Trichet
Trichet Spouts Same Old Stuff
July 8, 2010
European monthly statements evolve much more slowly and smoothly than market perceptions. Traders don’t like the monotony of these monthly staged events but feel compelled to stay tuned, lest Trichet utter a market-moving surprise. In the first hour following the start of today’s conference, the euro had appreciated fractionally further against the dollar, challenging but [...] More
No Remarkable Pronouncements From Trichet
April 8, 2010
The ECB kept its key interest rate levels, unveiled no specific new details about haircuts to rein in liquidity-supportive facilities, and released a formal statement that stuck closely to script. It called rates “appropriate,” inflation expectations “well anchored” and consistent with target, growth prospects “moderate” but “uneven” and set in an environment of “uncertainty.” Consumption [...] More
Better Market Tone Tuesday
February 9, 2010
Commodity currencies have firmed against the U.S. dollar, and the euro and Swissy have recovered, too, despite continuing worries about Greek, Spanish, and Portuguese public finances. The greenback fell 0.9% against the kiwi, 0.7% against the Australian dollar, 0.4% against the euro and Swiss franc and 0.3% relative to the Canadian dollar. The yen lost [...] More
Greece Default Fears Send Euro Lower
January 15, 2010
Trichet’s unbending remarks that Greece will not get special policy favors to address its huge government deficit has weighed sharply on the euro, which, along with the Swiss franc, fell 0.8% against the dollar. One wonders if one intent of Trichet’s stance on Greece was in fact to temper the euro. The dollar also gained [...] More
No Announced Changes at ECB Press Conference
January 14, 2010
ECB President Trichet unveiled no new policy steps today, nor did his verbal characterization of the euro area economy and ECB policy intentions break any new ground through the addition of new ideas or deletions of prior ones. Current rates are appropriate. Growth, which continued to be positive last quarter, has benefited from some temporary [...] More
