Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan Leaves Policy Settings Unchanged
January 21, 2020
This month’s Bank of Japan meeting of the Policy Board concluded with no change in policy settings and the release of the quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices which includes a perplexing mix of upgraded growth forecasts but downgraded estimates of future core inflation. The announcement of no policy change after four hours and […] More
Virus Scare Grabs the Market’s Attention
January 21, 2020
Nothing changes the mood of investors like the sudden emergence of an unknown unknown. Just last week, markets were rejoicing about the signing of a Phase I trade deal between China and the United States, which engendered hopes of lessening trade tensions not just between the world’s two largest economies but elsewhere as well. Investors […] More
Thursday Rundown of Overnight News, Data Reports, and Central Bank Decisions
December 19, 2019
President Trump has been impeached by a House of Representatives partisan vote of 229-197. He will get a trial in the senate. Market movements today are mostly unremarkable. Sovereign debt yields are up. Equities are down a bit in Europe but started on an up note in the United States. New Zealand’s stock market rallied […] More
Bank of Japan Leaves Policy Settings as Is but Cuts Projected Growth and Inflation
October 31, 2019
The Bank of Japan’s latest policy review, a meeting lasting five hours and 18 minutes over two days, produced no change in policy settings: a negative 0.1% short-term policy interest rate, a targeted 10-year JGB yield of “around zero percent,” and plans to buy about JPY 80 tln of JGB’s annually. This month’s policy review […] More
Soft Economic Data and China Balking on a Long-Term Trade Deal
October 31, 2019
Equity markets today are down 1.1% in India, 0.9% in the U.K., and 0.4% in China and Australia. 10-year sovereign debt yields also reflect a more cautious investor mood. Canada’s 10-year yield tumbled 15 basis points on Wednesday. Today, the 10-year German bund and British gilt yields are down 5 bps, and the U.S. Treasury […] More
Eight More Central Bank Meetings, a U.S. Current Account Report, and Downgraded Global Growth
September 19, 2019
Dollar movement overnight was mixed, with gains against the Australian dollar, kiwi, sterling, and yuan but losses relative to the yen, Swiss franc, euro, loonie and peso. The 10-year U.S. Treasury and Japanese JGB yields fell three basis points. Their German and British counterparts are respective a basis point higher and a basis point lower. […] More
European Economic Sentiment Stumbled in July
July 30, 2019
European share prices fell Tuesday, depressed by an unexpectedly large slide in economic sentiment in the euro area to a 40-month low of 102.7 in July. That’s down from 105.2 just two months earlier and 111.2 a year ago. Germany’s economic sentiment slumped 2.4 points between June and July. Two big factors are sapping the […] More
Japanese Monetary Policy Not Changed
June 20, 2019
Following its scheduled monetary policy review, the Bank of Japan left its stance unchanged but observed weak industrial production, export demand, housing, and expected inflation. Amid escalating global uncertainties and ahead of a planned domestic sales tax hike, BOJ officials flagged a rising possibility of more easing in the future, but the credibility of that […] More
Dollar Down on a Perfect Storm of Tensions Fraught with Uncertainty
June 20, 2019
The dollar lost 0.6-0.9% overnight against the euro, Swiss franc, loonie, yuan, kiwi, Australian dollar and Mexican peso. The greenback also has fallen 0.4% relative to the yen and 0.3% vis-a-vis sterling. The list of unknowns keeps lengthening. Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone, seemingly bringing another Middle East war closer. From Fed Chairman […] More
Bank of Japan Keeps Rates Policy Unchanged and Updates Forecasts
April 25, 2019
The third scheduled Japanese monetary policy review of 2019 coincided with publication of the quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices, in which the baseline projections have been updated for GDP growth and core CPI inflation (excluding fresh food and adjusted to exclude as well the effect of a 2-percentage point consumption sales tax due […] More
