Finance

Original title: Australia Home Prices Rise for Seventh Month After Rate Cuts Australian home prices advanced for a seventh straight month, fueled by lower borrowing costs and a supply shortfall in major cities, with economists predicting further increases ahead. The Home Value Index rose 0.7% in August, property consultancy Cotality said on Monday, the strongest monthly gain since May 2024. Brisbane was the top monthly gainer with a 1.2% increase while bellwether Sydney climbed 0.8%, which was also the median result for the nation’s major cities. ...

Original title: China’s Private Factory Gauge Unexpectedly Returns to Growth China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly moved back into expansion territory in August, according to a private survey, though questions will persist about the strength of an economy pressured by tariffs and weak consumer confidence. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.5 from 49.5 in July, according to a statement released on Monday, above the 50 mark that separates contraction from growth. That exceeded every forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts, whose median estimate was 49.8. ...

Original title: China’s Yuan Is ‘Incredibly Weak’ for Fair Trade, Setser Says China should allow the yuan to strengthen against its key partners’ currencies and well beyond 7 per dollar to foster fair trade, according to Brad Setser , senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The yuan is “incredibly weak” even as the People’s Bank of China recently nudged it higher, Setser, a former US Treasury official, said. It could rise about 15% on a trade-weighed basis to make up for its depreciation over the last few years, he said in an interview. ...

Original title: Oil Falls Following Monthly Drop With Glut, Geopolitics In Focus Oil declined following a monthly drop in August, with traders focused on concerns over a potential glut and geopolitical tensions. Brent fell toward $67 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was below $64. With Washington seeking to force India to halt imports of Russian oil by ratcheting up secondary tariffs, traders will track a meeting later Monday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is taking place as part of a regional summit in China. ...

Original title: Silver Climbs Past $40 as US Rate-Cut Bets Fuel Investor Demand Silver traded above $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011 as expectations grew for an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month, boosting investor appetite for precious metals. Spot silver rose as much as 1.4% to $40.2920 an ounce on Monday, taking gains for this year to more than 40% in a rally alongside gold, platinum and palladium. Bullion climbed as much as 0.7% to start the week, hitting its highest since a record in April. ...

Original title: New Zealand Opens Luxury Home Market to Golden-Visa Holders New Zealand will loosen its ban on foreigners buying houses, opening the door for wealthy investors to purchase luxury properties as part of a push to revive its sluggish economy. The coalition government on Monday said it will allow holders of so-called golden visas to buy houses worth at least NZ$5 million ($3 million), carving out an exemption to restrictions that have largely kept overseas buyers out of the market since 2018. The change won’t take effect until the end of the year, when reforms to the Overseas Investment Act are passed into law, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. ...