Italian business and consumer confidence
Stock Markets Looking Vulnerable
September 25, 2020
This has been a difficult week for risk-laden assets but a good one for the dollar because of its safe-haven appeal. In turn, that property of the U.S. currency is ironic, given mounting uneasiness that President Trump may not accede to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election. Stock markets are lacking […] More
Confidence Hit by Concerns Over China, Coronavirus, and Economic Outlook
July 24, 2020
The last thing the world needs in the middle of a recession is an escalation of Sino-U.S. trade and foreign policy strains, but that became an even likelier prospect as Beijing officials closed down the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. The day’s coronavirus data have been again alarming, although not quite to the extent of the […] More
Europe in the Spotlight
August 28, 2019
Tense political dramas are happening in the U.K. and Italy this Wednesday. British Prime Minister Johnson, A.K.A. Bojo, requested that Queen Elizabeth suspend parliament for five weeks. This tactic is meant to curtail the maneuvering room of opponents to a hard Brexit from passing a law preventing such. Johnson’s request creates a constitutional crisis. Sterling […] More
Further Decline in Sovereign Debt Yields and Share Prices
May 29, 2019
The ten-year U.S. Treasury yield dropped another 3 basis points, and sovereign debt yields of similar maturity slid a basis point overnight in Germany, the U.K., and Japan as well. Investors are bracing for slower global growth as trade protectionism intensifies. Share prices fell by a bit more than 1.0% in Japan, South Korea, France, […] More
Dollar Stages Moderate Rebound
December 21, 2018
Broad dollar gains overnight amount to 0.6% against the kiwi, 0.4% relative to the loonie and euro, 0.3% vis-a-vis the peso, Swiss franc, and yuan, 0.2% versus the Australian dollar and 0.1% relative to sterling. Dollar/yen is unbalanced. In the continuing follies that markets have come to expect from the U.S. government, Defense Secretary Mattis […] More
