August 18, 2017
The dollar lost 0.5% overnight against the yen, loonie, kiwi and Aussie dollar. The greenback also dipped 0.1% versus the euro, Swissy, yuan and sterling. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.2% or 232 points overnight. In other selected markets around the Pacific Rim, stocks lost 1.0% in Hong Kong, 0.9% in India, 0.6% in Australia and 0.5% […] Read Article
August 18, 2017
Central Banks: Iceland, Indonesia and Hungary have planned monetary policy reviews next week, and Draghi and Constancio of the European Central Bank speak publicly. Holidays and Special Events: The Hindu holiday of Garesh Chaturthi begins Friday, and the annual Jackson Hole central banking symposium, hosted by the Kansas City Fed, runs from Thursday through Saturday. […] Read Article
August 17, 2017
The latest review of Chilean monetary policy ended with a decision to leave the key interest rate at 2.5%, the level since the last of four 25-basis point cuts implemented between January and May of this year. The policy bias remains neutral. Inflation of 1.7% currently lies below the target of 3%, but officials still […] Read Article
August 3, 2017
The U.S. non-manufacturing purchasing managers index slumped 3.5 points to an 11-month low of 53.9 in July, depressed by declines of 5.4 points in new business, 4.9 points in business activity, and 2.2 points in employment. Euroland’s services PMI, by contrast, stayed unchanged with a reading of 55.4 in July, causing the differential between the […] Read Article
August 17, 2017
The “Account” of the ECB Governing Council Meeting on July 19-20 expresses concern about the euro, which has been rising in response to fundamental improvement in the economy, possibly strengthening too much, which could dull the recovery and delay a return to the inflation target. Although the risk of deflation has receded, inflation remains below […] More
August 16, 2017
Minutes from the July 25-26th Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting revealed compartmentalized thinking on the two policy normalization issues. Committee members were split over whether a recent dip in inflation should in and of itself delay the next interest rate increase but unified on the need to publicize a road map soon of guidelines […] More
August 16, 2017
The last time Thailand’s central bank changed its policy rate was in April 2015 when the second of two 25-basis point cuts that year and eighth overall since November 2011 was implemented. The decision to keep the rate at 1.50% was taken unanimously, with one of the policymakers not attending today’s meeting. In a statement […] More
August 16, 2017
Markets have turned a deafer ear to geopolitical concerns, but such is likely only a temporary lull. A Korean war seems less imminent, but world alarm about changes happening in the United States continues to mount. The title of a Tuesday Op-Ed article in the Financial Times — America is now a dangerous nation — would have […] More
August 15, 2017
Today is the 72nd anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan, and markets there are closed. Reported remarks by the leaders of both Korean nations dispelled fear of an imminent resumption of war. Markets were also closed today in India for a holiday commemorating the 70th anniversary if independence and Italy for Assumption Day. The dollar […] More
August 14, 2017
North Korea hasn’t backed down rhetorically, and U.S. President Trump has every reason to keep foreign crisis distraction on the front-burner in light of the developments in Virginia. Nonetheless, the new week kicked off with last week’s haven-favored assets trimming their gains. Investors have shown temporary faith that a nuclear war will be averted one […] More
August 11, 2017
Central Banks: Monetary policy meetings in Chile and Thailand. Released minutes from the FOMC, European Central Bank and Reserve Bank of Australia. Holidays: The religious Assumption Day and Independence Day in both India and Indonesia. Scheduled U.S. Data Releases: Retail sales, industrial production, import prices, the Empire State and Philly Fed manufacturing surveys, housing starts, […] More
August 11, 2017
Concerns about a U.S./North Korean war continue to weigh on investor minds, but lower-than-forecast U.S. CPI data for July kept U.S. stocks stable and at the open following Thursday’s sell-off. Trump declared America’s military options “locked and loaded” in the event that North Korea fires a missile near Guam. U.S. total consumer prices ticked up […] More
August 10, 2017
Peru’s monetary policy rate was left steady at 3.75%. Two reductions have already been made this year, each of 25 basis points in May and July. The four prior changes were increases, also each by 25 basis points, and the last of these moves was done in February of 2016. A statement after this month’s […] More
August 10, 2017
The Trump-driven plunge of the peso in 2016 lifted Mexican inflation and elicited six 50-basis point interest rate hikes and four increases of 25 basis points starting in December 2015 and most recently in June of this year. The final three increases were by 25 basis points. according to a released statement from the Bank […] More
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