Daily FNArena News - FYI

It’s CPI time in Australia, but unless the number is extraordinarily high consensus still has the RBA on hold in May.

While 2008 has had a rough start for equity investors Credit Suisse suggests a number of themes it sees as useful guides for investors chasing better returns in the months ahead.

No weekly musings from your editor this week.

..but the finance ministers are concerned about US dollar volatility, and are expecting the world economic slowdown to worsen.

Falling house prices and interest rates mean US housing affordability has improved significantly in recent months but Westpac suggests a turnaround in sentiment remains the key.

Another slump in US equities on Friday night means volatility remains high on equity markets but CBA suggests slow progress is being made towards greater stability.

It’s CPI week for both the US and EU while there’s enough data in Australia to make life interesting as well.

Weekly musings from your editor. Are commodities more driven by investors, the US dollar or supply-demand dynamics? An analysis to try to find the answer.

Management of Telecom NZ is likely to issue a profit warning on Thursday, analysts suggest.

The state of the Australian economy will be clearer this week following, balance of trade, job ads, business and consumer sentiment and employment data.