U.S. retail sales
Reduced Fear of Korean War
August 15, 2017
Today is the 72nd anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan, and markets there are closed. Reported remarks by the leaders of both Korean nations dispelled fear of an imminent resumption of war. Markets were also closed today in India for a holiday commemorating the 70th anniversary if independence and Italy for Assumption Day. The dollar […] More
Post-Election Market Moves Trimmed a Bit
November 15, 2016
Sovereign debt yields and the dollar eased this Tuesday, one week after the U.S. election. Oil and gold rebounded. Stocks are mixed. Euroland GDP, British consumer prices, and Reserve Bank of Australia minutes were released. The German ZEW Institute’s monthly index of investor sentiment reflected a drop after the U.S. election. One Fed official, Lacker, […] More
Fresh Gloom Rekindles Risk Aversion
March 15, 2016
The Bank of Japan did not augment policy stimulus but did downgrade exports and residential construction and also observed that expected inflation has slipped. The yen advanced 0.7% against the dollar and euro overnight in response. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.0% overnight and has faded slightly more than 5% over the past two […] More
A Market Respite… But for How Long?
February 12, 2016
Share prices in Europe have recovered part of yesterday’s declines, rising so far this Friday by 2.6% in Italy, 1.7% in Greece and Great Britain, 1.5% in Germany, 1.3% in Switzerland, 1.2% in France and 1.0% in Spain. Markets in the Pacific Basin faired worse. Stocks dropped 1.5% in Hong Kong, 1.3% in Indonesia, 1.2% […] More
Dollar Firms and Share Price Retreat Extended
November 13, 2015
Investors are quite confident that the Fed will raise the federal funds rate next month and that the ECB will ease policy, including a possible deposit rate cut. The confidence rests not only on U.S. data but on more uniform signals from Fed official comments favoring a rate hike before yearend. The dollar climbed overnight […] More
Yuan Down Again But at a More Gradual Pace
August 13, 2015
The Chinese renminbi dipped only 0.3% today. The dollar is unchanged against the Swiss franc and Aussie dollar, up 0.6% against the loonie, 0.5% relative to the euro, 0.9% versus the kiwi and 0.2% vis-a-vis the yen and sterling. In Pacific Rim stock market action, the Shanghai Composite Chinese index recovered 1.8%. Equities rose 2.3% […] More
Continuing Euro Support above $1.1300
February 12, 2015
The euro rose 0.2% against the dollar. Despite persistent concerns about Grexit — Greece abandoning the common European currency or being thrown out by other members — the euro, now at $1.1342, repeatedly finds support whenever it dips under $1.13. Greek debt talks have made very little progress. They will resume next Monday, with creditors […] More
Many Central Banks Are Heard From
December 11, 2014
Even before the highly awaited U.S. retail sales report, several central bank policy announcements held the market’s attention. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its official cash rate at 3.5%. Although inflation is currently modest, it is expected to approach 2% later in the forecast period, and that will likely necessitate a further increase […] More
Several Instances of Weak Data Released Today
August 13, 2014
Japanese real GDP fell 6.8% annualized in the second quarter. The decline reversed the first-quarter gain but was not quite as much as analysts had feared. Because of a 20.5% dive in imports, net exports enhanced the growth rate by 4.4 percentage points, and involuntary inventory building accounted for another 3.9 percentage points of growth. […] More
Kiwi Jumps Over 1% After New Zealand Official Cash Rate Hike
June 12, 2014
The New Zealand dollar advanced 1.4% net against its U.S. counterpart and got as strong as USD 0.8690 following the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s scheduled monetary policy meeting. While a third 25-basis point tightening since March had been anticipated, investors reacted most to the accompanying guidance that points to greater-than-assumed further tightening in the […] More
