Zew Institute
RBA Minutes Depress Australian Dollar in Otherwise Quiet Morning
June 17, 2014
The Australian dollar declined 0.4% against its U.S. counterpart. Minutes from the central bank’s June 3 meeting contained a more sober view of economic growth prospects, satisfaction that inflation will stay in target, and the continuing assertion that Australia’s exchange rate is stronger than warranted. The U.S. currency otherwise is is uchanged against the euro, […] More
Tuesday Marked by U.S.-Sino Data Releases and a Restrictive Australian Budget
May 13, 2014
China released retail sales, industrial production and business investment. Japanese money growth slowed to a 12-month low. U.S. retail sales, import prices, small business sentiment, business inventories, and weekly chain store sales will be reported later in the day. It’s budget day in Australia, and markets are braced for a big dose of austerity there […] More
Tensions Escalate Between Russia and the West
March 18, 2014
Russian President Putin accepted Crimea’s request to be annexed, and Western economic sanctions were imposed in response, making a Russian recession virtually certain. Malaysian Flight 370 remains missing. More evidence emerged that Chinese economic growth faces downside risks. Reserve Bank of Australia Board minutes point to no policy change for some time. ZEW Institute March […] More
Dollar Strengthening as 3-Day U.S. Holiday Weekend Ends
January 21, 2014
U.S. markets will reopen following the MLK holiday, but activity will continue to be dampened by a big storm in the Northeast. The dollar gained overnight by 0.7% against the kiwi, 0.5% relative to the yen, loonie and Swiss franc, and 0.3% versus the euro and Australian dollar. The Canadian dollar weakened through the 1.1000 […] More
Continuing Rush to Release Data Ahead of the Yearend Holidays
December 17, 2013
Typical of December, many countries are releasing data earlier in the month than is typical at other times of the year. The same is true of central bank meetings. Four central banks announced monetary policy meeting decisions. Swedish Riksbank: Cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%. The decision was unanimous and expected. […] More
Federal Reserve in the Spotlight
September 17, 2013
Even as the Federal Open Market Committee meets today for the first of a critical two-day policy meeting, a story has emerged that Janet Yellen, the present vice-chairperson, is now the front-running candidate to succeed Ben Bernanke as chair-person. Bernanke’s second 4-year term ends in late January. In other central bank news, Minutes from the […] More
All Eyes on the FOMC
June 18, 2013
Whether, when, and by how much to taper quantitative stimulus is the question of the day, as the FOMC meets on the first day of a 2-day meeting. Creating even more uncertainty, President Obama while attending the G8 summit indicated that Chairman Bernanke had not originally planned to stay in that post as long as […] More
Yen Reacts Adversely after BoJ Decisions
January 22, 2013
The yen lost 1.1% on balance against the dollar overnight. The U.S. currency is otherwise down 0.6% against the kiwi, 0.5% versus the Australian dollar, 0.4% relative to the Swissie, 0.3% against sterling, and 0.1% against the euro. The yuan and loonie are unchanged against the greenback. Share prices fell by 1.1% in the Philippines, […] More
Less Market Anxiety than on Monday
December 11, 2012
There is less worry today about Italy’s political outlook, as hope exists that Prime Minister Monti will run as a politician in February elections and prevent Berlusconi from regaining control of the government. The FOMC’s two-day meeting begins today amid expectations for a sharp escalation by the central bank of its quantitative easing. Monthly ZEW […] More
Fresh Concern over Greek Debt Talks
November 13, 2012
An Ecofin meeting failed delayed a decision on the next tranche of aid to Greece until November 20th. Leaders of the European Union and IMF have disagreed over deadlines when Greece must meet debt reduction targets. The euro hit a two-month low of $1.2661 overnight but is up 0.1% on balance at the moment. The […] More
