Purchasing Managers Surveys
Investors Selling Just About Everything for Dollars
September 23, 2022
The weighted DXY dollar index rose 0.8% overnight and is trading currently near its intra-day level. At that high, DXY was a mere 5.5% below its peak going back to 1985 and 55.5% above its 2008 low. The dollar shows overnight gains of 1.8% against sterling, 1.1% versus the New Zealand dollar, 1.0% relative to […] More
Emerging Evidence of A More Pressing Recessionary Risk in Europe than the United States
June 23, 2022
Preliminary June purchasing manager survey results highlight scant demand, a rise in unsold inventories, a mounting drag from elevated inflation, and weakening trends in both business and consumer confidence. The findings contrast with Fed Chairman Powell assertion yesterday that, while the U.S. situation presents a challenging one to policymakers, the risk of a near-term recession […] More
A Parade of Central Bank Announcements and PMI Releases, Plus Another Strong U.S. Labor Market Indicator
December 16, 2021
The rally late yesterday in U.S. equities carried over into Thursday trading. Share prices rose 2.1% in Japan, 0.8% in China, 0.7% in Taiwan and 0.6% in South Korea. The British, German and French stock markets show gains so far of more than 1.0% today, and the DJIA has gone up by a further 0.6%. […] More
Considerable Central Bank News and a Whole Lot More
September 23, 2021
The takeaways from Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference yesterday are that a tapering of Fed bond purchases could begin as soon as right after the next scheduled FOMC meeting and should be drawn down to zero by mid-2022, plus the lift-off date for the fed funds target could occur next year rather than in 2023. […] 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
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
Mexican Rate Hike, Some Preliminary PMI Results, and a Trump Revelation
June 23, 2017
Mexico’s key central bank interest rate was hiked by an additional 25 basis points to 7.0%, bringing its cumulative rise to four percentage points from 3% prevailing from October 2014 through the early December 2015. However, Bank of Mexico officials suggested in a statement that no more tightening may be necessary. See review. The peso […] More
Data Releases Mixed and Plentiful
June 21, 2012
The formal Declaration of G20 Leaders, who met earlier in Los Cabos, Mexico, is big on general objectives but sparse on detailed actions. The FOMC Statement accentuated the U.S. economy’s increasing softness, but the stimulus of a 6-month continuation of Operation Twist did not surpass expectations. Stocks were mostly lower overnight. New Democracy leader Samaras […] More
Expecting EU Leaders to Present Another Fudge
July 21, 2011
Markets had been hopeful earlier this week that EU leaders might find a way to stop the prolonged euro debt crisis. On this D-day, it seems that investors are braced for disappointment. The German Dax and Paris Cac are down 0.9%, and the British Ftse has lost 0.8%. The euro has lost 0.4% against the […] More
