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To: Lucretius who wrote (43266)	12/3/2000 11:19:03 AM
From: Box-By-The-Riviera™	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

well....it does seem to be a theme number don't you think? other news: Good week for the $A battler as US slumps By Jane Counsel The Australian dollar starts this week with its brightest prospects in months with crucial economic data in the United States expected to further boost buying support for the currency. The dollar rose US1.2c to US53.80 in local trading on Friday, its highest close since early October, due to weakness in the greenback and an upbeat assessment of the local economy by Reserve Bank governor Mr Ian Macfarlane. The dollar dipped marginally to US53.70 in offshore trading on Friday night but is expected to push back towards the US55c mark this week with the release of data likely to confirm the faster than forecast slowdown of the US economy. "Global investors are re-assessing their love affair with everything American," Commonwealth Securities chief economist Mr Craig James said. "As a result many are moving their money into other destinations and the euro and the Australian dollar are benefiting." Locally, economists will also be focused on several pieces of domestic data to determine how much the economy is slowing after a spate of negative business surveys in recent weeks. The Australian Business Commonwealth Bank manufacturing survey, released yesterday, revealed the weakest business conditions in 10 years in NSW during the December quarter. However, the survey cited the GST and Olympics as the key influences with the manufacturers surveyed expecting a rebound during the March quarter. The health of the US economy however, appears more precarious, with the mid-week release of the US Federal "beige book" expected to highlight a pronounced slowing of industrial activity - particularly in manufacturing. Fears that the US could be headed for a recession has hit sentiment for the greenback which has weakened against all the major currencies in the past week. Although the dollar's prospects are firming, the Australian sharemarket is facing a cautious week due to a lack of direction from Wall Street and the impact of the domestic economic data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index lost almost 9 per cent last week to 2,645.3 but the broader US market experienced more modest losses with the Dow Jones Industrial index slipping less than 1 per cent for the week to close at 10,373.5. The RBA's Mr Macfarlane indicated to the parliamentary committee in Wagga Wagga last week that Australia had avoided the "boom-bust cycle". This meant there was no need to move again on interest rates.