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The US economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter, with consumer spending growing at its slowest pace in two years and business spending declining, raising speculation the economy is on the cusp of a recession. Key points: Prices of groceries, gasoline and other basic necessities are rising at the fastest pace since 1981 Job growth averaged 456,700 per month in the first half of the year Joe Biden said: “We also see signs of economic progress in the second quarter” By some definitions, a second consecutive quarterly decline in gross domestic product (GDP) would be considered a “technical recession”. US President Joe Biden dismissed talk of a recession, however, pointing to a “historically strong” job market along with strong consumer spending and business investment. But contraction, on 0.9 percent annual rate last quarter, attracted widespread attention because of concerns about the growing economy. That could deter the Federal Reser...

Wine exports to mainland China are scraping the bottom of the barrel, with just six million liters exported in the last financial year, worth $24.6 million. Key points: Wine exports to mainland China have fallen from 120 million liters per year to six million liters The US is now Australia’s largest export market by value Exports to countries other than China rose five percent to $2.06 billion That’s a big drop from the end of the financial year in 2020, when exports to mainland China totaled 120.7 million liters and were worth $1.1 billion over the 12-month period to June 30. That was before China imposed import tariffs of around 220 per cent on bottled Australian wine imports later that year. Overall it has been a difficult financial year for Australian wine producers with exports down 10 percent in volume to 625 million liters and down 19 percent in value to $2.08 billion in the year ended 30 June. Australian Wine market insight manager Peter Bailey said China’s re...