ECB
ECB: Threading a Narrow Path
March 4, 2010
The ECB today conveyed several things. It Announced a return to variable rate refinancing operations as of April 28th but made no change in it main weekly fixed rate tenders or its one-month tenders. They will continue as they’ve been into October. The final six-month tender on March 31 will carry the average minimum rate of [...] More
ECB Preview: Conference Poses Risks for Euro
March 3, 2010
No chance exists of a change in ECB interest rates. A 0.25% deposit rate and 1.75% marginal lending rate flank the 1.0% refinancing rate. New staff forecasts will be unveiled for growth and inflation, and further steps in the dismantling of market-supporting liquidity enhancements are due to be announced. In December, projected growth in 2010 was [...] More
ECB Press Conference Reveals No Fresh Information
February 4, 2010
The ECB Governing Council left its rate structure unchanged and deferred new details on the gradual phasing-out of unconventional liquidity enhancements to the March press conference. Since May 2009, the refinancing rate has been at 1.0% and flanked by a 0.25% deposit rate and a 1.75% marginal lending rate. Overnight money, aka the Eonia rate, [...] More
Greek-Inspired Risk Aversion Hits All Markets
February 4, 2010
The dollar, yen and JGB yields are up. Stocks and commodities are lower. Markets await several central bank policy decisions and fret about long-term fiscal problems in Greece and other countries. Several pieces of weak data were reported overnight as well. The yen rose 0.3% against a dollar that otherwise shows gains of 1.6% against the [...] More
ECB Preview
February 3, 2010
This will not be a significant and newsworthy monthly meeting of the ECB Governing Council. Only three weeks have passed since the last one, and officials prefer to make headlines in those months that coincide with new quarterly staff forecasts, that is, March, June, September and December. Nothing has been said by an ECB official [...] More
No Announced Changes at ECB Press Conference
January 14, 2010
ECB President Trichet unveiled no new policy steps today, nor did his verbal characterization of the euro area economy and ECB policy intentions break any new ground through the addition of new ideas or deletions of prior ones. Current rates are appropriate. Growth, which continued to be positive last quarter, has benefited from some temporary [...] More
Equities Higher on Low Interest Rate Expectations
January 14, 2010
The ECB is expected to signal no rate hike for quite some time. Rate announcement arrives at 12:45 GMT. Press Conference begins at 13:30 GMT. The Nikkei rose 1.6%. Stocks also gained 1.4% in China, 1.1% in Taiwan, 0.9% in South Korea, 0.7% in Singapore, 0.5% in Indonesia, and 0.4% in Thailand, Malaysia and India. The [...] More
ECB Preview
January 13, 2010
The 22-person ECB Governing Council’s announcement at 12:45 GMT Thursday and subsequent press conference in Frankfurt will not reveal more information than provided at the more important December meeting, the final one of 2009. By consensus, not a unanimous vote, policymakers in December decided not to undertake a fourth 12-month refi operation and to index [...] More
Dollar and Yen Sharply Higher
December 17, 2009
The dollar shows similar advances of 1.3% against the Australian dollar, 1.2% against sterling, the kiwi, and euro, and 1.0% relative to the Swiss franc and Canadian dollar. The greenback is only 0.1% firmer against the yen, however. Lots of short dollar positions getting stopped out. FOMC statement seen as mostly dollar-supportive. Senate Banking Committee [...] More
