Australia’s Westpac Leading Index Advanced 0.5% in December

From bloomberg.com

An Australian index of leading economic indicators advanced in December as gains in money supply and U.S. industrial production outweighed declines in stocks and dwelling approvals. The index, a gauge of future economic growth, rose 0.5 percent from a month earlier to 283.4, Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) and the Melbourne Institute said in a statement in Sydney today. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens unexpectedly paused interest-rate reductions this month, after cutting at back-to-back meetings late last year, on optimism Europe will contain its fiscal problems and the domestic economy ... (full story)