British retail sales
U.S.-Sino Trade Relations Remains at Center Stage
August 15, 2019
The trade war between China and the United States rumbles on. While scheduled U.S. tariff hikes have been delayed to December, Beijing officials are not inclined to give the Trump Administration what it seeks and instead are preparing to retaliate in kind. A senior officials at the Reserve Bank of Australia expressed reservations about the […] More
A Quartet of Central Bank Rate Cuts and Netflix Stock Takes a Large Hit
July 18, 2019
Central bank rates were cut today in South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, and Ukraine. The likelihood that the Fed will ease at the end of this month played a role in each of these actions. All of the reductions were 25-basis point moves. The share price of Netflix has tumbled 10.75% in response to an […] 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
Theresa May Stepping Down as U.K. Prime Minister
May 24, 2019
The effective date of Prime Minister May’s resignation is June 7th. Her decision followed an emphatic parliamentary defeat on her last attempt to secure approval of a managed Brexit and EU parliamentary elections. While the exact result of how British voters cast their ballots will not be known for a while, exit polls point to […] More
Theme of the Day: Slowing Global Growth
March 21, 2019
Since the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and press conference yesterday, there’s been a parade of other central bank policy meetings. Although only Norway changed its policy rate — a hike no less — the running theme in the many central bank statements is that the slowdown in global demand late last year is continuing and […] More
Down Goes the British Pound
November 15, 2018
With British Prime Minister Theresa May facing a vote of no confidence and several of her cabinet ministers resigning in protest against her Brexit deal, sterling slumped 1.5% overnight against both the dollar and euro. Weak British retail sales data were also released today, showing an unexpected 0.5% on-month drop in total sales (+2.2% on […] More
Yuan Rebounds and U.S. Stocks Set to Rise Too
August 16, 2018
Equity losses early in Asia’s session were trimmed after an announcement from China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen that China accepts the invitation from U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury Malpass to resume trade talks. Talks broke down in June. A delegation of Chinese officials will visit the U.S. late this month for new talks, kindling […] More
Stronger Dollar, Weaker Equities, Softer Gold Price But Rebound in Oil
July 19, 2018
The dollar climbed overnight by 0.8% to a one-year high against the Chinese yuan. The greenback also gained 1.0% relative to the kiwi, 0.9% vis-a-vis the peso, 0.8% versus the Australian dollar, 0.6% against sterling, 0.5% versus the loonie and 0.3% against the euro and Swiss franc. Dollar/yen is unchanged. Stocks dropped 0.9% in Hong […] More
Turkey Attempts to Stop Lira’s Rout… Other Geopolitical Strains Simmer
May 24, 2018
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey hiked the late liquidity window interest rate by three full percentage points to 16.5% after the Monetary Policy Committee held an unscheduled meeting. The lira had been plunging in one-sided market conditions but rebounded over 6% following the announcement. Italian Prime Minister-Designate Conti met with party leaders, […] More
Holidays Dampen Activity… Contrasting Sentiment Continues Around Dollar and Equities
February 16, 2018
Friday saw Lunar New Year market closures in China, which won’t reopen until February 22, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia. Moreover, U.S. fixed income markets will shut early ahead of the 3-day Presidents Holiday. Canada will also be closed Monday (Family Day). Equities continue to rebound, climbing 1.2% in Japan, 1.0% […] More
