- Risk aversion and volatility gripped markets afflicted by inflation and growth worries on Friday, sending US futures and Treasuries down.
- After a 3.5% fall in the S&P 500 and a 5% drop in the Nasdaq, contracts on both indexes headed down on the day. Treasury bonds continued to fall, pushing the benchmark yield beyond 3%, and the dollar lost an early gain.
- The US employment data on Friday will be extensively scrutinised for signs that growing pay expenses are adding to the inflationary pressures that are scaring investors. Economists predict that payrolls will grow by 380,000 in April, and the unemployment rate will drop to 3.5%.
- Despite the fact that the job market is hot and the American consumer has shown durability, worries are growing that higher rates may cause the US economy to fracture — and that those rates will not be enough to temper the fastest inflation in four decades.
- ECB's Vasle: The appropriate timing to start the ECB hikes is before summer.
- ECB's Nagel: I see no recession, but a much weaker growth rate.
- Money markets bet on three quarter-point ECB hikes by October.
- The EU proposes oil ban exemption for Hungary & Slovakia through 2024.
- RBA: It is time to begin normalising interest rates.
- RBA raises its inflation estimates significantly, with core inflation expected to remain over the 2-3% band until 2024.
