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☆ Australia wages jump 1.0% in Q3, biggest gain in a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Currently, it expects wage growth to plateaux around 3.9% late next year and into 2024. Another, even larger, rise for aged care workers is set to lift wages in the first quarter of next year. The private sector led the way in the September quarter with a rise of 1.2%, double that of the public sector. That lifted annual growth in private firms to 3.4%, while public jobs lagged at just 2.4% amid government controls on pay. The average size of wage increase for those jobs where wages moved was 4.3%, up from 2.9% a year before.

Insurers face potential losses of up to $60 billion from Hurricane Ian, which ravaged Florida and the Carolinas in September in what could be the second-largest natural catastrophe loss in U.S. history. Zurich sees its overall catastrophe loss ratio for the first nine months around two percentage points above long-term trends. Zurich holds an investor day next week when it will set out its 2023-2025 targets. Quinn said the targets will likely be tougher, after "robust premium increases" helped the insurer's recent performance. Zurich announced a 1.8 billion Swiss franc ($1.83 billion) share buyback programme at half-year results, which Quinn told an earlier media call would likely kick off in the fourth quarter.

☆ U.S. labor market unwavering despite stiff interest rates hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But annual revisions to the data showed productivity much stronger in 2020 and 2021 than previously reported. Unit labor costs - the price of labor per single unit of output - increased at a 3.5% rate after accelerating at a pace of 8.9% in the second quarter. Unit labor costs advanced at a 6.1% rate from a year ago. Growth in unit labor costs was much slower than previously estimated in 2020 and 2021. Labor costs"Both productivity growth and labor cost growth may be understated," said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital in New York.

[1/2] A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. This week 37 countries, including Australia, will meet at the White House with the goal of tackling ransomware and other cyber crime. Australian cybersecurity insurance premiums rose by an average of 56% year-on-year in the second quarter, said insurer Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc (MMC.N). The average Australian cybersecurity base salary is A$105,000, according to jobs website Glassdoor. Neil Curtis, an Australian cybersecurity executive of U.S. technology contractor DXC Technology Co (DXC.N), who runs a programme retraining military veterans in cybersecurity, said he had requests for about 300 trained personnel in the next six months.

☆ Germany's Solar Valley could shine again as Europe strives to close energy gap
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

It is also reacting to a new U.S. law that has raised concern the remains of Germany's formerly-dominant solar industry could relocate to the United States. China's production is also around 10%-20% cheaper that in Europe, separate data from European Solar Manufacturing Council ESMC shows. Dries Acke, the Policy Director at industry body SolarPower Europe, said the body had written to the European Commission urging action. Berlin-based residential solar energy supplier Zolar said orders have risen by 500% year-on-year since the Ukraine war began in February, but clients might have to wait for six-to-nine months to get a solar system installed. "The signs for the solar industry in Germany are much, much better now," he said.

☆ U.S. Jobless Claims Rose Slightly Last Week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( David Harrison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. job market remains healthy but has shown signs of modest cooling. U.S. worker filings for jobless benefits edged higher last week, but remained near historically low levels. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased slightly to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 last week from 214,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims are up from earlier this year but remain near their prepandemic 2019 weekly average of 218,000, when the labor market also was historically strong.

☆ Sen. Warren says big banks fail to prevent 'rampant' fraud on payment platform Zelle, urges CFPB to tighten regulations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Truist reported 9,455 fraud and scam claims on Zelle in 2020 and 22,045 in 2021, according to the senator. Its customers are on track to make 160,977 scam and fraud claims on Zelle in 2022. The value of the scam and fraud claims received by PNC, Truist, U.S. Bank and Bank of America exceeded $90 million in 2020. The data that Wells Fargo released revealed that customers reported fraud and scams on Zelle at a nearly 2.5 times higher rate in 2022 than in 2019. "And that is more than twice as high for Wells customers compared to customers of other banks," Warren wrote.

☆ Sri Lanka consumer inflation hits record 73.7% in September
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Annual food price inflation picked up to 85.8% from 84.6% in August, while prices of non-food items rose 62.8%. Sri Lanka's Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe predicted earlier on Thursday that inflation in the island nation is peaking, with price rises likely to ease this month. read moreThe NCPI captures broader retail price inflation and isreleased with a lag of 21 days every month. The more closely monitored Colombo Consumer Price Index(CCPI) (LKCCPI=ECI), released at the end of each month, rose69.8% in August. It acts as a leading indicator for nationalprices and shows how inflation is evolving in Sri Lanka'sbiggest city.

☆ Mortgage applications fall to the lowest since 1997 as the 30-year fixed rate edges closer to 7%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage applications dropped 4.5% last week from the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's brings application volume to its lowest level since 1997 amid a fourth month of declines. The decline comes as the 30-year fixed rate reached 6.94%, hitting a fresh 20-year high. The fall in borrowing volumes to finance home purchases comes as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 6.94%, a 20-year high. The slowdown in housing has been brewing for months, in line with interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

☆ Jobless Claims Rose Modestly Last Week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. worker filings for unemployment benefits rose last week, reflecting a still tight labor market that has lost steam from earlier in the year. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to a seasonally adjusted 228,000 last week from the 219,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday.

☆ Jobless Claims Rose Slightly Last Week but Remain Close to Prepandemic Average
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Gabriel T. Rubin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly after five consecutive weeks of decline as many employers continue to hold on to workers despite a slowing economy. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to a seasonally adjusted 213,000 last week from a revised 208,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The total was slightly lower than the prepandemic average of 218,000 in 2019, when the labor market was also tight.

☆ US economic barometer drops for sixth month in a row, potentially ‘signaling a recession’
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York, NY CNN —A comprehensive gauge on the health of the US economy dropped in August for the sixth straight month, reinforcing concerns about a possible recession. The Conference Board said Thursday that its Leading Economic Index for the United States dipped last month. “Recession dynamics are building steam,” Gurleen Chadha, US economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note on Thursday. However, many economists say the jobs market remains too strong for the US economy to be in a recession. During recessions, businesses resort to widespread layoffs, and economic reports indicate that is not happening right now.

☆ Sri Lanka inflation rate surges to 70.2% in August
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSri Lankan rupees are seen in a bowl at a vegetable vendor's shop amid the rampant food inflation, amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 29 , 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonSept 21 (Reuters) - Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka accelerated to 70.2% in August,the statistics department said on Wednesday, as the island nation reels under its worst economic crisis in decades. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said in August that the inflation rate would moderate after peaking at about 70% as the country's economy slowed. It acts as a leading indicator for national prices and shows how inflation is evolving in Sri Lanka's biggest city. An acute dollar shortage, caused by economic mismanagement and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has left Sri Lanka struggling to pay for essential imports including food, fuel, fertiliser and medicine.

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