Central Bank Watch
Bernanke's Reappointment
August 25, 2009
For a variety of reasons, President Obama’s announced decision to reappoint Fed Chairman Bernanke to a second four-year term beginning February 1st has been received well. Major business newspapers have not yet run editorials on the action. However, the FT editorial page recommended this move a few weeks ago. While the WSJ editors have been […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Obama To Reappoint Fed Chairman Bernanke Today
August 25, 2009
Overnight movements of the dollar have been narrowly mixed, with gains of 0.2% against the loonie and 0.1% versus sterling, no change against the euro and Australian dollar, and declines of 0.3% relative to the yen and 0.1% against the kiwi and Swiss franc. Chinese stocks suffered another big decline, falling 3.7%. Most other Pacific […] More
Larry's Blog
NBC and Reuters Reporting Bernanke Reappointment to be Made Tuesday
August 25, 2009
This evening around 21:30 EDT (01:30 GMT), U.S. press sources leaked news that President Obama will announce the reappointment of Fed Chairman Bernanke to a second four-year term on Tuesday from his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. The leaked nature of the story is unusual in itself, and the timing contrasts with the initial appointment of […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Israel Raised Key Policy Rate To 0.75% from 0.50%
August 25, 2009
The Bank of Israel unexpectedly raised its key rate nineteen days after ending its program of bond buying. A statement from monetary officials notes that policy remains expansive and speaks about a desire to balance the need to contain inflation, which is expected to hover around the target ceiling, against a mandate to promote growth […] More
Larry's Blog
Navigating America's Lost Political Journey
August 24, 2009
On today’s Op-Ed page in the Financial Times, columnist Clive Crook argues that the slumping Obama Presidency does not reflect unfavorable external circumstances but rather political ineptness by the president and his advisors especially on healthcare reform. Both mistakes of substance and tactics have been made. The administration is not learning from its errors but […] More
Central Bank Watch
Hungarian Benchmark Rate Sliced to 8.0% From 8.5%
August 24, 2009
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank two-week bill rate was reduced to a 16-month low of 8.0% as expected. This benchmark policy rate has dropped 350 basis points since its peak of 11.5% from last October 22nd through November 20th. Four 50-bp cuts were implemented by January 19. After a half-year pause, there was a 100-bp reduction […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Euroland Industrial Orders Posted Sharp Gain in July
August 24, 2009
Investors less fearful about taking risk. Stocks in the Pacific Rim advanced 3.4% in Japan, 3.2% in Australia, 2.8% in Taiwan, 2.0% in South Korea, 2.2% in India and Pakistan, 1.3% in Thailand, 2.7% in Singapore and 1.7% in Vietnam. Stocks in Britain, Germany and France are 0.8% higher. The yen, which trades positively with […] More
Central Bank Watch
Mexican Benchmark Interest Rate Not Cut Further
August 21, 2009
As analysts expected, the Banco de Mexico left its key interest rate at 4.5% after its August meeting today. Cuts in each of the first seven months of the year had cumulated to 375 basis points from an 8.25% level at the start of the year. There had been cuts of 75 bps in March, […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Next Week
August 21, 2009
The final week of August is not the last week of the summer season because the Labor Day Holiday in 2009 is on September 7, its latest possible date. Typical of the cusp between months, next week has a busy calendar for released data and planned central bank meetings. The latter will be held in […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Weekly Foreign Exchange Insights: August 21st
August 21, 2009
These are the hot, humid days of August, a time of erratic currency market activity but also a time for big picture thinking. The dollar lost ground this week. Recovery hopes continue to wax and wane with each new statistic, but optimism appears to prevail that negative global growth is ending, financial market conditions will […] More
