Euroland industrial output
U.S. Political Landscape Goes Deeper into the Rabbit Hole
May 12, 2017
President Trump gave an entirely different explanation for the firing of the FBI director than had other officials earlier. Democrats are crying foul while Republicans are standing by their man. Euro area industrial production fell 0.1% in March for a second straight month, undershooting expectations. Output was unchanged in the first quarter and also flat […] More
Sinking Dollar
January 12, 2017
President-Elect Trump’s press conference yesterday was contentious and uninformative with regard to coming policy specifics, leaving investors confused, disillusioned and scared. The dollar, which had rallied since the U.S. election, suffered significant overnight losses against advanced and emerging market currencies alike. The greenback lost 1.2% against the yen and peso, 1.0% relative to the kiwi, […] More
Awaiting a Likely Fed Rate Hike and Yellen’s Press Conference
December 14, 2016
The Fed’s announcement is due at 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT). A rate hike is like for the first time in a year. Chair Yellen’s press conference starts 14:30 EST. New forecasts will be unveiled. The dollar is down 0.3% against the euro and yen. Ten-year sovereign debt yields fell overnight by six basis points in […] More
Crowd-Pleasing Chinese March Trade Data
April 13, 2016
Investors had already been in a risk-on frame of mind because of the upcoming OPEC meeting to freeze production and lend support to oil prices. Chinese trade figures released overnight suggest that economy’s slowdown may be stabilizing and boosted stock and commodity prices further. Chinese exports recorded on-year positive growth of 11.5%, their first rise […] More
At Last a Better-Than-Forecast Chinese Economic Data Release
January 13, 2016
Financial markets partly retraced recent trends after Chinese trade statistics for December revealed larger-than-anticipated $60.09 billion surplus and much smaller-than-assumed on-year declines in exports and imports. The surplus in November had declined to $54.10 billion from $60-something results in the three prior months. Exports fell just 1.4% following year-on-year losses of 6.8% in November and […] More
Calmer Conditions but Situation Still Fragile
July 13, 2011
The market’s angina of Tuesday has faded somewhat. The strength of Chinese data including second-quarter GDP surpassed expectations, and Italy’s lawmakers appear poised to approve austerity by the end of this week. More hope exists that the U.S. debt ceiling will be lifted before August 2. The Bank of Japan’s monthly assessment accentuated positive developments […] More
