senate advanced the first stage of a deal to reopen the government, securing the minimum 60 votes required. Eight Democratic senators broke with party leadership, dropping their key demand for a guaranteed extension of healthcare subsidies. The proposal must still be debated and passed by the Senate and approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where its passage remains quite uncertain. There was a three year US Treasury bond auction earlier today and that delivered a median yield of 3.54%, essentially unchanged from the 3.53% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.In Canada, their market participants survey showed that trade tensions with the US are the key issue driving financial market. Despite that, those surveyed reckoned 2025 will deliver a +1% economic expansion this year and more next year.In Indonesia, there was a good bounce back in consumer sentiment in October after five months of angst. The affordability crisis that played out on some streets seems to have faded somewhat.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.11%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$4092/oz, up +US$92 from this time yesterday and a +2.3% gain on bets the Fed will cut its rates after weak US data. Silver surged +3% to US$50/oz, its highest level since October 20. Precious metals pricing indicates some market participants aren't impressed by the US shutdown progress.American oil prices are down -50 USc from yesterday at just on US$59.50/bbl, with the international Brent price unchanged at US$63.50/bbl. Fundamentally low expected demand is keeping this price low. It is holding at 4 year lows and at levels first seen in 2017.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.3 USc, and unchanged from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are -10 bps lower at 86.4 AUc and a new 12 year low. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 48.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 60.9 and up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$105,120 and up +1.4% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.5%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kajian Kitab Tazkiyatun Nafs hal 14-15 disampaikan oleh Ust. Win Aminuddin Lc

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news Chinese data released over the weekend indicates their domestic economy is holding its own, and their export economy continues to thrive, despite Trump.But first a look ahead. Locally, we will get a fix on retail sales this week on Thursday with the release of the October electronic cards data, and possibly at the end of the week we will get the REINZ sales data.In Australia we will be looking for updates to their consumer sentiment surveys and the labour market data for October (where only modest changes are expected).In the US, the federal government shutdown is unlikely to be resolved, so the ADP Employment Report will take on extra importance and they are releasing this data weekly now. Earnings reports will keep coming. There will be important updates from Japan as well. And this is the week the Chinese release their monthly data dump, and they too are expected to show just modest changes.Over the weekend, China said its consumer prices rose +0.2% in October from a year ago, more than the expected no change and jumping back from the -0.3% decline in September. It was their first increase in consumer inflation since June and the fastest pace since January. Stronger than expected holiday spending probably cause the uptick. Food prices fell -1.6% on this annual basis, dairy products by -1.7%. But both beef and lamb prices rose by +5.6% and +2.4% respectively.Meanwhile, China's producer prices eased another -2.1% in October on the same basis, marginally less than the -2.3% drop in September and the softest decrease since August 2024. But it does extend their contraction for a 37th consecutive month. The result came in slightly better than market expectations of a -2.2% fall,And China reported that their October foreign exchange reserves swelled more than expected and are back to their highest level in a decade.China also said its exports dipped unexpectedly from October a year ago as shipments fell -18% to the US. Imports from the US fell even more. But other than that, it seems to be business-as-normal. Australia and New Zealand both recorded healthy trade surpluses with China in October. Overall, China's October trade surplus came in at +US$90 bln for the month, and missing many analysts expectations that it might top +US$100 bln as it did in August.In Taiwan, exports from the island nation surged +50% from October a year ago to a record high of US$62 bln, accelerating from a +34% rise in the previous month which itself was very impressive. Taiwanese exports were one fifth those of China, despite only having 1.6% of the population level. For reference, Australia's exports in October are expected to be reported on December 4 at US$30 bln - and Australia has a similar population to Taiwan. The comparison emphases how special the Taiwan export prowess is.In the world's largest economy, the November update of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index has fallen to near an all-time low in a survey that began almost 80 years ago. Only the June 2022 recording was lower. A small dip was expected but this time a large dip was recorded. Americans are worried about both current personal finances and in year-ahead expected business conditions. It's glum reading and the index is now -30% lower than year-ago levels. American consumer attitudes are in a full bear mode.Meanwhile, the New York Fed's latest update of their Survey of Consumer Expectations reports inflation expectations dipped to 3.2% and some key opinions about their labour market weakened.The US federal government shutdown continues with the White House unable to get its way in the Senate, either with the Democrats changing their healthcare bottom line, or the Republicans adoption the 'nuclear option'. And that means the air traffic restrictions are rolling out and become more pervasive. Thousands of flights have now been cancelled or delayed.In Canada, they delivered something of an unexpected positive surprise from their labour market in October, You may recall the unusually strong +60,000 September jobs gain, driven by very strong full-time employment. Analysts had expected a pause. But in fact, they reported a +67,000 jobs gain in October, although this one was largely driven by a rise in part-time jobs. Rather than the expected rise, their jobless rate fell (but by most standards, it is still pretty high).The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.09%, up +1 bp from Saturday at this time, down -2 bps from a week ago.The price of gold will start today at fractionally under US$4000/oz, down -US$5 from this time Saturday, basically back to week-ago levels.American oil prices are slightly firmer from Saturday at just under US$60/bbl, with the international Brent price still just under US$63.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 56.3 USc, and up +10 bps from Saturday but down a full -1c for the week. That is its lowest level in seven months. Against the Aussie we are -10 bps lower at 86.5 AUc and that is a 12 year low. Against the euro we are up +20 bps at 48.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 60.8 and firmish from yesterday, but its lowest since July 2009, a 16 year low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$103,678 and up +1.5% from Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

APAC stocks were higher as the region took impetus from the rebound on Wall St, where all major indices gained amid dip buying.European equity futures indicate an uneventful cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures relatively flat after the cash market closed with gains of 0.2% on Wednesday.DXY traded rangebound after having recently snapped a 5-day rally, despite firmer-than-expected ADP and ISM Services data, while catalysts were quiet overnight10yr UST futures saw some slight reprieve after slumping yesterday; Bund futures languished near the prior day's lows.US President Trump is scheduled to make an announcement at 11:00EST/16:00GMT on Thursday.Looking ahead, highlights include German Industrial Production, EZ Retail Sales, Canadian Leading Index, US Chicago Fed Labour Market Indicators, US Challenger Layoffs, BoE, Banxico & Norges Bank Policy Announcements, Speakers including Fed's Williams, Barr, Hammack, Waller, Paulson & Musalem, ECB's Lane, Nagel, Schnabel & de Guindos, BoE's Bailey, BoC's Macklem, Rogers & Kozicki, Supply from Spain & FranceEarnings from Continental, Commerzbank, AstraZeneca, Sainsbury's, Airbnb, ConocoPhillips & Warner Bros.Read the full report covering Equities, Forex, Fixed Income, Commodites and more on Newsquawk

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with the mess in the US is getting worse as 'retribution' is ramped up. Markets are getting nervous.First, the US government shutdown is masking official data that would show growing troubles in their economy. Today the Challenger job cut report for October revealed that softening consumer demand, the shutdown, AI adoption and higher tariff-taxes are driving hiring freezes and actual labour force reductions. This report said there were 153,000 layoffs in the month, the most since 2003. For all of 2025 so far, there have been more than 1 mln people laid off as counted in this survey. Hiring activity is slowing fast. The last time it was this bad was in the first Trump presidency (in 2020) but there was an excuse then. This time its all on his policies.Meanwhile, the New York Fed's Global Supply Chain Pressure Index has eased again as US consumer demand falls away.Financial markets reacted badly to the jobs cut report, going into a more risk-averse mode. That had the effect of punishing commodity currencies as a second-level consequence.And a new shutdown pressure is about to hit the US. The FAA is restricting air traffic control services to many airports because they can't pay the controllers and rostering of the ones they can pay is a "safety issue". In true Trump style, the cutbacks will focus on states with Democrat governors. Large numbers of flights are being cancelled today.The US has added ten minerals to its Critical Minerals List. Being on the list invokes a US Section 232 legal probe for potential tariffs and trade restrictions. It is a stick used to beat its trading partners and gives Trump-supporting investors cover to profit from re-opening unprofitable US capacity.In Canada, they have released the 2025 Budget and it is a bit unusual. Rather than focusing on short-term benefits, even in the face of painful reactions to the US border restrictions, they have chosen a long-term focus to re-orient their economy away from US dependence. That will no doubt bring short-term political stresses, but is an unusual approach by a democracy. More like the Chinese approach. Carney is betting Canadian voters will have the patience for the payoff. His opposition smells an opportunity.Meanwhile across the Pacific, Taiwanese inflation ticked up from its unusually low 1.3% rate in September to 1.5% in October, a level they had been at for the prior four months.There were three central bank rate decisions out overnight and all held unchanged; Malaysia at 2.75%, Norway at 4.0%, and England also at 4.0%.In the EU, they measure their retail sales on a volume (inflation-adjusted) basis and in September it eased lower from August to be +1.0% higher than year-ago levels. The weaker September was less than expected, but the year-on-year gain was as anticipated.In Australia, their merchandise exports are rising fast again. They were up +7.9% in September from August, up +10.3% from the same month a year ago. But the surge is largely due to exports of gold which took an unusual breather in August. Mineral exports were up +9.7%, rural exports were up just +0.7%. Interestingly it was China (and Hong Kong) that drove the demand. But also exports to the US rose by almost a quarter despite the tariffs. Those tariffs have had little impact because the Americans themselves are paying them, taxing themselves.The rise of global container freight rates we noted last week has pushed on into this latest update, up +8% for the week, to take it to -39% lower than year-ago levels. Outbound cargoes from China are driving the resurgence. US importers are resigned to paying the tariff-taxes, the Europeans taking advantage of the Chinese desire to pivot away from dependence on the US. Meanwhile bulk cargo rates rose +3% in the past week to be +41 higher than year-ago levels.Another measure of global shipping's prospects is Danish shipping giant Maersk's share price. It is up +1.3% for the month, up +20% from a year ago. Much of their optimism is centered on China.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.08%, back down -7 bps from yesterday at this time to the prior day's level.The price of gold will start today at US$3979/oz, down -US$3 from this time yesterday.American oil prices are -US$1 lower from yesterday at just on US$59/bbl, with the international Brent price now just on US$63/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just under 56.3 USc, and down -30 bps from yesterday. That makes it at its lowest level in seven months. Against the Aussie we are holding lower at 87 AUc but that is a 12 year low. Against the euro we are down -50 bps at 49.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 60.9 and down -40 bps from yesterday, basically equalizing the April dip and the lowest since July 2009 and a 16 year low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$100,519 and back down -3.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

Send us a textDr. Adnan Masood, Ph.D. ( https://medium.com/@adnanmasood ) is Chief AI Architect at UST ( https://www.ust.com/ ), the giant global digital transformation solutions company.  Dr. Masood brings over two decades of leadership in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large-scale system architecture, bridging cutting-edge academic research with real-world business outcomes.At UST, Dr. Masood leads the firm's global strategy for cognitive computing, AI, ML, and generative-AI initiatives. He oversees the development of scalable data-integration platforms, high-performance recommendation systems, and enterprise-grade AI solutions — all while fostering deep collaborations with elite research institutions, including Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL) and MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Before his current role, Dr. Masood's experience spanned financial-services technology, start-ups, systems architecture, and cloud-native engineering — always grounded in a strong research mindset focused on machine learning, Bayesian belief networks, and enterprise engineering. Recognized as a Microsoft Regional Director and a Microsoft MVP for Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Masood is not only a practitioner but a thought leader and educator. He has taught data science, spoken at international conferences, authored best-selling books on functional programming and AI governance, and mentors the next generation — for example volunteering as a STEM robotics coach for middle-school students. In his role at UST, Dr. Masood has also helped shape the company's AI-center-of-excellence model — guiding clients to build governance, cross-functional AI teams, and measurable value from AI investments.#AdnanMasood #UST #AI #ML #GenerativeAI #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #CognitiveServices #CognitiveRobotics #QuantumComputation #QuantumComputing #Cryptography #MicrosoftMVP #MIT #Stanford#ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #ResearchSupport the show

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with the good bits of news which seem to dominate today are in fact masking some less-than-good trends nested within them.First up, US ADP employment report on private payrolls for October reported a +42,000 rise in filled jobs, much better than the -29,000 shedding in September and also better than the expected +25,000 gain observers had thought. They also reported that pay growth has been largely flat for more than a year. However the October jobs gains are all concentrated in California and the other two Pacific states. Without their +37,000 gain, things would look rather somber - which is what the rest of the country faces. This survey does not cover public sector employees and of course that is currently very negative given Trump's shutdown.And we should note that this Federal government shutdown is now the longest in US history, and now longer than his first 2018-19 one.And we should also note that oral arguments are being heard in the US Supreme Court's review of the legality of the Trump tariffs. Given the stacked nature of the court, no-one really expects them to rule the Trump actions as 'illegal', but there was a surprising amount of sceptical questioning around the legal basis earlier today.US mortgage applications fell -1.9% last week from the prior week, the fifth decrease in the past six weeks.In a notable contrast to the weak factory sector, the giant American services sector expanded faster in October according to the ISM services PMI. It rose more than expected to its best level since February, putting its September stall behind it. But forward looking sentiment isn't strong, with these firms still contracting workforce levels, and frustration at the level of tariff-taxes they have to bear.Meanwhile, American household debt rose by +US$197 bln in Q3-2025 from the prior quarter to a new record high of almost US$$18.6 tln and up +4.4% from a year earlier. Mortgage balances grew by +US$137 bln and credit card balances rose by US$$24 bln in the quarter. These shifts are being considered 'steady' rather than indicating added riskAcross the Pacific in China, the private S&P Global services PMI has remained modestly expansionary in October, and still better than the official version. The sector continues supported by a faster rise in overall new business, although export sales fell modestly. Meanwhile, 'efficiency' drives led to staffing levels reducing in part due to cost concerns. Despite higher input prices, output charges fell fractionally, while business confidence regarding the year ahead softened.In Europe, Germany reported a rise in factory orders in September from the prior month, however that still leaves than -4.4% lower than year-ago levels. They will be encouraged by the recent uptick, which was better than expected. The new order uptick in the car, electrical and transportation sectors were particularly encouraging.Sweden's central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 1.75% at its October meeting, as widely anticipated. Tonight the Norwegians will review their 4% rate too, and they aren't expected to make any changes either.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.15%, up +7 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$3982/oz, up +US$14 from this time yesterday.American oil prices are -50 USc lower from yesterday at just under US$60/bbl, with the international Brent price now just under US$64/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just under 56.6 USc, and down -10 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 87 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at 49.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 61.3 and only marginally softer from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$103,811 and recovering +1.1% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with of leaking economic signals everywhere we look today. And the NZD is in retreat as the mood sours on commodity currencies, and Wall Street follows.First, the overnight full dairy auction brought lower prices yet again, down -2.4% in USD terms this time, down -1.0% in NZD terms. Butter (-4.3%) and cheddar cheese (-6.6%) were the big deliners this time, but the key WMP also fell -2.7%. If it wasn't for China buying, the situation could have been worse as a bearish tone was very evident and markets for milk fats (butter, cheese) are now oversupplied. This was the sixth consecutive drop, taking the fall since early August to more than -10%. So the softness is mounting up now and analysts will be dusting off their new season $10/kgMS forecasts for a serious review.In the US there was a large retreat in optimism as reported by the RCM/TIPP sentiment survey. It fell a sharp -9.1%in November to it the lowest since June 2024, a shift that was not expected and certainly the size of the shift wasn't anticipated. Confidence among investors slipped -3.1% but for non-investors it plunged -10.4%.The US Logistics Managers Index shows that freight costs are rising and at an increasing rate, but that inventory levels are contracting. This monitoring also reports that warehousing costs and utilisation are now rising at a much softer pace.. This metric seems to suggest more momentum is leaking from the heart of the giant US economy, but it isn't in retreat yet.And staying in the US, the Americans has said China would return as a big buyer of their soybean crop after the Trump/Xi meeting. But as we noted at the time, the Chinese were silent on that commitment. And so far they have not placed any orders in the US (while continuing to buy in Brazil). It makes sense - why would you buy from a supplier who uses trade as a pawn? The uncertainty and unreliability would make anyone shy away from such commitments.All this American negativity is seeing Wall Street in retreat today. At the same time, there are some signature elections being held in parts of the US today and all eyes are on the retribution the US president may apply if results don't go his way. Withholding food aid to the poor is already underway. More will surely follow.In Australia, their central bank held its cash rate target at 3.6% again in yesterday's review but it is admitting to worries about inflation pressures. However, they are hoping those pressure are transitory. Still, remarks yesterday will have financial markets removing any chance of any rate cuts in the foreseeable future.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.08%, down -3 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold will start today at US$3968/oz, down -US$39 from this time yesterday.American oil prices are -US$1 lower from yesterday at just over US$60.50/bbl, with the international Brent price now just under US$64.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just under 56.7 USc, and down -40 bps from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down than -10 bps at 87.2 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 49.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.3 and down -40 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$102,729 and down another -3.8% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.3%.Join us at 1pm this afternoon for the live press conference presenting the latest RBNZ update of their Financial Stability Report.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news rising inflation pressures are now appearing everywhere in the West, underpinned by poor economic judgements.This week will be a busy one on the economic data front, even with the US federal agencies shut down.Locally, all eyes will be on the Q3 labour market data and most observers expect it to show our jobless rate rise to 5.3%.In Australia, the key economic event will be the RBA's rate review late on Tuesday and there will be heightened interest on how they view their rising inflation. That will drive a reassessment by financial markets about where their interest rates are heading. Australia's September trade balance is due and a big surplus is anticipated.Other central banks will chime in this week with rate reviews of their own, including Sweden, Norway and England, among others.In the US while they won't have any official data, focus will turn to the ADP Employment Report, ISM PMIs, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Canada will release its labour market data too.In China, the October trade surplus is expected to widen to around US$100 bln, although the latest official NBS manufacturing PMI showed a decline in new export orders for October. The broader RatingDog (Caixin) Manufacturing PMI is also expected to signal a further slowdown in factory activity, and its services counterpart will also be closely watched.China's official October PMIs came in over the weekend without any significant improvements from September. They say their factory PMI is now contracting marginally more and a noticeable step lower than last month, and their services PMI is barely expanding, when a small improvement was expected.Japanese industrial production rose +3.4% in September from a year ago, a much better surge in the month than the +0.5% rise that was anticipated.In the US, the Chicago PMI rose in October from its worryingly low August and September levels, but it is still contracting and it has done so for 23 consecutive months now. This month's slight improvement is on the back of a rise in new orders, modest as it may be. Basically this metric is just contracting slower now.But some companies are doing well there. An example is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway which reported profits of US$48 bln in its latest nine month result, US$31 bln in Q3 alone. They now have cash holdings of US$382 bln. Buffett himself is fading from view now and it will be a challenge for his replacement to maintain the charisma.The EU said its October inflation level is down to 2.1%, the expected dip from September's 2.2%.In Australia, there is more evidence inflation is embedding at levels well above 3%. On Friday they released their Q3 PPI and that came in at 3.5%, unchanged from Q2, and up +1.0% for the latest quarter. Analysts had expected it to reduce.in Q3, but that isn't happening. The RBA will be as unhappy with this as it was with the equally high CPI result. Only recently a rate cut tomorrow was a sure bet, but no longer.And staying in Australia, bank lending grew +7.3% in September, up +6.3% for housing but up +9.5% for business from the same month a year ago. But there is a noticeable dip in business lending in September from August which surprised some. Going the other way, observers were equally surprised by the monthly surge in housing loans.The surge is worrying APRA. The combination of demand from the FHB guarantee scheme, and exuberance by investors is joining to create the rush. And it is only expected to increase. So the regulator is stepping in with warnings to banks to reign in the party. High DTI lending is their special focus.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.10%, unchanged from Saturday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$4001/oz, down -US$5 from this time Saturday. That is down -US$107 from this time last week. But it is up +US$141 or +3.6% for the month.American oil prices are+50 USc firmer from Saturday at just on US$61/bbl, with the international Brent price now just over US$64.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 57.2 USc, and down unchanged from Saturday. It is down -20 bps for the week, and down -70 bps or -1.2% for the month. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 87.5 AUc. Against the euro we are also little-changed at 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.8 and down -30 bps from yesterday, down -20 bps for the week, down -40 bps for the month.The bitcoin price starts today at US$110,113 and up +0.8% from this time Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/- 0.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news benchmark bond rates are on the move higher as the bond market passes its judgment on the geopolitical trade situation and the US Fed's signals.Basically they are pricing in risks where American inflation risks are not contained, and there is no real resolution to the trade tensions triggered by Trump.The Trump/Xi meeting ended with Trump claiming it was "an amazing meeting" with "all issues resolved". Markets discounted the hubris seeing the outcome actually making little practical progress. But at least it seems to be a truce. If there is any progress, it will come after further negotiations. Basically it was a photo op resulting in an invitation for Trump to visit Beijing where his ego can be stroked.The meeting brought China more time to finesse its position with the US, and more broadly, it made clear just how much stronger China has become since Xi and Trump last met. And interestingly, neither country has yet bothered to release a readout of the leaders meeting.In Japan, their central bank kept its benchmark short-term rate unchanged at 0.5% in October 2025 and extending a pause since the last hike in January. It was the market-expected decision, bit it was a split 7-2 result, with two members pushing for a rise to 0.75%, as they had at the prior meeting.Japanese share erased losses after the central bank boss gave his press conference review, but the yen dipped.In Europe, with inflation under control and its economy humming along at a modest level, but near potential, the ECB left all their settings unchanged, both interest rates (at 2.15%) and their balance sheet run-down pace. It has been a long time since they can claim their objectives are running as they would like.Meanwhile, overall economic sentiment is picking up in the EU, consistent with the improving economic data. Both industry and consumer sentiment are up in October and expectations are back to long-term averages, a position they haven't been in since early 2022.So it will be no surprise to know the Q3-2025 EU GDP rose from Q2 to be +1.5% higher than a year agoIn Germany, their October inflation rate inched lower to 2.3% from 2.4% in the prior month. But this wasn't quite as bigger move as the 2.2% rate expected. Energy costs there are falling and food prices are up only a modest +1.4% within the overall result.Globally, passenger air travel rose +3.6% in September from a year ago, with international travel up +5.1%. This was led by Asia/Pacific's +7.4% increase and trailed by North America's +2.5% rise. US domestic travel stood out with its -1.7% fall, the only region to record a shrinkage.Container freight rates rose another +4% last week, as China-USWC, and China-EU rates picked up notably. Overall they are now -41% lower than year-ago levels.Bulk freight rates fell -4.9% last week to now be +42% higher than year-ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.10%, up +7 bps from yesterday after the Fed announcement and after the US-China talks. The price of gold will start today at US$3999/oz, up +US$6 from this time yesterday.American oil prices are unchanged from yesterday at just on US$60.50/bbl, with the international Brent price just on US$65/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 57.5 USc, and down -30 bps from this time yesterday. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 87.7 AUc. Against the euro we are also little-changed at 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 62.1 and down -30 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$108,076 and down another -2.8% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just on +/- 1.9%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

In this episode we chat with Bec from the UK who has recently achieved her dream of becoming a mortician to help families of the deceased. And with her sights firmly set on becoming an embalmer, Bec has some fantastic insights on the challenges and triumphs of working in the mortuary, and some helpful advice for anyone who may be keen to get into this type of role.In you're interested in knowing more on what it's like to actually work with the deceased, check out our YouTube channel where we publish two videos a week on what goes on behind the mortuary doors.Thanks for joining usT&T xxWatch us:YouTube: (48) Are you dying to know? - YouTubeContact us:insta: @are_you_dying_to_knowemail: areyoudyingtoknow@gmail.comWARNING:This video contains graphic material that may disturb some viewers. It is not suitable for children. Viewer discretion is advised.The views, thoughts, explanations and opinions expressed in this video belong solely to the presenters Tracy & Trish and not necessarily to their employers, organisation, or other groups or individuals.

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the two big policy set pieces today have been underwhelming.First up today, the US Fed trimmed its policy rate by -25% as expected, bringing the target range to 3.75% to 4.00%. It issued a timid wait-and-see review which would be consistent with growing divisions within the policymaking committee, and growing worries that inflation is returning even as their labour markets weaken fast. Policy during stagflation requires a choice. One group wants the low-interest rate juice now, the other takes its inflation fighting mandate seriously.Immediately after the announcement, the S&P500 dipped slightly, the UST 10 year yield rose a few basis points, and the USD changed little. The announcement had no impact on the gold price - nor the bitcoin price.Earlier is was reported that mortgage applications rose +7.1% last week from the weak prior week, mainly on the back of pent-up refinance activity. Mortgage interest rates dipped but only minorly and were probably not the reason for the jump, which came after four consecutive weeks of decline. But having noted that, the small rate dip did taken them to their lowest level in more than a year.September pending home sales were soft, dipping -0.9% from the same month a year ago. This followed a +3.8% rise in August.As expected, the Bank of Canada trimmed its policy rate by -25 bps to % in its overnight decision. It said that the Canadian economy is adjusting to tariffs and the sharp drop in demand for exports. The reconfiguration of global trade and domestic production is leading to higher costs. Total inflation there has been around 2%, while underlying inflation remains about 2½%. Following the decision, their central bank boss suggested their easing cycle may be over as they expect cost pressure to rise as their economy goes through this adjustment phase.Malaysia's producer prices dipped slightly in September, down -0.8% from a year ago, but this was the least in six months as deflationary pressures seem to be past them now.Meanwhile Singapore's producer prices are on the upswing now. They rose +3.7% in September from a year ago, the most in six months. It was more for factory products with those surging about double that rate on the year-ago basis.In Australia, inflation is rising, and by more than expected. Their monthly indicator reported it rose +3.5% from the same month in 2024. The RBA meets next Tuesday to decide on its cash rate, and this seems to put the kibosh on the chance of any cut. In fact, a rate hike might get some airtime in their review.At the APEC meeting in South Korea, all eyes are on the Xi-Trump meeting results - and how far Trump has backed down. (TACO) Of course, both sides will talk up the outcome, but early signs are that things like China's resumption of soybean imports from the US will be nominal at best. Trump's deals with both Korea and Japan have long-tail implications that may not work out for the US. But the short-term optics are all that matters at present.Demand for air cargo transport rose for its seventh straight month, up +2.8% in September globally from a year ago, up +3.2% for international air shipments. This was led by the +6.9% rise in the Asia/Pacific region, and lagged by the -1.4% retreat in North America,The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.00%, after the Fed announcement. The price of gold will start today at US$3993/oz, up +US$38 overnight and making back yesterday's drop.American oil prices are up +50 USc from yesterday at just on US$60.50/bbl, with the international Brent price just on US$65/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 57.8 USc, and unchanged from this time yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 87.7 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 62.4 and up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$111,195 and down -3.7% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been moderate at just on +/- 2.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the US Fed is meeting but flying blind on both inflation and jobs data. But other indications suggests the US economy is fading faster than previously assumed.In the US oil patch, the Dallas Fed said service sector activity contracted further in October with the revenue index, a key measure of service sector conditions, falling to its lowest reading since July 2020. Employers are shedding jobs, they notedThings weren't great in the mid-Atlantic states region but not as tough as in Texas. The Richmond Fed's factory survey contracted less in October than September, but they also reported employers shedding jobs.Despite those two reports, the ADP Employment Report indicated that private payrolls rose an average of +14,000 jobs per week in the four weeks ending on October 11, as they move to fill the labour market data void because of the BLS shutdown. If that pace holds for October, US jobs growth in the month will be about +57,000 and better than the -32,000 in September decline. Both are unusually low levels. (In October 2023, the US reported +186,000 job gains, so they have fallen a long way since then.)Also not as negative as expected is US consumer sentiment as measured by the Conference Board. It did ease lower in October, but not as low as some had feared although it is now at a six month low. Those on low incomes (under US$75,000/year) or over 55 years were more negative than those 35-55 and on higher incomes.But overnight a range of large employers announced job cuts. UPS said it has shed -48,000 jobs, Amazon -14,000. They aren't the only ones. On top of the US Federal Government furloughs, they are facing some significant labour market strainThe Fed will likely deliver a -25 bps rate cut tomorrow.Across the Pacific, South Korea said its economy grew +1.7% real in Q3-2025 from the same quarter in 2024, building on a widening expansion. Over the past year, all of their growth has come in Q2 and Q3-2025.Chinese president Xi and US president Trump are due to meet to try and work out a trade accommodation. It will be ironic that Trump can compromise with another dictator, but not with elected representatives in his own country.In India, they reported that their expansion of industrial production held up better than expected. It rose +4.1% in August and that was expected to ease to +2.6% in September. Burt in fact their fast expansion rolled on with a +4.0% gain last month. Their factory sector rose +4.8% on the same basis. This is a very good result for them.In Europe, inflation expectations dipped slightly to 2.7% in OctoberLater today, Australia will report its September inflation results, both their quarterly CPI and their monthly inflation indicator. Both are expected to rise to the 3% level. Recent comments by the RBA governor suggest they are in no hurry to cut their policy rate, given inflation remains high and their labour market is still expanding. They next review their cash rate target on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.The UST 10yr yield is now at 3.99%, dipping another -1 bp from yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3956/oz, down another -US$37 overnight.American oil prices are down -US$1.50 from yesterday at just on US$60/bbl, with the international Brent price just under US$64.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 57.8 USc, and up +10 bps from this time yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 87.8 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 49.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 62.3 and up +10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$115,406 and down a minor -0.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just on +/- 1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

- UST opens new arena - Gophers Bulldogs - Elite league wraps up - Blaine scrimmage fest - Big Pumpkin 

Kia ora,Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news expectations are gyrating around the upcoming US-China leaders meeting. Markets have high expectations and are pricing in a positive outcome. For US markets, this is relatively modest and a 'relief'. For Chinese markets, and Asian markets more generally, it is very positive.A surge in market euphoria could well bring a surge in commodity prices, and in turn, inflation. This will complicate the US Fed's Thursday decision - but they won't know the final outcome of the Xi-Trump meeting when they make their decision later this week and that is awkward for them.Even before the results of the key meeting are known, Chinese industrial firms' profits rose more than +20% in September from the same month a year ago amid ongoing policy measures to revive business and consumer sentiment. Private-sector earnings strengthened markedly, while losses among state-owned enterprises narrowed quickly.Meanwhile, the stutter China had in foreign direct investment in the April to June period also seems to be over. In September, they attracted +¥68 bln in FDI, more than the +¥61 bln in the same month of 2024. But that earlier hesitation still means they are running more than -10% lower than last year, and 2024 was the weakest year they had for foreign direct investment in more than a decade. It may be improving slightly, but they are still in a serious shadow.And we should probably note that the hesitation about relationships with the US are expanding. Countries may 'engage' with the US transactionally to hold on to trade links, but China is winning. This is clear from Indonesia ordering Chinese fighter jets for its air force, and other naval equipment.In the US the data isn't quite so positive, although you wouldn't know it from the Wall Street signals today. Despite 'improving', the Dallas Fed factory survey is still reporting negative overall conditions. New orders shrank less, and manufacturing conditions remained below average. Perceptions of broader business conditions worsened somewhat in October and optimism about the next six months waned. But prices and wage pressures eased, the survey showed.Over the weekend, the US released its September CPI inflation data and it rose to 3.0%, up from 2.9% in August. This was slightly less than the expected 3.1% but it is still its highest level since June 2024. Energy costs, food and rents came in higher than that but petrol prices were lower.One factor to watch is that the rate of increase in the past two months is closer to +4% on an annualised basis. The number reported today relies on the low increases they had in 2024 and February to May. When those months work their way out of the annual calculation, the higher pressure outside those periods will come into play.Meanwhile, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey reported that Americans feel inflation is running at 4.6% and they downgraded their earlier confidence reading to now be -24% lower than year-ago levels.The internationally benchmarked PMI report for the US for October reported a strong start to the fourth quarter, with expansions in both the services (55.2) and factory sectors (52.2).If there is a relaxation of trade tensions after the China-US meeting, Australia could be a big beneficiary. And markets are starting to price that in.We should also probably note that the price of aluminium (or aluminum if you prefer) is rising fast again, back up to levels first reached in the pandemic spike. Causing this current surge is the price the Americans are prepared to pay because of their self-imposed tariffs, as producers avoid that market. Those American buyers are being hit twice.Also worth noting is a sudden rise in the price of sulfur (or sulphur if you prefer). Causing this spike is a fall in supply from some key oil producers (sulfur is a bi-product), when demand is rising for fertilisers.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.00%, dipping -1 bp from yesterday. The price of gold will start today at US$3993/oz, down -US$118 overnight.American oil prices are -holding from yesterday at just over US$61.50/bbl, with the international Brent price still just on US$66/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is now at just on 57.7 USc, and up +20 bps from this time yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -40 bps at 87.9 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 49.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 62.2 and up +20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at USD$115,614 and up +1.8% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just on +/- 1.3%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora,Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news of a sudden jump in international crude oil prices as the US sanctioned the main Russian oil companies.In the US, existing home sales in September rose to just over a 4 mln annual pace, slightly more than in August and +3.3% better than year-ago levels. But it was to levels less than markets expected (4.1 mln pace). The weakest regions were the South and the Midwest. But both coasts got good increases, especially in California.Because the Chicago Fed's National Activity Index collates a range of data that includes from US Federal government sources, and those are shutdown, the NAI is not published this month.However the October Kansas City Fed factory survey reported a strong rise in activity. But new export orders fell, and the average workweek shrank which was unexpected. Apparently some facilities are "doing more production with less people". There is a general worry about where new orders will come from.In Canada, they said their September retail activity retreated in the month and only held up by car-buying activity. Canadians aren't travelling either, and in an unusual twist the tourism flow into Canada from the US is now greater than the other way. But their factory activity rose by a good amount in the month.We should probably note that China is putting the final touches to its latest Five-Year Plan. These have been the catalyst for the country's economic rise, despite their dismissal in the West. Their state planning has brought them up to be the alternate world superpower. And China and the US will be meeting in Malaysia in a few days to see if they can iron out some knotty disagreements and pave the way for a Xi-Trump summit. It will likely happen because the Americans seem on the back-foot now, but startlingly blind to their growing weakness. And TACO.Singapore reported September inflation of just +0.7% from a year ago, a pick-up from August's four year low.Taiwan said its retail sales fell -2.2% in September from a year ago, reversing August's rise. They said public uncertainty levels are high and spending plans are conservative. But the same view isn't shared in their factory sector where industrial production was up +15% from a year ago, consistent to order information we reported yesterday and which is likely to drive output even higher in coming months.The EU reported its September consumer sentiment survey results and this was little-changed, remaining quite negative although a bit less so than in prior months. In fact, it is now its least-negative since February.Container freight rates rose +3% last week, largely on the China-to-EU trade. Overall they are now -45% lower than year-ago levels. Bulk cargo rates rose +8.5% over the past week and are now +40% higher than year-ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now at 3.99% and up +4 bps from this time yesterday.The price of gold will start today back up sharply at US$4129/oz, a gain of US$81 from yesterday, a +2.0% firming. Silver has risen less, now at US$49/oz.American oil prices are +US$3.50 higher at just under US$62/bbl, with the international Brent price now just on US$66/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is at just on 57.5 USc, and again little-changed from yesterday. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 88.3 AUc. Against the euro we are also unchanged at 49.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 62.1 and essentially unchanged.The bitcoin price starts today at US$110,047 and up +1.5% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/- 1.6%. (Trump has pardoned a major crypto fraudster.)You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again on Monday.

(0:00) Wstęp (0:52) Izrael porozumiał się z Hamasem w sprawie pierwszego etapu zakończenia wojny w Strefie Gazy(2:12) Ustępujący premier Francji twierdzi, że oddala się widmo przedterminowych wyborów parlamentarnych(3:43) Premier Grenlandii chce nawiązać bliskie relacje z Unią Europejską(5:06) Niemiecka policja będzie mogła zestrzeliwać podejrzane drony(6:32) Komisja Europejska zapowiada walkę z terapiami konwersyjnymi i nienawiścią wobec mniejszości seksualnych(8:00) Partia włoskiej premier zamierza przeciwstawić się „islamskiemu separatyzmowi”Informacje przygotował Maurycy Mietelski. Nadzór redakcyjny – Igor Janke. Czyta Michał Ziomek.

On "The Lead" - what effect is the government shutdown having on economic data? Jason talks with UST economist Dr. Tyler Schipper. Then on "Page 2" - want to own a St. Paul skyscraper?

White Claw Zero, UST WHockey on a tear, Caribou Coffee Fall Items, Lynx Season cut short, UNRL, Vikings vs. Steelers recap, MLB Playoff Update, UST & Fox9+ schedule, Gopher football Rutgers Recap, Gopher FB @ Ohio State Preview, Vikings vs. Browns Preview, CFB Week 6 Bets, Kirill extended, NFL Week 5 bets & more!!!

St. Thomas men's hockey coach Rico Blasi talks about the program's new building, Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, which opens in a few weeks. We also get into the strong foundation the Tommies have laid down over their transition to Division I. UST is the preseason favorite to win the CCHA before moving to the NCHC next season. St. Thomas opens up Saturday at St. Cloud State.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Goncalves, Head of Macro Strategy in the Americas, shares how our latest macro thinking has evolved, where our longstanding view that the weak labor market and ongoing large revisions would result in a Fed pivot and a restart of easing in September. There was a high level recap of the special topic from the latest monthly which covered Asia FX reserves. Our analysis shows that we've come full circle since the Asia financial crisis which was the catalyst for Asia to accumulate dollars, but with tariffs now in place, perhaps less dollar recycle occurs with clear implications for UST demand. Lastly, our podcast was recorded on the first official day of the government shutdown. George goes into what are the potential scenarios for the economy and how it could impact the way the team views rates and house view.

Northern Soda Co, CFB Week 5 Bets, UST WHockey underway, UST & UofM Football back in action, UNRL, UST MHockey Preaseason Love, NFL Week 4 Bets Ranking NFLs 0-3 teams, Vikings Big Win over Bengals, Wild Preseason Underway, Vikings across the Pond and more!!!

One way in which the University of St. Thomas is  trying to realize its mission to "educate students...to work skillfully...to advance the common good" is with a new course  called Work and the Good Life. Most of our students come here expecting that their college degrees will help them find jobs out of college. But as UST President Rob Vischer says, one reason that we have stellar employment outcomes is that we care about more than employment outcomes. We're helping to form whole human beings, not just working people. And most of those people don't just want paid employment; a Gallup study a few years ago found that 80+% of them want a purpose, but only around half of them would find it early in their careers. So this course is designed to enable  students to think critically about their career choices so they can act wisely on the way to work that serves a worthwhile purpose in their lives and those of others.In the first of a three-part speaker series, students heard from UST alum Quentin Moore about his quest for work and the good life. Sponsored by The Melrose & The Toro Company Center for Principled Leadership. Produced by Nicole Zwieg Daly, JD, EdD, CPPM. Engineered by Tom Forliti.

Podcast with Ust. & Thikra-Studios

You Were Not Meant to Be Alone : Reclaiming the Jama‘ah in an Age of Isolation by Ust. Thomas Alameddine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's The Summit League Segment highlights the University of St. Thomas Tommies and includes an interview with UST junior Elsie Kmecak. Plus highlights of this past week's Kwik Star Summit League Peak Performers, news from around The Summit League, and more.

5pm Hour: On The DeRush-Hour Headlines - was today's rate cut by the Fed enough? Jason talks with Dr. Tyler Schipper from UST. Then, what's grinding your gears this week? Jason and listeners share what they've had ENOUGH of!

On "The Lead" - was today's quarter-point rate cut by the Fed enough? Jason talks with Dr. Tyler Schipper from UST. On "Page 2" - Brian Setzer is selling some guitars. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

APAC stocks traded mixed amid some cautiousness ahead of upcoming risk events and despite the fresh record levels on Wall St.US Appeals Court declined to allow Trump to remove Federal Reserve Governor Cook; Cook can attend the FOMC's September 16th-17th meeting.US Senate voted 48-47 to confirm US President Trump's Fed nominee Miran to join the Fed board.European equity futures indicate an uneventful cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 future +0.1% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.9% on Monday.DXY is a touch softer, extending on yesterday's downside. JPY marginally outperforms, whilst antipodeans lag.Crude futures marginally extended on the prior advances. 10yr UST futures plateaued overnight after catching a bid yesterdayLooking ahead, highlights include UK Jobs Report (Jul), Italian CPI Final (Aug), EZ Industrial Production (Jul), Labour Costs (Q2), German ZEW Survey (Sep), US Retail Sales (Aug) and Industrial Production (Aug), Import Prices (Aug), Atlanta Fed GDP, Canadian CPI (Aug), RBA's Hauser & ECB's Escriva, Supply from Germany, UK & US.Read the full report covering Equities, Forex, Fixed Income, Commodites and more on Newsquawk

Without a doubt, the introduction of stablecoins has vastly increased overall crypto liquidity, adoption and real-world use cases as they offered a safe haven against the industry's volatility, especially during bearmarkets. However, despite being extremely efficient, the main stablecoin actors (i.e. Circle & Tether) are centralised entities. Many attempts have been made to create a reliable decentralised stablecoin, but regulations and the resounding collapse of Terra's UST have only pushed towards more established, yet centralised, variants.f(x) is a new generation CDP (collateralised debt position) protocol that offers on-chain perpetual trading for BTC & ETH with near-0 funding rates and a novel liquidation mechanism which protects users against hard liquidations. The leverage component is powered by emitting fxUSD, the protocol's decentralised stablecoin, which boasts robust peg-keeping mechanisms, the main one being fxSAVE's stability pool. The fxSAVE strategy bestows nearly 10% APY to the yield-bearing fxUSD-USDC pair.Topics covered in this episode:Cyrille's backgroundAladdinDAODecentralised stablecoinsf(x) perps and sharing liquidation risksThe efficiency of progressive liquidationsRemoving funding ratesfxSAVE's stability pool yieldsfxUSD's organic adoptionThe importance of decentralised stablecoinsWinning in the perp arenaOpportunities in the stablecoin adoption raceEpisode links:Cyrille Brière on Xf(x) Protocol on XAladdinDAO on XSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - ⁠gnosis.io⁠This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.

TikTok, Labubu, "Black Myth: Wukong", "Ne Zha 2" to ostatnie wielkie hity eksportowe Chin. Każdy odniósł spektakularny sukces w swojej dziedzinie. I każdy sprawia, że krok po kroczku wizerunek Chin jest coraz bardziej oswajany. A na horyzoncie czai się kolejny wielki trend. Są to - uwaga - short dramy, czyli jednominutowe odcinki seriali. W 2024 r. short dramy tylko w Chinach przekroczyły wartość 6,9 mld dol., przy okazji tworząc ok. 600 000 miejsc pracy. I powoli zmierzają także do Europy. Czy to działa? A jakże! Chiny w tym roku wskoczyły na 2. miejsce na globalnej liście soft power. Ustępują im wyłącznie Stany Zjednoczone. Zatem jakie efekty odnosi chińska miękka siła? Czy jest zjadliwa dla każdego? I dlaczego prezesi-wilkołaki romansują z ubogimi pokojówkami? GOŚCIE ODCINKA: dr hab. Marcin Jackoby, kierownik Centrum Cywilizacji Azji Wschodniej oraz Zakładu Studiów Azjatyckich na Uniwersytecie SWPS w Warszawie Daria Impiombato, ekspertka ds. chińskiej propagandy z instytutu Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) ROZDZIAŁY: 03:04 Jak Chiny walczą o wizerunek 15:10 Chińskie big techy 20:30 Ne Zha 2 28:40 Labubu i Black Myth 35:29 Short dramy 51:05 Dyplomacja influencerska 59:08 Efekty i co z tym zrobić LINKI - Zestawienie najbardziej kasowych filmów roku: KLIK - Wartość short dram w Chinach: KLIK - O "Black Myth: Wukong": KLIK