Central Bank Watch
New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate Unchanged at 2.5%
April 27, 2011
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released a statement leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged as analysts had expected. Officials called New Zealand’s post-earthquake outlook still “very uncertain,” observing sharply weaker business sentiment, consumer confidence, and tourism inflows. While the household sector shows signs of bouncing back in much of the country, the stricken Christchurch […] More
Central Bank Watch
Act II: Well-Communicated and Useful Information at the Bernanke Press Conference
April 27, 2011
Bravo to the Fed for introducing press conferences! One generally doesn’t learn much from Bank of Japan press conferences, which are frequent affairs, and the ECB’s staged events are just that, opportunities to run through a checklist of points regardless of what’s asked. Although Chairman Bernanke did not give replies to each question that will […] More
Central Bank Watch
Fed Policy Event at Intermission
April 27, 2011
Today’s FOMC statement was released at 12:30 EDT (16:30 GMT) as promised, and market participants now must wait an hour and 45 minutes for Chairman Bernanke’s press conference to begin. That’s an hour longer than the interval observed between the point of announcement by the ECB of whether rates have been changed and the start […] More
Central Bank Watch
A New Chapter Begins Today at the Federal Reserve and Soon at the European Central Bank
April 27, 2011
The heart and soul of FOMC statements for quite some time has promised low short-term interest rates and a policy consistent with its mandate of maximizing employment and and stable prices. These passages are unlikely to be modified now and have said The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Awaiting Bernanke Press Conference
April 27, 2011
The FOMC is not expected to change its 0-0.25% fed funds target. The announcement is due earlier than normal (12:30 EDT) because Chairman Bernanke will hold an open press conference at the usual time of 14:15 EDT (18:15 GMT). The dollar is mixed, showing gains of 0.8% against the yen and 0.2% relative to the […] More
