FOMC Minutes
Sharp Equity Declines but Mixed Dollar
August 20, 2020
The U.S. equity market correction triggered by downbeat FOMC minutes released yesterday afternoon set the tone for overnight losses in European and Asian markets where bourses tumbled 3.7% in South Korea and 3.3% in Taiwan and by at least 1.0% in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, India, Germany, France, Italy, U.K., and Spain. Indonesia’s market did […] More
Awaiting U.S. Data as America’s Covid Outbreak Gathers Steam
July 2, 2020
With the U.S. Independence Day weekend kicking off tomorrow, a slew of data will be released today featuring the monthly employment situation report and including the trade balance, factory orders, New York regional PMI, and weekly jobless insurance claims. The holiday weekend also presents a huge risk regarding the U.S. Covid-19 crisis. There have been […] More
FOMC Minutes: Some Excerpts
February 19, 2020
Participants generally judged that the current stance of monetary policy was appropriate to support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation returning to the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective. They expected economic growth to continue at a moderate pace, supported by accommodative monetary and financial conditions. In addition, some trade uncertainties […] More
China Uncertainty Weighing on Stocks
November 20, 2019
For some time now, much of the day-to-day swings in financial market sentiment has been attributed to shifting perceptions about U.S.-Sino trade talks, and oftentimes in the absence of concrete understanding of how those talks are really progressing. It makes one wonder if the trade talks have been a convenient excuse for explaining away normal […] More
Sterling Up, Yuan Down
August 22, 2019
Sterling strengthened 0.9% against the dollar and euro overnight. This appreciation was a response to remarks by German Chancellor Merkel after talks with British Prime Minister Johnson. Merkel considers a solution on the contentious border issue between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland still possible by the October 31st Brexit deadline. The Chinese yuan […] More
Wednesday Brings Mix of Data and Market Movements
August 21, 2019
Compared to closing dollar levels on Tuesday, the greenback has declined 0.4% against the loonie and peso and by 0.3% relative to the Australian dollar. Alternatively, the U.S. dollar is up 0.3% against the Swiss franc, 0.2% versus the yen and sterling and 0.1% against the yuan. Once more the euro shows no net change […] More
FOMC Minutes
April 10, 2019
Today’s published FOMC minutes from the March 19-20 meeting do not include startling revelations not covered at Chairman Powell’s press conference. It was one of the most newsworthy meetings in a considerably long time, as policymakers scrapped plans for rate hikes in 2019 and implied no more than one hike in 2020, announced a decrease […] More
Global Slowdown Concerns Remain in Play
January 10, 2019
FOMC minutes yesterday revealed less clarity about the future path of the fed funds target. Some committee members had been hesitant to endorse December’s rate hike, the ninth of this tightening cycle, although a consensus persists that a few more increase are probable in the future. Ultimately, policy will be reactive to the data, and […] More
Comments on the FOMC Minutes from November 7-8
November 29, 2018
FOMC minutes released today suggest a lesser shift in Fed policy intentions that markets perhaps assumed after yesterday’s speech by Chairman Powell. His remark regarding the federal funds rate perhaps now only being slightly lower than rate neutrality is ascribed in these minutes to just a few committee participants. A few participants, while viewing further […] More
Trump Fighting a Two-Front War Against Fed and Over His Stance on Saudi Arabia
October 18, 2018
Minutes from the FOMC September meeting minutes at which monetary officials again raised interest rates reveal confidence in continuing growth, a view shared by some that the fed funds target is likely to spend a while above the perceived long-run level, and a considerable time allotted to discussion of the ramifications of U.S.-Sino trade tensions. […] More
