WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Six Pacific countries are at a high risk of debt distress in part due to government spending to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday. The report, titled Raising Pasifika, said fiscal consolidation was needed in Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of…
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand on Thursday announced a worse-than-forecast budget deficit as a slowing economy and a lower tax take hit its coffers, leaving the Labour government walking a tight rope as its spending plan is expected to fan inflationary pressures. In his last budget ahead of what is set to be…
By Praveen Menon SYDNEY (Reuters) – Two of Australia’s top football codes on Thursday backed a proposal to constitutionally recognise the country’s Indigenous population in a referendum, as latest opinion polls show public support for the government-backed plan dipping. In a full page statement published in The Sydney Morning Herald, Rugby Australia (RA) said the…
By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in April after two months of outsized gains, and the jobless rate also ticked up in a sign the red-hot labour market might be cooling, bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on…
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand is set to deliver what it calls a “no frills” budget on Thursday as falling tax revenues squeeze coffers and inflation risks cap cyclone reconstruction efforts, constraining stimulus as the Labour government faces an election this year. Finance minister Grant Robertson has said the budget will focus…
By Jeff Mason and Kirsty Needham ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/SYDNEY (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will arrange another summit of Pacific island leaders this year after the disappointment caused by his cancellation of a visit to Papua New Guinea due to the domestic debt ceiling crisis, his national security adviser said on Wednesday. Political analysts…
By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rallied to a higher close on Wednesday, gathering momentum throughout the afternoon trading, and the dollar touched a six-week high as regional banks surged and negotiations in Washington over raising the debt ceiling progressed. All three major U.S. stock indexes rallied to end up more than…
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar rose to a seven-week high on Wednesday, boosted by optimism about a deal to extend the debt ceiling and avert a U.S. default and amid a round of solid economic data that suggests rate cuts from the Federal Reserve could come later rather than sooner. The…
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade on Wednesday recommended the approval of the sale of Natura & Co’s Aesop brand to French cosmetics company L’Oreal, according to the country’s daily gazette. Last month, L’Oreal agreed to buy Australian luxury brand Aesop from Natura for an enterprise value of $2.53 billion. Under the regulator’s…
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian wages grew at the fastest annual pace in a decade last quarter, although quarterly gains missed forecasts, in a result that offers some temporary solace for policymakers who worry a price-wage spiral may lead to more rate hikes. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed its wage price index…
