Sterling: A Coincidence
November 10, 2008
The pound’s weakest value against the D-mark was DEM 2.164 on November 17, 1996, which translates to a synthetic sterling per euro of 0.9038. The pound peaked against the euro on May 4, 2000 at 0.5690 (DEM 3.4440). The pound today hit got as low as 0.8208 per euro (DEM 2.3828), some 10% above the […] More
Currency Markets in the News
Depression in a League of Its Own
November 10, 2008
It has become cliche to proclaim that the current economic downturn will be the most severe since the Great Depression. To further solidify the link between these two episodes, analysts underscore that each was triggered by a a banking crisis and associated with an outsized decline in share prices but — unlike more recent recessions […] More
Currency Markets in the News
Japanese Recession Getting Worse
November 10, 2008
Japanese core domestic machinery orders, the best leading indicator for business capital spending, plunged 10.4% last quarter, a drop of 35.6% at an annualized rate. That decrease followed a 0.6% uptick (2.5% saar) in the second quarter and was more than three times sharper than the 3.0% drop that officials had projected three months ago. […] More
Currency Markets in the News
Expected 2009 Growth Trimmed Symmetrically
November 10, 2008
Results of the latest consensus forecasts have been published in The Economist. That paper conducts a survey every month. Projected growth for 2009 is substantially lower in the November survey than in October’s, with many figures in the red. The size of the latest revisions and the new levels are similar for Japan, Euroland and […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: $586 Bn Chinese Fiscal Stimulus Sparks Equity Rally
November 10, 2008
Beijing announced a $586 billion fiscal package, consisting mostly of new spending but also lower taxes. The monetary stance was shifted to “moderately easy” from tight, heralding additional interest rate cuts. Chinese producer price inflation fell sharply to 6.6% in October from 9.1% in September and a peak of 10.1% in August. A government source […] More
