Positive Economic News Sweeps the Globe; Germany Seeks to Start Summer Stronger; China’s Inflation Grows

Positive Economic News Starts to Sweep the Globe (Bloomberg)

After months of false starts, it looks like positive economic news is finally sweeping across the globe. In this case, both the Australian and New Zealand markets saw their respective dollars strengthen based on better-than-expected unemployment reports. It appears that ground for this ascent was established last week when the United States’ unemployment report arrived with better-than-expected numbers.

Germany Hoping to Start Summer off on Right Foot (Bloomberg)

A recent Bloomberg survey of 32 economists found that 27 of them think we’ve seen the end of rate cuts for 2013. While the consensus between analysts isn’t unexpected, the timing of the survey may be. You see, just last week European Central Bank president Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever it takes to strengthen the region’s economy — including cutting the prime interest rate again. However, that move may prove to be a moot point, as the mood across Europe is decidedly more optimistic — just 24 hours after Germany reported that its factory orders and industrial production rose more than predicted.

Chinese Inflation Begins to Tilt Markets (AP)

According to Chinese government figures, the Asian nation’s consumer price index rose 2.4 percent in April — ahead of last year’s 2.1 percent and outpacing estimates of 2.2 percent. European market reaction to the news was “an overwhelming yawn” with Germany’s DAX down .2 percent after a series of record highs. France’s CAC 40 fell 1.1 percent, while England’s FTSE 100 Index sagged a miniscule .1 percent. In the United States, the reaction was just about the same with both the Dow and S&P 500 futures down slightly.