RBA's Ellis: Pockets of potential mortgage stress in otherwise benign debt picture

Ivan Delgado Independent Analyst

Luci Ellis, Assistant Governor (Economic) for the RBA, in a speech to a Plenary Panel at the Australasian Housing Researchers Conference in Melbourne, notes that the Central Bank must be aware of pockets of potential mortgage stress in an otherwise benign debt picture.

Headlines - via Reuters

Says most domestic mortgage debt held by those most able to service it

Need to be aware of pockets of potential mortgage stress in otherwise benign debt picture

Australia home ownership rates neither high nor low by international standards

Housing policy should focus more on security of tenure, than ownership status

Housing situation more complex than suggested by single-minded focus on median prices

Author

Ivan Delgado

Independent Analyst

Established in the Asian continent since 2009, Ivan studied a degree in Business at the University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), while also earning a postgraduate degree in Business Administration.

EUR/USD: Breakdown below trading range support near 1.1770 comes into play

The EUR/USD pair opens with a bearish gap at the start of a new week as the US-Iran war-led global flight to safety boosts the US Dollar. Spot prices, however, lack follow-through selling and manage to hold above mid-1.1700s during the Asian session.

GBP/USD targets 1.3500 barrier near moving averages

GBP/USD rebounds from the daily losses, trading around 1.3450 during the Asian hours on Monday. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates an ongoing bearish bias, as the pair trades within a descending channel pattern.

Gold jumps over 2% toward $5,400 after US, Israel attack Iran

Gold is on fire at the start of the week, a widely expected move, as investors seek harbor in the traditional store of value, following the continued US and Israel attacks on Iran. The bright metal opened with a bullish gap of about $17 and rallied toward the $5,400 level as Asian traders hit their desks and reacted negatively to the weekend news of the Middle East conflict, rushing for cover in Gold.

Top Crypto Losers: Tezos, Toncoin, and Polkadot at crucial levels amid US-Israel strike on Iran

Altcoins such as Tezos, Toncoin, and Polkadot rank among the worst hit cryptocurrencies over the last 24 hours amid the US and Israel's attack on Iran. Tezos and Toncoin are down to crucial support levels while Polkadot remains near a crucial resistance trendline, showcasing underlying strength.

Crisis in the Middle East: The market reaction

Geopolitics and events between Iran, the US and the wider Middle East will dominate financial markets on Monday. The situation has continued to escalate as we move through Sunday. Bombing has continued across the UAE and into Iraq, the US has confirmed the deaths of several US servicemen, and a US sanctioned oil tanker has been hit in Oman.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.