Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.6% to 7,247.00
  • Dow Average down 1.4% to 33,480.53
  • Aussie down 0.1% to 0.6689 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 6.0bps to 3.5150%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 7.1 bps to 3.09%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 3 bps to 3.40%
  • Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,771.42
  • Brent futures down 3.8% to $79.50/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$90 Billion 3% 2033 Bonds
  • 11:30: (AU) 3Q GDP YoY, est. 6.3%, prior 3.6%
  • 11:30: (AU) 3Q GDP SA QoQ, est. 0.7%, prior 0.9%
  • 16:30: (AU) Nov. Foreign Reserves, prior A$86.3b

Australia’s GDP likely expanded at a more modest pace in the third quarter, as rising inflation and higher interest rates crimped household demand.

Stocks slumped amid gloomy economic warnings from bank chiefs at a time when concerns about the impacts of Federal Reserve policy on growth and corporate earnings are running rampant.

A rout in tech giants like Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. weighed heavily on the market, with the Nasdaq 100 down 2% and the S&P 500 suffering a fourth straight loss. All but two firms in the KBW Bank Index of financial heavyweights fell. As traders sought safety, the dollar rose with Treasuries.

Other News

Asked to sum up 2022 in a word, the public has chosen a phrase.

Oxford Dictionaries said Monday that “goblin mode” has been selected by online vote as its word of the year.

It defines the term as “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”

First seen on Twitter in 2009, “goblin mode” gained popularity in 2022 as people around the world emerged uncertainly from pandemic lockdowns.

“Given the year we’ve just experienced, ‘goblin mode’ resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point,” said Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl.

The word of the year is intended to reflect “the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the past twelve months.” For the first time this year’s winning phrase was chosen by public vote, from among three finalists selected by Oxford Languages lexicographers: goblin mode, metaverse and the hashtag IStandWith.

Despite being relatively unknown offline, goblin mode was the overwhelming favorite, winning 93% of the more than 340,000 votes cast.

The choice is more evidence of a world unsettled after years of pandemic turmoil, and by the huge changes in behavior and politics brought by social media.

Last week Merriam-Webster announced that its word of the year is “gaslighting” –  psychological manipulation intended to make a person question the validity of their own thoughts.

In 2021 the Oxford word of the year was “vax” and Merriam-Webster’s was “vaccine.”

(USA Today)