- U.S. consumer prices fell for the first time in four years in June amid cheaper gasoline and moderating rents, firmly putting disinflation back on track and drawing the Federal Reserve another step closer to cutting interest rates in September. The second straight month of benign consumer price readings reported by the Labor Department on Thursday should help to bolster confidence among officials at the U.S. central bank that inflation is cooling after surging in the first quarter. (Read more on Reuters)
- Signs of consumers slowing down their spending and falling behind on their bills weighed down shares of the big banks on Friday. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo saw their adjusted profits fall, while Citigroup saw sluggish spending on its credit cards. The major banks have benefitted from higher interest rates for the last two years, but those rates are causing consumers and businesses to slow down spending due to higher financing costs. (Read more on AP News)
- The French left said it wanted to run the government but conceded on Monday that talks would be tough and take time, after Sunday's election thwarted the far right's quest for power but delivered a hung parliament. Many of France's allies breathed a sigh of relief after Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) failed to win the snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron. But with the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, hastily assembled before the election, unexpectedly coming first but far from an absolute majority, the election heralded a period of volatility and possible gridlock. (Read more on Reuters)
- The UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in May, double the expected figure, driven by continued expansion in the services sector and a rebound in housebuilding. The month-on-month rise followed zero growth in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday, and exceeded a 0.2 per cent forecast for May by economists polled by Reuters. (Read more on FT)
- Japan likely stepped into currency markets for a third time this year to prop up the yen soon after US inflation figures came out Thursday, according to a Bloomberg analysis of central bank accounts. The scale of intervention was probably around ￥3.5 trillion ($22 billion), based on a comparison of Bank of Japan accounts and money broker forecasts. (Read more on Bloomberg)
- China posted a record $99bn (￡76.4bn) trade surplus last month amid signs of importers bringing forward orders to beat higher tariffs on goods from the world’s second biggest economy. The latest official figures from Beijing showed exports growing at their fastest rate in 15 months, while the weakness of China’s domestic economy resulted in falling imports. (Read more on The Guardian)
- Moody's cut Kenya's sovereign rating deeper into junk territory on Monday, citing diminished capacity to implement a fiscal consolidation strategy to contain its debt burden. The credit ratings agency downgraded the country's local- and foreign-currency long-term issuer ratings and foreign-currency senior unsecured debt ratings to "Caa1" from "B3". (Read more on Reuters)
- Kenya's under-fire President William Ruto has dismissed with "immediate effect" all his ministers and the attorney-general, following the recent deadly protests that led to the withdrawal of an unpopular tax bill. The president said the move came after "reflection, listening to Kenyans, and after holistic appraisal of my cabinet". He has said he will now consult widely in order to set up a broad-based government. (Read more on BBC)
- Mauritius welcomed 88,416 tourists in June 2024, marking an 8% increase compared to June 2023. ?France led the visitor count with 13,826 tourists, a 5% increase from the previous year. The United Kingdom followed with 11,607 visitors, up a significant 26% from June 2023. (Read more on Statistics Mauritius)
- The Central Bank of Mauritius unanimously decided on July 11th, 2024, to maintain the key repo rate unchanged at 4.5%, the highest level for borrowing costs since October 2015. Policymakers said that recent inflation data indicates the ongoing disinflationary trend will likely persist in the second half of 2024. Annual inflation fell to 2.2% in June due to the normalization of fresh vegetable prices, with core measures also continuing to decline. Meanwhile, domestic economic activity is expected to remain strong in 2024, with projected real GDP growth at 6.5% for the year. However, the central bank noted that both growth and inflation outlooks are subject to downside risks originating from external factors. (Read more on Trading Economics)
Source: AP News, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Guardian, BBC, Statistics Mauritius, Trading Economics
Source: Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Stock Exchange of Mauritius
