May 2, 2024
United States:
US Labor Costs Rise by Most in a Year as Productivity Cools
US labor costs increased in the first quarter by the most in a year as productivity gains slowed, potentially adding to risks inflation will remain elevated.
Unit labor costs, or what a business pays employees to produce one unit of output after taking into account changes in productivity, climbed at a 4.7% annual rate. That marked a notable jump after muted gains in the second half of 2023.
United Kingdom:
Record Cash Demand Spurs Speculation BOE Will End Bond Sales
Demand for cash from the Bank of England jumped to a record £12.2 billion ($15.3 billion) on Thursday, the latest in a string of increases that may spur policy makers to ease financial conditions through the bond market within months, analysts say.
The BOE will opt to end its weekly bond sales later this year, which will act in tandem with interest-rate cuts to loosen monetary policy, according to Deutsche Bank AG and NatWest Markets.
Asia:
Hong Kong Growth Beats Forecast as Recovery Gains Traction
Hong Kong’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, a tentative sign that the city’s post-pandemic recovery is stabilizing.
The city’s gross domestic product expanded 2.7% in the first three months of 2024, according to advanced estimates announced by the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday. That’s significantly higher than a forecast of 0.8% by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
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