Central Bank Watch
Chile’s Secend Central Bank Rate Cut in March and Fifth Reduction Since Mid-2019
April 2, 2020
The Central Bank of Chile Board authorized a 50-basis point reduction of its policy interest rate on March 31 by unanimous vote just two weeks after an emergency meeting that cut such by 75 basis points on the 16th. In the second half of 2019, officials had also engineered cuts of 50 basis ponts in […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Awaiting Weekly U.S. Jobless Insurance Claims Data
April 2, 2020
The stage for this week’s renewed financial market pessimism had been set a week ago when the Labor Department reported a record 3.283K upsurge in new jobless insurance claims for the week of March 21st, and now investors are bracing for an even greater increase of close to 4 million or more. The U.S. advance […] More
Deeper Analysis
Greatest U.S. Manufacturing Advantage Over Euro Area in 11 Months
April 1, 2020
The U.S. ISM-compiled manufacturing purchasing managers index fell 1.0 points to a 3-month low of 49.1 in March. However, Euroland’s IHS-compiled PMI dropped by a much greater 4.7 points to a 92-month low and, as a result, America’s comparative advantage– calculated by subtracting the Ezone score from the U.S. reading — increased by 3.7 points […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Market Strains in Spite of Some Better-than-Feared Economic Data
April 1, 2020
The second quarter and Japan’s new fiscal year began on a difficult note for world financial markets. The Japanese Nikkei slumped 4.5%, while markets in India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore closed down 4.1%, 3.9%, 2.2%, 1.6% and 1.4%. The German Dax and Paris Cac are currently each 4.1%, while share price losses […] More
Deeper Analysis
March and First Quarter 2020 in Figures
March 31, 2020
Similar to February, the dollar’s net movements against the euro, yen, and Swiss franc were an oasis of stability amid the continuing financial market drama elsewhere. For the whole first quarter, the dollar was particularly well-bid against sterling and commodity-sensitive currencies like the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian dollars. For central bank watchers, March was […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Another Downturn in Stock Prices
March 31, 2020
Asian equities had a decent session with gains of 3.6% in India, 2.7% in Singapore, 2.2% in South Korea and 1.9% in Hong Kong, but Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.9%. Conditions worsened in Europe, with equity market drops so far of 1.4% in France, 0.9% in Germany and 0.4% in France, and U.S. futures also […] More
Central Bank Watch
Monetary Policy Eased in Singapore
March 30, 2020
The semi-annual monetary policy review by officials at the Monetary Authority of Singapore cut the slope of the Singapore dollar’s allowed trading range to zero percent. This matches the slope allowed from April 2016 through April 2018. The center of the trading band will be is present level, and the width of the band remains […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Week Brings More Covid-19 Deaths and More Risk Aversion
March 30, 2020
There have now been almost three quarters of a million identified Covid-19 cases around the world, resulting in 35k deaths. About a fifth of the cases have occurred in the United States. In the past 24 hours, Spain reported 537 more deaths to the illness. A ban on U.S. social gatherings has been extended to […] More
Central Bank Watch
Third 50-Basis Point Canadian Central Bank Rate Cut Since March 4
March 27, 2020
At a regularly scheduled Governing Council meeting on March 4, the Bank of Canada’s overnight policy rate was cut to 1.25% from 1.75%, a level that had prevailed since a 25-basis point hike in October 2018. A statement released after that meeting observed that Canadian GDP was close to potential and inflation near target but […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week’s Menu: March 28 – April 3, 2020
March 27, 2020
Central Banks: Monetary policy reviews are scheduled in Singapore and Chile. Policy meetings scheduled originally for April 3rd in India and Romania were held in advance of that date. The RBI today announced a 75-basis point cut and several other easing measures, and the National Bank of Romania’s 50-bp cut on March 20 was accompanied […] More
