Daily FNArena News

Industry consultant MEPS has released its forecasts for global steel production this year, the group expecting the strongest year-on-year increase for more than three decades.

Hello? What was Wall Street doing yesterday? As the full realisation of a Democrat sweep sunk in, markets finally went the way one would have expected.

Macquarie analysts believe Westpac shares are unlikely to further underperform the banks from here, while ANZ’s outperformance has to come to an end.

The New Zealand labour market is finally showing signs of weakening, reducing the prospects for further increases in rates.

Stockbroker economists consensus suggests interest rates in Australia might now have peaked, though investors should keep in mind that nothing’s certain.

A Democrat majority in the House and a stalemate in the Senate have not overly affected stocks but the gold market seems to think it means an end to the world’s problems.

Weekly musings from your editor.

As it approaches midnight in Washington DC, the Democrats appear to have swept the House of Representatives, and picked up three of six Senate seats to date.

Morgan Stanley suggests the latest comments from BoJ Governor Fukui suggest a more forward looking approach to interest rates, with the goal of a more stable environment for the economy.

Following today’s rise, RBA rhetoric, along with recent data, suggests the chance of another rise in the first quarter next year is still unclear, but leaning towards a policy breather (perhaps).