Blog•Feb 19, 2026
Job Creation Soft
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that January 2026 saw a modest net increase of 18,000 jobs, with full‑time employment rising by 50,500 and part‑time employment falling by 32,700. Total employment reached 14,703,800 and monthly hours worked climbed to 2,013 million, while the under‑employment rate rose to 5.9 % and the employment‑to‑population ratio slipped to 63.9 %. The participation rate held steady at 66.7 % and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 %, leaving job growth below the immigration break‑even level.
By MacroBusiness (Australia)
Blog•Feb 19, 2026
Banker Calls for Peak Banker
National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Irvine warned that Australia has hit "peak Australia," signalling that without a productivity boost the economy will stagnate. Real wages fell for the first time in two years, underscoring the pressure on living standards. Irvine...
By MacroBusiness (Australia)
Blog•Feb 17, 2026
Baby Boomer Spending Helps Drive up Inflation
Australia’s Reserve Bank highlighted an unexpected surge in private demand, driven largely by heightened household spending from the baby‑boomer cohort. The increase in consumer‑durable price growth reinforced this trend, prompting the RBA to raise the official cash rate by 0.25%....
By MacroBusiness (Australia)
Blog•Feb 15, 2026
Unpacking the Latest Finance News From China: Key Trends and Market Insights
China’s latest five‑year plan emphasizes a shift from property‑driven growth to technology, targeting near‑5 % GDP expansion in 2026 and projecting tech to account for 18.3 % of output by 2026. The renminbi has appreciated past the 7.0 per dollar mark, indicating reduced central‑bank...
By HedgeThink
Blog•Feb 13, 2026
Typical Trading Errors
Retail traders often sacrifice profits by exiting positions too early, driven by a desire for constant action rather than market fundamentals. Ashraf Laidi illustrates this with the USDJPY reaction to the February NFP surprise, where the pair swung more than...
By Ashraf Laidi – Intraday Market Thoughts
Blog•Feb 13, 2026
The Signal Is Finally Here
Forex analyst Ashraf Laidi unveiled a long‑awaited EUR/GBP chart, showing the pair’s daily price breaking out of a three‑month descending channel while the weekly chart preserved an 11‑month trendline support and is now bouncing higher. He suggests the breakout could...
By Ashraf Laidi – Intraday Market Thoughts
Blog•Feb 13, 2026
Trade Tips From Washington DC
Ashraf Laidi notes recent Trump administration comments that imply a deliberately weaker US dollar ahead of today’s non‑farm payroll (NFP) release. He suggests the labor data could fall far short of the 68,000 consensus, echoing a pattern of "benign neglect"...
By Ashraf Laidi – Intraday Market Thoughts
Blog•Feb 13, 2026
Bulgarian Central Bank Deputy Governor Appointed Prime Minister
President Iliana Iotova appointed suspended Bulgarian National Bank deputy governor Andrey Gurov as interim prime minister, invoking a constitutional rule that limits caretaker‑PM candidates to ten senior officials. Gurov’s selection follows an anti‑corruption finding that barred him from his central‑bank...
By Mostly Economics
Blog•Feb 11, 2026
Infographics: Key Rates & Spreads In the Modern Repo Market
The episode breaks down the modern repo market by illustrating how overnight rates and dealer spreads vary across different repo segments—triparty, GCF, DVP, and NCCBR. It explains that dealers profit by maintaining a positive spread between the cost of borrowing...
By Conks – global monetary mechanics
Blog•Feb 2, 2026
Markets Say “Wrong Kevin”, Xiaomi & Ford Could Partner Up
Asian equity markets slumped after President‑Trump‑appointed Fed nominee Kevin Warsh signaled hawkish policy, prompting a broad risk‑off that also lifted the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, the renminbi hit a 52‑week high at 6.94 per dollar even as commodity futures and semiconductor...
By China Last Night (KraneShares Research)
Blog•Feb 1, 2026
Plumbing Notes: A Global Compression
In this brief update, the host explains how the Federal Reserve’s recent liquidity injections have compressed the SOFR‑FF basis, pushing overnight SOFR rates to just a few basis points below the interest on reserve balances (IORB). Major banks, led by...
By Conks – global monetary mechanics
Blog•Jan 14, 2026
The Dollar Consolidates While Japan Steps Up Its Intervention Threats and Decision Day for the SCOTUS
The U.S. dollar is in a consolidating phase, hovering around JPY158.6 after a brief push toward JPY159.5, as Japanese authorities intensify verbal warnings of possible market intervention. In North America, traders await U.S. PPI, retail sales data and comments from...
By Marc to Market