Larry's Blog
A Distrustful Society
September 29, 2009
When a deep hole is dug, it takes sustained confidence and courage to navigate a way out. Accomplishing such a turnaround is doubly hard in an age of distrust. Unfortunately, widespread mutual distrust is a sign of our times within countries and between them, and the longer problems fester, the more deeply layered the distrust […] More
British Economic Woes
September 29, 2009
The final second-quarter British national income accounts were published today. Real GDP contracted 2.3% at an annualized rate, more than twice as much as the drop in U.S. growth and about four times greater than Euroland’s slide. Business investment plunged 19.3%, exports sank 5.5% and household consumption fell by 2.4%. Productive output, service sector output […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank Rate Cuts in Russia and Romania
September 29, 2009
Following Hungary’s 50-basis point rate cut on Monday, similar-sized reduction were implemented today in the Russian refinancing rate to 10.0% and the Romanian monetary policy rate to 8.0%. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation had implemented six earlier rate cuts, two by 25 bps in mid-September and early August and one each of 50 […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Dollar Higher Against Euro, Yen, and Swiss Franc
September 29, 2009
Despite the weekend victory of the center-right in Germany’s election on Sunday, the dollar is 0.3% higher against the euro. The greenback also gained 0.6% against the Swissy, 0.3% relative to the yen, and 0.1% against the Canadian dollar, but it is 0.1% lower versus the kiwi and Aussie dollar. The 10-year JGB is unchanged […] More
