Central Bank Watch
Monetary Policy Held Steady in Hungary and Eased in Israel
February 23, 2009
Magyar Zembeti Bank, Hungary’s central bank, left its key interest rate at 9.5% as expected and released a statement that stressed the need to preserve financial market stability. The forint, like several Eastern European currencies, has been under selling pressure, a development that has also weighed on the euro. The Bank of Israel somewhat unexpectedly […] More
Bonds and Stocks
Monday Monday, Can't Trust That Day
February 23, 2009
The DOW fell 3.4% today and on the first calendar week session in ten of the last eleven weeks. The index is 0.5% away from exceeding a cumulative drop of 50% from the October record closing high of 14165. The market has lost 20.8% since Warren Buffett in mid-October pronounced that it was then a […] More
Canada In the Grip of a Triple Whammy
February 23, 2009
After an unexpected 1.3% annualized rise of real GDP in 3Q08, the Canadian economy fell into a severe recession and likely contracted by more than the Bank of Canada’s assumption of 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008. The central bank also penciled in negative growth rates of 4.8% this quarter and 1.0% in 2Q09. […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: WSJ Story on Citi
February 23, 2009
The U.S. federal government will buy up to 40% of Citigroup shares according to the Wall Street Journal. The report lifted bond yields, stocks and oil prices. The dollar rose 1.6% against the yen, surpassing last week’s high against the Japanese currencies. The greenback also gained 0.8% against the Swiss franc but lost 1.1% versus […] More
