Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Brazil Cuts Key Interest Rate for a Third Time
November 30, 2011
Central banks tend to cut interest rates faster than they raise them, and Brazil’s committee of policymakers known as COPOM is no exception. During a six-month period from January 2009 to July 2009, the Brazilian Selic Rate was slashed by 500 basis points to 8.75%. Subsequent tightening stretched over 15 months from April 2010 to […] More
Bonds and Stocks
November in Figures
November 30, 2011
November had uncanny parallels to October. Most of October had seen a rise in risk appetite and associated weakness in the dollar and strength in equities, and in most of November just the opposite had occurred. Former Greek Prime Minister Papandreou’s proposal to submit the October 26 EU rescue package to a referendum caused that […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Banks Deliver Coordinated Program to Counter Funding Strains
November 30, 2011
At 13:30 GMT, the European Central Bank, Federal Reserve Bank, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Bank of Japan, and Bank of Canada simultaneously posted statements on their web sites announcing new actions to grease their collective ability to address financial market strains that are constraining credit to final users. The statements have three parts. […] More
Central Bank Watch
A Shift of Monetary Gears By the Bank of Thailand
November 30, 2011
The one-day RP key central bank benchmark rate in Thailand has been cut by 25 basis points to 3.25% in a 5-2 vote with two policymakers who favored a reduction of 50 basis points. Officials consider policy “accommodative” but reacted to evidence of a greater-than-previously-expected drag on growth from Thailand’s severe floods. Another headwind depressing […] More
Deeper Analysis
North American Data Round-Up
November 30, 2011
November ended in a flurry of good North American data cheer. Prior to today, investors learned of much stronger-than-forecast on-year growth in holiday retail sales during the post-Thanksgiving weekend. Yesterday’s news that the Conference Board gauge of U.S. consumer confidence had jumped 15.1 points to 56.0 in November, best since July, added to the festive […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Both Good and Bad News on a Busy Day
November 30, 2011
The People’s Bank of China implemented the first reserve ratio reduction, effective December 5, since 2008, cutting the ratio for largest banks by 50 basis points to 21.0%. Such came after the close of trading and following a 3.3% drop in Chinese share prices on the final day of November. The Bank of Thailand also […] More
