Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Investors Spooked by Faster Proliferation of New Covid-19 Cases in the United States
June 24, 2020
The year-to-date number of reported U.S. infections, 2.424 million, has climbed somewhat more than 36k in the past 24 hours and 216 thousand from a week ago. This has created doubt that economic reopening can proceed as planned, and even supporters of President Trump are starting to lose patience that he has the right stuff […] More
75-Basis Point Official Cash Rate Cut at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
March 16, 2020
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand slashed its Official Cash Rate to 0.25% from 1.0%. This was the first reduction in 7 months and the ninth cut from a peak of 3.50% prior to June 2015. The action today is meant to counter the drag of the coronavirus pandemic, about which officials observed, “The negative […] More
Monetary Efforts to Counter Covid-19 Economic Damage All in Vain
March 16, 2020
The contagion news over the weekend was very bad. Italy suffered a bigger daily jump in deaths than even China had, and all evidence suggests that governments that did not test extensively for the virus at the first sign of trouble have brought upon their countries larger humanitarian disasters. The United States seemingly falls into […] More
Equity Markets Rise and Dollar Narrowly Mixed
February 12, 2020
Fed Chairman Powell will reprise yesterday’s upbeat Humphrey Hawkins testimony today before the Senate Banking Committee. He characterized the U.S. economy as “in a very good place” and said policy would react to the coronavirus impact only if such proves “persistent and material.” Recent remarks by other Fed officials such as Harker, Daly, and Bullard […] More
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Didn’t Cut Interest Rates Further
November 13, 2019
There’s already been one central bank surprise, this from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Officials there had been expected to extend their easing. New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate previously this year had been reduced by 25 basis points in May and 50 basis points to a mere 1.0% in August, but policymakers decided not […] More
A Little Bit of Everything This Wednesday
November 13, 2019
Investors have much to watch today including two separate congressional events of great interest. Public hearings on a possible impeachment of President Trump begin at 10:00 EST in the House Intelligence Committee, and one hour later Fed Chairman Powell testifies on the economic outlook before the Joint Economic Committee. There’s already been one central bank […] More
Dollar Up and Stocks Down as Impeachment Inquiry Opens Against Trump
September 25, 2019
House Speaker Pelosi ended her previous resistance to calls for Trump’s impeachment, raising the political risks to both Democrats and Republicans. The United States and Great Britain, which led the free world’s fight against fascism in the 20th century, are now both enmeshed in constitutional crises. Equities fell overnight by 1.3% in South Korea and […] More
More Central Banks Cut Interest Rates, Persistent Trade Tensions, and Lower Inflation
August 8, 2019
Central bank interest rates were cut by 25 basis points today in the Philippines and Serbia. Earlier this week, rates had been reduced by central banks in India (35 bps), Thailand (25 bps), and New Zealand (50 bps). The common thread in these moves is the trade war unleashed by U.S. President Trump, the weaker […] More
Central Banks and Weak European Data in the Spotlight
June 26, 2019
The Central Bank of Iceland’s 7-day term rate has been cut 25 basis points to 3.75% following a 50-basis point reduction at the prior monetary policy review last month. These moves represent a trend reversal from a 25-basis point increase last November. In a released statement explaining the decision, officials anticipate a contraction of domestic […] More
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Cuts Official Cash Rate to 1.50% from 1.75%
May 8, 2019
Today’s central bank interest rate cut is the eighth of this easing cycle but the first since a similar-sized reduction 30 months earlier. Quarter percentage point cuts also were made in June, July, September and October of 2015 and in March and June of 2016. Policy continues to have a downside bias. A released statement […] More
