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GDP and Unemployment in the U.S., Euro Area, Japan, and Britain
November 17, 2009
The recession bottomed in the second quarter in the United States and Euroland, the first quarter in Japan, and was still going last quarter in the United Kingdom. At those respective lows, real GDP had declined from peak by 8.4% in Japan, 6.0% in Britain, 5.1% in the euro area, and 3.8% in the United [...] More
Buttressing the Dollar
November 12, 2009
Lip services goes only so far. Secretary Geithner’s words yesterday in Asia were a variation on a 14-year-old theme but nevertheless as supportive rhetorically as I ever remember. I believe deeply that it’s very important to the United States, to the economic health of the U.S., that we maintain a strong dollar. And this too: We have a [...] More
October in Figures
November 1, 2009
The DOW was unchanged on balance in October, but other stock markets fell. Bond yields climbed, and the dollar ended mixed despite considerable bearish chatter. Oil and gold extended their uptrends during the month. 10-Yr Yield 09/30/09 10/30/09 Chg vs End-Aug U.S. 3.31% 3.39% +8 Basis Points Germany 3.22% 3.23% +1 Japan 1.30% 1.42% +12 U.K. 3.59% 3.62% +3 Canada 3.31% 3.42% +11 3-month euros U.S. 0.29% 0.28% -1 Basis Points Euroland 0.71% 0.67% -4 Japan 0.35% 0.35% 0 U.K. 0.54% 0.59% +5 Canada 0.50% 0.50% 0 Swiss 0.29% 0.29% 0 FX Pct Chg in US$ EUR/$ 1.4635 1.4704 -0.5% $/JPY 89.78 90.01 +0.3% $/CHF 1.0361 1.0264 -0.9% GBP/$ 1.5984 1.6417 -2.6% AUD/$ 0.8832 0.8990 -1.8% NZ$/$ 0.7228 0.7162 +0.9% $/CAD 1.0696 1.0829 +1.2% Equities Nasdaq 2122 2045 -3.6% Djia 9712 9713 +0.0% Dax 5675 5415 -4.6% Nikkei 10133 10035 -1.0% Ftse 5134 5045 -1.7% Canada TSE 11395 10911 -4.2% Swiss SMI 6323 6286 -0.6% Commodities Oil, $ per brl 70.61 77.00 +9.0% Gold, $ per [...] More
No Posts Friday
August 28, 2009
New Overnight Developments and other posts will not appear later today. Sorry for the inconvenience. More
Tuesday's Developments
May 19, 2009
The dollar is weaker, depressed by weaker-than-forecast U.S. housing starts and permits and by a further drop in general risk aversion. From late Monday, the U.S. currency is down 1.1% against the pound, 1.0% versus the Australian dollar, 0.4% against the euro and Canadian dollar, 0.2% relative to the yen and 0.1% against the [...] More
Monday Developments
May 18, 2009
Markets exhibited a better tone on Monday. Stocks had experienced their worst weekly performance since early March, as risk aversion was buoyed by several worse-than-forecast economic indicators culminating Friday in Euroland first-quarter growth figures. Real GDP fell last quarter at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.4% in Germany, 9.4% in Italy, and 9.8% in [...] More
Next Week
May 15, 2009
The central bank and economic data calendars are comparatively light next week. The Bank of Japan will of course retain its overnight target rate at 0.1%, where such has stood since December, while street analysts look for the Bank of Thailand to cut its key rate by a further 25 basis points. The Bank of [...] More
Administrative Notice
May 13, 2009
Unavoidable circumstances through Wednesday, May 20, will limit how much, if anything, can be posted on this weblog. Production should return to normal later next week. More
Currency Thoughts Hits 1000 Postings
May 7, 2009
My review of the Bank of England statement below was the 1000th post of this blog. If you haven’t already done so, please take a couple of minutes to fill out the brief customer satisfaction survey to make the next thousand posts even more useful. Thank you for your support. More
It's Time to Hear from You!
May 4, 2009
Currency Thoughts has been on the web for just over a year. It’s time for a “reader survey.” Please take a minute or two to let us know your thoughts in the linked ten-question survey so we can provide the coverage that means the most to you. Many thanks in advance for your response. -Larry [...] More
