China
Geopolitical Tensions Boost Commodity Prices
February 21, 2011
North American markets will be closed today to commemorate President’s Day in the United States and Family Day in Canada. Wintry weather has returned to the Northeast. China too has caught the contagious bug of social unrest. President Hu urged tighter controls of the internet. High food costs, as in the middle east, have been [...] More
Chinese Reserve Requirements Tightened as G20 Finance Ministers Meet
February 18, 2011
Reserve ratios for large Chinese banks were lifted to 19.5% from 19.0%, effective February 24. There had been six increases of the ratio during 2010, the final three of which were crammed into five weeks in November and December. Last October, December and January, officials at the Peoples Bank of China raised interest rates by [...] More
Swissy Ending a Strong Year on a Strong Note
December 30, 2010
Most markets will be shut tomorrow in observance of the new year. The dollar lost another 0.7% against the Swiss franc and set a new record high of CHF 0.9372. The franc is 19.1% stronger than its end-2009 level against the euro. The Chinese yuan advanced 0.3% against the dollar, bringing its cumulative appreciation in [...] More
Another Tightening of Chinese Reserve Requirements
December 10, 2010
The dollar is unchanged against the euro, Canadian dollar, and Chinese yuan but has dropped 0.5% against the kiwi, 0.4% relative to the Australian dollar and sterling, 0.2% versus the yen and 0.1% against the Swiss franc. Equities in Asia fell by 1.0% in Indonesia, 0.9% in Malaysia, 0.8% in Singapore, 0.7% in Japan, and [...] More
Dollar Narrowly Mixed Ahead of Bernanke Breakfast Speech
October 15, 2010
The dollar is up 0.2% against the kiwi and loonie, up 0.1% against the Swiss franc, unchanged relative to the euro and Australian dollar, down 0.1% against the yuan, and 0.3% weaker against the yen and sterling. Aside from the speeches by Bernanke, Lockhart and former Fed Vice Chairman Kohn, the United States will be [...] More
Shifting Geographical Sources of Global Growth
October 7, 2010
The IMF’s October 2010 World Economic Outlook released in conjunction with this week’s IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington contains useful information for sorting world growth trends over the past two decades. Growth rates in the table below are expressed in annualized terms, that is percent per annum. Figures in the right-most column embody IMF growth [...] More
Dollar Slips Against Yen, Euro, and Swiss Franc
August 16, 2010
The dollar lost 1.3% against the Swissy, 0.7% relative to the yen and 0.5% versus the euro. The greenback is steady against the Canadian dollar and sterling but up by 0.5% against the kiwi, 0.2% against the Australian dollar and 0.1% versus the Chinese yuan, which has retreated past 6.8000 per dollar. Market chatter about [...] More
U.S. Factory PMI Reading Below Euro Area Score for First Time in 19 Months
August 2, 2010
Manufacturing activity expanded at a slower rate, while the growth in Euroland manufacturing accelerated last month. The dichotomy in those trends makes sense in light of the the dollar’s 27.5% advance from 1.5149 per euro in late November to 1.1878 in early June. Both regions had solid above-50 readings between 55 and 57, but Europe’s [...] More
Stocks Slump in China But Rising in Europe
July 13, 2010
China’s stock market fell 1.6% after government indications that property market curbs will be retained. Signs such have been effective already include a 0.1% dip in property prices last month and a smaller 608 billion yuan rise in bank loans. Elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, equities declined 0.7% in Australia, 0.6% in Taiwan, 0.3% in [...] More
A Shift in Focus from Euroland to the United States
July 2, 2010
A watered-down, more politically palatable proposed tax on Australian mining was announced by the new prime minister. The Aussie Dollar and kiwi are up 0.4% and 0.5% against their U.S. counterpart on relief that growth in Australia will not be damaged as much as feared previously. The Swiss franc retreated 0.5% against the dollar and [...] More
