Friday 20th February 2025

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It’s not all good news from the US. Although Walmart reported strong profit growth yesterday the outlook is less certain, and there are indicators that their customer base is a section of US society that is suffering. The dollar is weaker today and shares, generally are lower. Nonetheless, NAB’s Rodrigo Catril says support for President Trump remains strong and markets did respond to a comment that a new deal with China was “possible”.

Locally, there were no surprises in the latest Australian employment data yesterday. Unemployment did tick higher, but job numbers also increased, some of which can be explained by seasonality factors.  He senses Michelle Bullock’s appearance at the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics could be a little politically charged, as the next election nears. And politics dominates the agenda in Europe, with Germany’s federal election on Sunday. How this could influence Europe’s plans for a more unified approach to defence and energy is a key question, looked at in the Weekend Edition out later.

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