Central Bank Watch
Bank of Japan Upgrades Assessment, Leaves 0.1% Rate Target
May 22, 2009
The target for overnight call money will remain at 0.1% where such has been since being cut from 0.3% on December 19th. The rate vote, after five hours and 42 minutes of deliberations over two days was 8-0. All rate votes since December 2007 have been unanimous. The BOJ expanded eligible collateral to include sovereign […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Dollar Hits Multi-Month Lows
May 22, 2009
Market chatter is full of talk about a new paradigm in which dollar, stocks, and bonds fall in tandem on frustration about massive U.S. deficit spending amid continuing weak economic growth. Boston Fed President Rosengren made downbeat remarks about a possible U.S. recovery. Bernanke gives a commencement address today at the BC law school. Euribor […] More
Currency Markets in the News
G-4 Real GDP Growth
May 21, 2009
The table below documents annualized rates of real GDP contraction between the third quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 and for the four quarters to 1Q09. These comparisons show a three-speed recession. Japan has weakened most severely, and the United States had the mildest drop-off, if one can call drops of 6.2% […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Dollar Up but Stocks Lower
May 21, 2009
Stocks fell by 0.9% in Japan, 2.2% in China, 1.1% in South Korea, 2.3% in India, 2.6% in Singapore, and 1.6% in Hong Kong. The German Dax and Paris Cac are trading off 1.6%, while the British Ftse has lost 2.2% after a damaging S&P warning, which also depressed sterling. Citing poor public finances, Standard […] More
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Tuesday's Developments
May 19, 2009
The dollar is weaker, depressed by weaker-than-forecast U.S. housing starts and permits and by a further drop in general risk aversion. From late Monday, the U.S. currency is down 1.1% against the pound, 1.0% versus the Australian dollar, 0.4% against the euro and Canadian dollar, 0.2% relative to the yen and 0.1% against the Swiss […] More
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Monday Developments
May 18, 2009
Markets exhibited a better tone on Monday. Stocks had experienced their worst weekly performance since early March, as risk aversion was buoyed by several worse-than-forecast economic indicators culminating Friday in Euroland first-quarter growth figures. Real GDP fell last quarter at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.4% in Germany, 9.4% in Italy, and 9.8% in […] More
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Next Week
May 15, 2009
The central bank and economic data calendars are comparatively light next week. The Bank of Japan will of course retain its overnight target rate at 0.1%, where such has stood since December, while street analysts look for the Bank of Thailand to cut its key rate by a further 25 basis points. The Bank of […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Higher Risk Aversion Sends Stocks Lower and Dollar Up
May 14, 2009
The dollar climbed 0.5% against the Australian dollar, 0.4% relative to sterling, 0.3% against the euro, 0.2% versus the Swissy and kiwi, and 0.1% against the Canadian dollar. The yen is steady, moving up in tandem with the dollar. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.6%. Elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, stocks fell 3.4% in Australia, 3.0% in […] More
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Administrative Notice
May 13, 2009
Unavoidable circumstances through Wednesday, May 20, will limit how much, if anything, can be posted on this weblog. Production should return to normal later next week. More
Currency Markets in the News
Reality Checks
May 13, 2009
Several developments have grabbed the attention of investors, who had become previously comfortable with the notion that the global recession is becoming less intense. Substantial and widespread weakness persists. U.S. retail sales fell 0.4% last month on top of a 1.3% plunge in March, a two-month annualized 9.7% rate of decline. That is almost as […] More
