Westpac Banking Corp. ’s chief executive officer Anthony Miller has warned the conflict in the Middle East has raised the risk of a recession in Australia, saying that it was unclear how long supply chain disruptions from the Iran war could take to work their way through the economy. Miller, who leads one of the nation’s big four banks, said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corpora...
Westpac Banking Corp. ’s chief executive officer Anthony Miller has warned the conflict in the Middle East has raised the risk of a recession in Australia, saying that it was unclear how long supply chain disruptions from the Iran war could take to work their way through the economy. Miller, who leads one of the nation’s big four banks, said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that “circumstances have changed so much that a recession is a chance.” “The key is how long is this war going to go on, but more importantly how long does it take for supply chain consequences to be resolved,” Miller told an ABC podcast released on Friday. Australia’s most recent GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2025 came in higher than expected at 2.6% year-on-year, however the war in Iran has seen cascading impacts across the nation’s economy over the past month. The price of diesel on which the country is heavily reliant has risen sharply , with shortages reported in every state, while freight costs have risen globally, a headache for the island trading nation. Speaking in mid-March, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australia was not “anticipating or expecting” a recession. Westpac’s chief economist Luci Ellis said in a note on March 30 that she was expecting the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise its benchmark rate three more times over the course of 2026, bringing it to a 17-year high, in an effort to quell growing inflation.
Microsoft plans to invest $10 billion in Japan over the next four years to develop artificial-intelligence infrastructure with partners and strengthen cybersecurity initiatives. The U.S. technology giant said Friday that the investment plan is aimed at helping advance Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s goal of improving the nation’s economic security and promoting growth investments in advanced techn...
Microsoft plans to invest $10 billion in Japan over the next four years to develop artificial-intelligence infrastructure with partners and strengthen cybersecurity initiatives. The U.S. technology giant said Friday that the investment plan is aimed at helping advance Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s goal of improving the nation’s economic security and promoting growth investments in advanced technologies. Microsoft said it would team up with internet services providers SoftBank and Sakura Internet to consider jointly developing AI services to support the development of domestic large language models and other applications.
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images By Elior Manier Certainty is a fool's errand in recent market dynamics. The most seasoned traders would even admit that trading has never been about certainty. Still, more about careful planning and risk-taking - the former part is quite a daunting task with fundamentals changing by the minute. The latter, however, is where traders can extract alpha by contr...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images By Elior Manier Certainty is a fool's errand in recent market dynamics. The most seasoned traders would even admit that trading has never been about certainty. Still, more about careful planning and risk-taking - the former part is quite a daunting task with fundamentals changing by the minute. The latter, however, is where traders can extract alpha by controlling their bias, sizing, and jumping ship with every market-changing headline. Investors are looking for a dip to buy to profit from a real turn in the war. Still, despite better hopes for conflict resolution in the past week and a half, the overarching theme is one of fragile stability. De-escalation hasn't yet materialized with Iran multiplying attacks, reportedly now directly targeting US companies (including Amazon Web Services servers). On the other hand, US and Israeli attacks on IRGC infrastructures continue - nothing really changed there. But the largest panic component came after President Trump's latest address at the White House yesterday, where he U-turned on his prior softer tone. And that turn wasn't welcomed by broader assets, which all tumbled, including stock markets and futures around the globe, right as his speech started. He did not mention a direct ground operation. Still, the Pentagon has been preparing for weeks of limited ground operation , which corroborates the deployment of Marines to the Middle East throughout last week. That doesn't bode well for any hopes of de-escalation. Once again, the only real element that traders should watch is oil and its price movements. Before hoping for the best, WTI would have to remain below $100 on a daily close, and a weekly close would be even better. In any case, market volatility has been fragile, as volumes are lower amid the Passover and Easter holidays approaching, compounded by tomorrow's NFP release (preview incoming). After dumping during overnight futures trading, stock markets gapped lower at the ope...
TOKYO, April 3 (Reuters) - Tesla plans to expand in Japan to at least 60 stores as it seeks to become the country's biggest imported car brand by as early as next year, the head of its Japan business
TOKYO, April 3 (Reuters) - Tesla plans to expand in Japan to at least 60 stores as it seeks to become the country's biggest imported car brand by as early as next year, the head of its Japan business