November 6, 2026
Investors are groping to make sense of how the Republican Party’s broad and deep election losses might actually impact U.S. macro-economic, regulatory and foreign policies in the remaining two years of President Trump second term. It would be totally out of character for the president to capitulate, and it’s not clear that Democratic lawmakers will […] Read Article
November 6, 2026
Central Banks: Interest rate policies will be reviewed in Peru and Romania. Governor Bailey and chief economist Pill of the Bank of England and Goolsbee, Hammack, Williams and Daly of the Federal Reserve will be speaking publicly. Holiday and Events: France will be observing Armistice Day on November 11, the 108th anniversary of the end […] Read Article
November 6, 2026
Other central bank interest rate announcements since Tuesday had revealed increases in the U.K., Sweden, Australia, Armenia, Czech Republic and Moldova, as well as decisions to leave rates steady in Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Norway and Brazil. However, from the Bank of Mexico late yesterday came unexpected and contrary news of a 25-basis point reduction in the […] Read Article
October 31, 2026
In October, peace in West Asia’s two wars proved elusive, sending oil prices sharply higher. West Texas Intermediate crude oil went up about 15%, for instance. The month will be also remembered for a rout of AI-related tech stocks and for the rising suspense surrounding the U.S. midterm elections, with President Trump sowing doubt about […] Read Article
November 5, 2026
The CNB 2-week repo rate had been at a cyclical low of 3.5% for 13 months until an initial 25-basis point hike this past June, and a second 25-basis point increase was authorized today, bringing the rate up to 4.0% and matching its end-2024 level. The National Bank Moldova‘s policy interest rate bottomed briefly at […] More
November 5, 2026
By a vote of 8-1, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England authorized a 25-basis point increase of the policy Bank Rate to 4.0%, marking the first hike August 2023. The rate had thereafter remained at 5.75% until an easing cycle that began in August 2024 and culminated at 3.75% after a 25-basis […] More
November 5, 2026
Aside from a further 0.4% advance against the Israeli Shekel, net dollar movement overnight was minimal. Israel’s currency has dropped 4.1% against the U.S. currency since October 27. The Democratic congressional sweep and concerns about AI regulation depressed the South Korean Kospi index by 5.3% and Japanese Nikkei by 1.8%. Playing catch-up to Wednesday’s rallies […] More
November 4, 2026
The Executive Board of the Swedish Riksbank engineered its first interest rate hike since September 2023 in a move that had been telegraphed earlier as likely. the rate was lifted to 25 basis points to 2.0% from a low of 1.75% maintained for the past 14 months. A released statement considers Sweden’s monetary stance accommodative […] More
November 4, 2026
In 2027 and 2028, Democrats will hold majorities in the Senate, the House of Representatives and state governorships. With a gain of seven senate seats that flipped from Republican to Democrat, the senate ratio becomes 54 Dems to 44 Reps and 2 independents who tend to caucus with the Democrats. Among declared House races, the […] More
November 3, 2026
The Reserve Bank of Australia‘s official cash rate hike of 25 basis points to 4.85% is the fifth such increase since this year’s first policy review in February, and the new rate level is at its highest level since the first week of December 2008. CPI inflation pringed at a 6-month high in September, well […] More
November 3, 2026
The never-ending U.S. midterm election campaign finally comes to a close today, or does it? Speculation is rampant that the Trump administration will treat the outcome as a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose matter. If the coin lands heads up as in 2016 and 2024 they outperform poll predictions and in this case preserve control of the senate, victory […] More
November 2, 2026
(115) Markets today have been dominated by a sizable drop in oil prices inspired by continuing back-channel talks to seal a peace deal that would prevent a new escalation of military conflict in Iran. Both Brent ($108.78 per barrel) and West Texas Intermediate ($99.58) are a bit more than 4.0% below pre-weekend closing levels. A […] More
October 30, 2026
Central Banks: Interest rate policies in the U.K., Australia, Sweden, Brazil, Norway, Malaysia, Poland, Armenia and the Czech Republic are scheduled for review. The Bank of England, which unlike its counterparts at the ECB, Bank of Japan, and Federal Reserve has not begun a cycle of increases, is generally expected to undergo a 25-basis point […] More
October 30, 2026
The Bank of Japan’s short term interest rate was left at 1.25%, but officials came the closest yet to a mission accomplished, declaring “the year-on-year rate of increase in the consumer price index (CPI, all items less fresh food) is likely to accelerate to a level clearly above 2 percent.” The rate decision drew a single […] More
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