Central Bank Watch
ECB Rate Hike Gun is Locked and Loaded
April 6, 2011
Since the March policy meeting five weeks ago, ECB officials have painstakingly prepared markets for a rate hike on April 7, which presumably will be 25 basis points in size. The statement released last month used all the coded expressions that generally precede an increases. Comments by officials subsequently have backed up the initial signals, […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of England Unlikely to Modify Policy Thursday
April 6, 2011
The Bank of England policy announcement this month will be made at 11:00 GMT tomorrow. The February and March meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee produced identical votes. Regarding the 0.5% Base Rate, its level since March 2009, two of nine (Weale and Dale) recommended a 25-basis point increase, one (Sentance) sought a hike of […] More
Central Bank Watch
More Stimulus from the Bank of Japan Seems Inevitable
April 6, 2011
Less than two weeks after the Tohoku – Pacific Ocean earthquake, Japan’s government released a preliminary study that estimated JPY 16 – 25 trillion of damage to human capital, housing, plant and equipment. At the high end, a drag of 1.5% of GDP is foreseen in fiscal 2012. The operative word is “preliminary.” These are early […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Weaker Yen and Dollar
April 6, 2011
The dollar climbed above JPY 85.0 for the first time since last September 24, edging up 0.2%. The dollar otherwise lost 1.0% against the Swiss franc, 0.8% versus the kiwi, 0.5% relative to the Australian dollar and euro, and 0.3% against the Canadian dollar. The greenback is unchanged against sterling and the yuan. Stocks in […] More
