Central Bank Watch
Bank of Korea Base Rate Holds at 2.0%
October 9, 2009
No change was made in the key interest rate benchmark, the same result as in the seven previous monthly policy meetings. Previously from a 5.25% peak, there had been two cut in October 2008 totaling 100 basis points followed by a 175-bp reduction in December and a 50 bp cut in February. Although CPI inflation […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
October 9, 2009
Monday will be a holiday in several markets: Columbus Day in the U.S., Argentina and Chile, Sports Day in Japan, Dia de la Raza in Venezuela , Children’s Day in Brazil, Thanksgiving Day in Canada and National Day in Spain. However, China will enjoy its first full calendar week of October. Central bank meetings are […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Weekly Foreign Exchange Developments: October 9th
October 9, 2009
The Obama Administration’s commitment to promoting a strong dollar has evoked considerable suspicion. Reactions to this development can range over a very wide spectrum as defined by the following questions: So what else is new? This too will pass as it has many times before? Why has the crescendo of anxiety occurred at this particular […] More
U.S. and Canadian Trade
October 9, 2009
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit of $30.71 billion in August was similar to July’s $31.85 billion and the first-half pace of $29.24 billion per month. The deficit was also smaller than forecast. Exports firmed 0.2%, while imports fell 0.6% in August. On a census basis, the U.S. merchandise trade deficit of $310.2 billion […] More
Canadian Labor Statistics: Headlines Overstate Improvement
October 9, 2009
Employment jumped 30,600 in September on top of a 27.1K advance in August, and the jobless rate dropped by three-tenths to 8.4%, its first decline in 14 months. Those headlines surprised analysts, where conventional wisdom was looking for 8.8% unemployment and a moderate loss of jobs. But… The jobless rate fell in part because of […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Dollar Firms
October 9, 2009
The dollar has gained 0.6% against sterling and the kiwi, 0.5% relative to the yen, 0.4% against the Swiss franc, 0.3% against the euro and 0.1% versus the Aussie dollar. The Canadian dollar was flat ahead of the releases of Canadian labor and trade statistics. The reopened Chinese bourse shot up 5.3% in a catch-up […] More
