New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Monday Market Action Reversed Partially
August 18, 2009
There is less observable risk aversion than yesterday. The dollar and yen are lower, stocks are mostly higher, commodities are up, and so are bond yields. The dollar has advanced 0.7% against the yen but shows losses of 0.6% against sterling, 0.4% against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, 0.3% against the euro and 0.2% […] More
Net Foreign Purchases of Long-Term Treasuries Jumped to $105.2 Billion
August 17, 2009
The monthly Treasury Department release of U.S. capital flow data saw foreign purchases of U.S. long-term securities leap to $123.6 billion in June from $7.9 billion in May, $22.2 billion per month in January-May, $34.4 billion per month in 2008, $83.8 billion per month in 2007 and $95.3 billion per month in 2006. Almost the […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Sharp Drop in Stocks
August 17, 2009
Risk aversion roared back with a vengeance. Stocks down in Asia and Europe. U.S. futures point to lower open. Dollar broadly stronger. Bond yields and commodities are lower. Doubts mounting that recovery can be sustained without fiscal impulse. The dollar has advanced at least 1% against the Australian dollar (1.6%), kiwi (1.4%), sterling (1.3%), and […] More
Currency Markets in the News
Japanese GDP Advanced 3.7% At Annualized Rate Last Quarter
August 17, 2009
The preliminary second-quarter GDP data were much as forecast. Japanese real GDP expanded 3.7% at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (saar) in 2Q09. That was better than negative growth rates in the quarter of 0.4% saar in Euroland, 1.0% saar in the United States, and 3.2% in Great Britain. However, the 6.4% GDP drop from […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
August 14, 2009
The week to August 21st has a comparatively light data and events calendar. There will be central bank meetings in Mexico, the Philippines and Turkey, but only the last is expected to produce a rate reduction. The 32nd annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, sponsored by the Kansas City Fed, will be held late in the […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Weekly Foreign Exchange Insights: August 14th
August 14, 2009
Midway through August and the third quarter, prospects for all markets seem to hinge on what happens to equities and other asset wealth. Stock market players today experienced second thoughts about the strong price recovery since early March. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow had advanced 50%, 59%, and 43%. Elsewhere, stocks had rebounded 63% […] More
U.S. Inflation and Unemployment
August 14, 2009
Consumer prices fell 2.1% in the year to July, the greatest on-year price drop since the year to January 1950 and a 7.8 percentage point increase from a 5.6% rise in the year to July 2008. U.S. core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, slowed to a 12-month pace of 1.5% from 2.5% […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: More 2Q GDP Data Released
August 14, 2009
The dollar is narrowly mixed with gains of 0.3% against sterling and 0.1% relative to the euro, Swissy and Australian dollar but declines of 0.3% against the yen and 0.2% against the kiwi. The Canadian dollar is unchanged ahead of a bunch of North American data releases. Asian stocks closed mixed. China’s bourse lost 2.8%, […] More
Central Bank Watch
Chilean Monetary Policy Left Unchanged
August 14, 2009
The Central Bank of Chile retained its monetary policy interest rate at 0.5%, breaking a string of seven consecutive cuts in 2009 adding up to 775 basis points. The rate was reduced by 600 bps in the first quarter, 150 bps in the second quarter, and by a final 25 bps on July 9th. Monetary […] More
Bernanke's Opponents
August 13, 2009
There’s yet another critical editorial about Fed Chairman Bernanke in today’s Wall Street Journal, entitled “No Exit” — as in no exit strategy. Using a driving metaphor, the Chairman is faulted for not slowing the “money accelerator” to 160 miles per hour from 200 MPH and the paper insinuates that he is motivated by a […] More
