Canadian Election Post-Mortem
October 15, 2008
The Stephen Harper-led Conservative Party won 143 seats,16 more than it had before but short of the 155 needed for a majority in Canada’s 308-seat parliament. The Tories did a little better than expected despite an 8-seat pick-up by the left-leaning New Democratic Party and a better-than-expected showing in Quebec by Bloc Quebecois, the pro-independence […] More
Currency Markets in the News
Spotlight Back on Growth
October 15, 2008
I sense a re-shifting focus in the marketplace back to indicators of economic growth. Previously since the failure of Lehman, the breakdown of the credit markets and flurry of official measures to address banking problems were commanding center-stage. The slide of global markets, where accrued losses since September 12th total 21.0% on the DJIA, 22.0% […] More
Central Bank Watch
Sizable Rate Cuts in Norway and Iceland
October 15, 2008
Declaring global credit channels “dried up” and growth prospects “considerably worsened” and adding that Norwegian funding costs and availability have respectively risen and dropped, the Norges Bank reduced its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 5.25%. The size of the cut matched consensus expectations. The policy review came earlier than scheduled, but the […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Central Banks Escalate Effort to Reduce Libor Rates
October 15, 2008
The ECB, Bank of England, and Swiss National Banks are now offering unlimited dollar liquidity. $254 billion supplied under the scheme. Libor rates, however, remain substantially above central bank benchmark overnight rates, as banks await implementation of recapitalisation plans. But global stocks have been battered anew. Nikkei, up 1.1%, was an exception. But the German […] More
