PREVIOUS TRADING DAY EVENTS 31 May 2023

Announcements   

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill to suspend the 31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday to avoid a catastrophic U.S. default. Biden called the bill good news for the American people and the American economy. I urge the Senate to pass it as quickly as possible so that I can sign it into law, he said.

This legislation temporarily removes the debt until the first quarter of 2025, after the 2024 elections, allowing the U.S. to borrow more.

At best, we have a twoyear spending freeze thats full of loopholes and gimmicks, said Representative Chip Roy, a prominent member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus.

The next step the Senate must vote on the bill later this week before President Joe Biden can sign it into law. In the Senate, leaders of both parties said they hoped to move to enact the legislation before the weekend. But a potential delay over amendment votes could complicate matters.

Source httpswww.reuters.comworldususdebtceilingbillfacesnarrowpathpassagehouse20230531

Australias annual inflation figure was reported quite high yesterday. The CPI rose by more than expected, to 6.8 in April, suggesting sticky inflation will likely keep pressure on the central bank since aggressive rate hikes seem to not have the desired impact. 

It now looks more likely than not that Q2 inflation will overshoot the RBAs forecast of 6.3, said Marcel Thieliant, a senior economist at Capital Economics….