Central Bank Watch
A Greater-than-Expected 50-Basis Point Selic Rate Cut in Brazil
March 18, 2020
Copom, the interest rate policy-making committee at the Central Bank of Brazil had previously cut its Selic rate five times since last July. While the first four reductions were by 50 basis points each, the increment was halved to 25 basis points at last month’s review, and this had analysts anticipating another 25-basis point cut […] More
Larry's Blog
An Inconvenient Milestone for U.S. Equities
March 18, 2020
In today’s chapter of the bear market, the Dow Jones Industrials index fell briefly below the 19,827 level prevailing when President Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. It touched an intra-day low of 18,917 before closing with a net daily loss of 6.3% at 19,899. Closing levels today in the DJIA, S&P 500, and […] More
Central Bank Watch
Second Icelandic Interest Rate Cut in A Week
March 18, 2020
The Central Bank of Iceland (Sedlabanki) at an unscheduled meeting lowered its 7-day term rate by another 50 basis points to a record low of 1.75%. The rate was cut by 50 basis points and reserve requirements were reduced to zero percent at the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s March 11 meeting. The spreading covid-19 pandemic […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Stocks and Bond Prices Tumble, and the Dollar Keeps Strengthening
March 18, 2020
Fear deepened on Wednesday. The number of covid-19 cases worldwide rose over 15,000 in the last 25 hours to 203,612, and 730 more reported deaths brings the pandemic total to 8,229. The U.S. senate continues to obstruct, even though Treasury Secretary Mnuchin reportedly made the prediction of 20-plus unemployment in the United States without passage […] More
