Deeper Analysis
May in Figures
May 31, 2010
End-April to End-May market changes illustrate how Europe’s sovereign debt problem may infect Japan and the United States with economic weakness of a different sort. The return of risk aversion lifted the dollar and yen. The appreciation of those two currencies in turn hammered Japanese and U.S. stocks more sharply than European stocks, and yield […] More
Central Bank Watch
Interest Rate Decisions in Hungary and Russia
May 31, 2010
Hungary’s key interest rate was not cut further. A streak of ten consecutive monthly policy rate reductions by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank was interrupted in May as analysts thought would happen. The 5.25% rate level remains 425 basis points lower than such was in mid-2009 and down 625 basis points since a peak in late […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Canada to Implement First Tightening Tuesday
May 31, 2010
Canada’s overnight money rate target has been at 0.25% since April 2009. For the ensuing year, monetary officials also had made a contingent pledge not to raise the target before mid-2010. Repo operations had also been undertaken to augment money market liquidity. The end of those additional features of the accommodative credit policy ended six […] More
Central Bank Watch
Australian Interest Rate Preview
May 31, 2010
The minutes from the May Reserve Bank monetary policy meeting expressed concern about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis but more importantly signaled that interest rates are now “well placed,” meaning appropriate. Another pause in tightening is thus widely expected. From a low of 3.0%, the Official Cash Rate (OCR) was raised by 25 basis points each […] More
Deeper Analysis
Canadian GDP and Producer Prices
May 31, 2010
Canadian real GDP re-intensified at the end of the first quarter, advancing 0.6% on month in March after an increase of 0.2% in February. That was the fourth time in five months in which GDP grew at least 0.5%. In the latest month, industrial production, wholesale turnover, and retail sales recorded robust monthly gains of […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Lots of News In Spite of U.S. and British Holidays
May 31, 2010
U.S. and British markets are closed for Memorial Day and Spring Banking holidays, respectively. Stocks were mixed in the Pacific Rim, with gains of 3.1% in Indonesia, 1.8% in Thailand, 1.3% in Malaysia, 1.1% in Taiwan and South Korea but losses of 2.7% in China, 2.2% in Pakistan and 0.6% in Australia. Japan’s Nikkei edged […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
May 29, 2010
The coming week has a very crowded data calendar, central bank meetings in Australia, Canada, Thailand, Hungary, Indonesia and the Philippines, and Monday holiday closures in the United States and Great Britain. New purchasing manager survey findings will be released for many countries in all regions. GDP figures get reported in Euroland, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
European Currencies Carrying a Downward Bias into Summer
May 28, 2010
The dollar recorded gains of more than 10% against the euro, sterling and Swiss franc from the start of 2010 to this Memorial Day weekend. The main development of the period was a loss of confidence in the short-term and long-term prospects of the euro area. This happened in spite of evidence that an economic […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Last Weekend of May
May 28, 2010
Yesterday’s better market tone is holding. The U.S. and British markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day and a Banking Holiday. The euro strengthened 0.4% against the dollar. The U.S. currency otherwise has dipped 0.2% against the Canadian dollar and Swiss franc, risen 0.2% against the kiwi and by 0.1% against the yen, and […] More
Central Bank Watch
Colombian Base Rate Remains at 3.0%
May 27, 2010
The Colombian Central Bank of the Republic is keeping a 3.0% base rate. In a newly released statement, officials attributed slightly higher CPI inflation of 2.0% in April to transitory special factors, noted that core inflation is in the lower part of a 2-4% target band, and spoke about the still uncertain impact of Europe’s […] More
