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Some Really Ugly Data
February 18, 2009
Among the myriad of bad economic figures, a few from the recent past really stick out. The weakness of industrial production in Eastern Europe was exemplified by month-on-month drops of 19% in Romania and 20% in Russia. The volume of Canadian wholesale sales plunged 24.5% at an annualized rate over the three months between September […] More
Central Bank Watch
National Bank of Georgia Slashes Refinancing Rate to 7% From 8%
February 18, 2009
As in December, Georgia’s central bank lopped 100 basis points from its benchmark rate and signaled that the easing trend is not done. A released statement predicted a 2% contraction this year in real GDP, observed falling price expectations and much lower on-year inflation (4.4%) than seen in the recent past, and spoke of weak […] More
Bank of England Clears Hurdle to Begin Quantitative Easing
February 18, 2009
The Bank of England, which cut its Bank Rate at each of the past five meetings and by 400 basis points in all to 1.0%, released minutes from its meeting on February 4-5, when a 50-basis point reduction was authorized. As in January when the rate also was reduced by 50 basis points, Blanchflower dissented […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Central Bank Rate Cuts in Taiwan and Georgia
February 18, 2009
It’s been another poor day for equities, which fell by 4.6% in China, 3.0% in Vietnam, 1.5% in Japan, 1.2% in South Korea, and 0.4% in Malaysia and the Philippines. Stocks firmed in Indonesia and Singapore but are lower by 1.1% in Britain, 0.9% in Germany, and 0.5% in France. The dollar lost 0.9% against […] More
