Currency Markets in the News
New Growth Forecasts From the OECD
March 31, 2009
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, headquartered in Paris, has 30 members. All of the G-7 (U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, and Canada) belong to the OECD, which also includes 14 other Western European nations, 4 Eastern European countries, Australia, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey and New Zealand. The table below presents the new […] More
Canadian GDP Contracting Very Sharply
March 31, 2009
The monthly supply-side measure of Canadian GDP fell another 0.7% in January. That drop was slightly greater than expected and brings the annualized rate of contraction over the three months between October and January to marginally more than 9%. Weakness in those three months was led by a plunge in factory output of nearly 30% […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Another Market Reversal
March 31, 2009
Yesterday saw the yen and dollar rise, but today they fell. The dollar gained 1.4% against the yen but sank otherwise by 1.7% relative to the Australian dollar, 1.5% against the kiwi, 1.0% versus the euro, 0.9% against the Swissy and Canadian dollar and 0.3% versus sterling. Other market moves today are also consistent with […] More
Currency Markets in the News
Mounting Impatience With Obama
March 30, 2009
In its pre-U.S. election issue entitled “It’s time,” The Economist ran a cover photo of Barack Obama looking somewhat downward but striding confidently forward. The picture and black-lettered message are set against a white backdrop. That issue endorsed the Obama candidacy, conceding some risk in the choice but explaining that he had “campaigned with more […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Big Tumble in Equities
March 30, 2009
Stocks and oil are sharply lower. The yen, dollar and bond yields rose in fresh wave of risk aversion. GM CEO Wagoner is gone. Obama administration gave thumbs-down to GM and Chrysler consolidation plans. Geithner suggests some banks will need more federal money. Bank shares tumbled overnight. A Spanish savings bank, CCM, was nationalized. The […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
March 27, 2009
Next week’s calendar of events and data is very heavy. Thursday’s G-20 summit is the main event in a week that also includes the U.S. March labor force survey, the Bank of Japan quarterly Tankan survey of business conditions and prospects, an ECB policy meeting and purchasing manager survey results (PMI’s)from many advanced and developing […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Weekly Foreign Exchange Insights: March 27th
March 27, 2009
The dollar performed impressively both in the first quarter of 2009 and during this past week. Barring an enormous setback before Tuesday, the dollar will have recorded a quarter-end to quarter-end rise against the euro for the fourth straight time, the first time it will have done that since the four quarters of calendar 2005. […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Yen and Dollar Gain Ground
March 27, 2009
The yen rose 0.7% against the dollar. In turn, the dollar advanced 0.9% versus sterling, 0.8% against the Australian dollar and Swiss franc, 0.7% relative to the euro, and 0.4% against the Canadian dollar. Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.1%, and the Topix ended a streak of nine consecutive advances. Other Asian stock markets mostly improved, with […] More
Is That Some Light at the End of the U.S. Tunnel?
March 26, 2009
Since March 9th, the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and DJIA have each recovered around 20%. During the previous worst postwar U.S. recession in 1981-2 when the U.S. jobless rate peaked at 10.8%, U.S. stocks bottomed out some three months ahead of the turn in the business cycle. U.S. data are producing more frequent upside surprises. Although […] More
Central Bank Watch
Taiwanese Central Bank Rates Left Unchanged
March 26, 2009
The Central Bank of the Republic of China “judged current monetary policy to be appropriate” and left its key interest rates, including a 1.25% discount rate since February 18th, unchanged. Seven prior cuts on September 25th, October 9th and 30th, November 9th, December 11th, January 7th and the aforementioned move in February total 237.5 basis […] More
