US private placements to stay a step ahead of the funding options pack for Australian corporate borrowers

The bigger picture – A global and Australian economic perspective.

Markets have been choppy on the back of surprisingly poor retail numbers from the US.

Global slowdown continues into early 2019

Confidence and conditions continue to ease

The NZ dollar jumped 1.7 percent yesterday after the RBNZ indicated they weren’t expected to change rates till 2021.

Growth still reasonable but to move below trend – with rates now unlikely to rise. Indeed a significant & growing risk of a cut.

It’s looking likely the 1 March deadline for higher Chinese tariffs will be pushed back on the hope of progress on trade talks next month.

In USD terms, NAB’s Non-Rural Commodity Price Index is forecast to increase by 2.7% this quarter – driven almost entirely by the upturn in iron ore prices.