German current account
Chinese, Japanese and German Trade Figures Reported Plus Several Second Tier Other Releases
August 8, 2017
China’s $46.74 billion trade surplus in July was the widest since $51.35 billion last January. Japan recorded a JPY 935 billion current account surplus in June, 4.3% less than a year earlier, the the seasonally adjusted surplus rose 8.7% on month to JPY 1.523 trillion. The settlements trade surplus was 32% smaller than a year […] More
Markets Calm Considering What’s Happened
June 9, 2017
Comey’s testimony, in which he basically called Trump a liar and laid out accusations that could be construed as an attempted obstruction of justice, may yet prove very damaging to the Trump Presidency and elicited a fairly rare full six-column headline on page 1 of the New York Times. The Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority […] More
Oil Under $50 and Gold Below $1,200 as U.S. Jobs Report Nears
March 10, 2017
A mixed overnight trading session finds the dollar up 0.4% against the yen and above the 115 level but down 0.3% to 1.0610 per euro. The dollar climbed 0.2% against sterling and 0.1% versus the Swiss franc but lost 0.4% to the peso, 0.2% against the Aussie dollar and 0.1% vis-a-vis the kiwi. The yuan […] More
A Convergence of Bond Yields
February 9, 2017
Ten-year sovereign debt yields fell 6, 5, and 3 basis points in Spain, Italy and France but rose 8 bps in Greece, 2 bps in the U.S. and U.K. and 1 bp in Germany. The dollar advanced 0.7% against the kiwi, which was depressed when the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s policy statement left the […] More
A Second Presidential Debate is the Talk of the Town
October 10, 2016
Holidays are impacting trading this Monday. It’s Sports Day in Japan, Chung Yeung Day in Hong Kong, Thanksgiving in Canada, and Columbus Day in the United States. On the other hand, China, whose market was closed all last week for the National Holiday, reopened for business with the yuan marked up 0.5% to a six-year high […] More
Euro Rises on ECB Announcements
March 10, 2016
The ECB Governing Council announced a more aggressive package of stimulants than analysts were expecting. All ECB central bank interest rates including the main refinancing rate were lowered. The size of monthly quantitative asset purchases was increased 33% to EUR 80 billion and will run at least through end-2017. The types of eligible assets in […] More
Dollar Weakens Pretty Much Across the board
December 9, 2015
Share prices in Asia and Europe are mostly lower, but a 0.4% uptick in China’s market is an exception. Stocks fell 1.3% in India and Indonesia, 1.0% in Japan, 1.4% in Taiwan and 0.6% in New Zealand and Australia. Equities in Europe have so far lost 3.8% in Greece, 1.1% in France, 1.0% in Switzerland, […] More
Several Trade Reports and an OECD Semi-Annual Outlook
November 9, 2015
The dollar is mostly softer. Stocks are mostly lower, but gold, oil, and some bond yields are up. The dollar depreciated overnight by 0.4% against the euro and kiwi, 0.3% versus sterling and the Swiss franc, and 0.2% relative to the loonie and Aussie dollar. The U.S. currency, in contrast, rose 0.2% against the yen […] More
China Situation Better, Greek Situation Still Ominous
July 9, 2015
The Shanghai Composite index of Chinese share prices jumped 5.8%, as officials imposed even more restrictions to prevent big sale orders and short selling in general. Elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, stocks rose 4.5% in Hong Kong but fell 0.7% in Indonesia and Taiwan, 0.5% in New Zealand and Singapore and 0.4% in India. The […] More
Post-Election Rise in Sterling ahead of U.S. Jobs Report
May 8, 2015
Britain’s election did not result in a hung parliament as had been feared. The Conservatives were reelected with a majority of 323 seats, gaining 22 on balance. The Scotch National Party carved support away from Labour, whose seat tota fell by 23 to 229. The Liberal Democrats lost 85% of its seats to a mere […] More
