Central Bank Watch
Australian Monetary Policy Left as Is
September 4, 2012
The Reserve Bank of Australia Board decided to retain a 3.5% Official Cash Rate level after meeting earlier today. This was the third such monthly decision in a row. In 2009-10, the OCR was hiked seven times from 3.0% to 4.75%, but four cuts since last November including one of 50 basis points this past […] More
Deeper Analysis
U.S. Factory Advantage Versus Euro Area Narrowed in August
September 4, 2012
The 4.5-point differential between the U.S. and euro area manufacturing purchasing manager scores shrank by 1.3 points last month to +4.5 points. This was the lowest U.S.-minus-Ezone spread since February and second smallest since September 2011. For a third straight month, both regions had sub-50 readings. Readings below that threshold imply contracting activity. The U.S. […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Another Day Closer to the ECB Press Conference
September 4, 2012
The dollar is unchanged against the euro and Swiss franc, up 0.1% versus the yuan and sterling, and up 0.2% against the yen. The weakest majors have been the Australian and New Zealand dollars, against which the greenback is 0.5% and 0.4% stronger. There’s been a leak of a closed door Draghi briefing to the […] More
