Most consumers 'spent less on Christmas this year'

on , from bbc.co.uk

A majority of consumers spent less on their Christmas shopping this year than they did in 2011, according to a survey by the consumers' association Which? Nearly half used credit cards, overdrafts and other borrowing to help fund their purchases, the survey of 2,100 people across the UK suggests. Nine out of 10 agreed that they felt under pressure to spend too much during the festive season. Just under half - 46% - used some form of debt to help them meet their bills. Nearly a quarter claimed they would not otherwise have been able to afford their Christmas shopping. Credit cards were the ... (Read the full story)

AUD/USD Forecast Dec 31 2012 – Jan 4 2013

on , from forexcrunch.com

AUD/USD was rangebound last week in thin trading, and closed at 1.0368. There are five releases in the upcoming week. Here is an updated technical analysis for AUD/USD. There were no economic releases out of Australia last week, and US releases were mixed. The markets kept a close eye on the fiscal cliff in the US, but there was no progress to report, and AUD/USD had a very quiet week. AUD/USD graph with support and resistance lines on it. Click to enlarge: Private Sector Credit: Monday, 00:30. This indicator measures the value of new credit issued to businesses and consumers. The indicator fell ... (Read the full story)

US Job Market Probably Held Gains in December

on , from bloomberg.com

Employers probably added jobs in December at about the same pace as the prior month, showing the U.S. labor market held up as lawmakers struggled to resolve the fiscal impasse, economists said before a report this week. Payrolls rose by 150,000 workers after a 146,000 gain in November, according to the median forecast of 54 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of Labor Department figures due Jan. 4. The unemployment rate may have held at 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008. “Job growth around 150,000 is a decent way to end the year,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics ... (Read the full story)

BRIC Dominance Ebbs as State Meddling Means Equities Trail World

on , from bloomberg.com

Stocks in the biggest developing markets are lagging behind global equities for a record third year as faster economic growth proves no lure for investors amid concerns over government interference in markets. The MSCI BRIC Index of shares in Brazil, Russia, India and China rose 11 percent this year, trailing the MSCI All-Country World Index by 1.6 percentage points. The trend will probably persist in 2013, according to John-Paul Smith, a Deutsche Bank AG strategist. Mutual funds that invest in BRIC nations have posted $1.65 billion of outflows as Brazilian politicians intervened to cut utility rates, ... (Read the full story)

Obama slams GOP 'priority' as fiscal cliff hours away

on , from cnn.com

With the "fiscal cliff" so close that its arrival is now measured in hours, President Barack Obama sent a clear message to the country Sunday: Republicans are responsible for the stalemate and must be pressured to do the right thing. "They say that the biggest priority is making sure that we deal with the deficit in a serious way. But the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected. That seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme," Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" in an interview broadcast ... (Read the full story)