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
Deeper Analysis
U.S. Housing Market
April 26, 2011
It’s been five years since U.S. housing prices began to buckle. The belief was very prevalent during the brunt of the Great Recession that a self-sustaining U.S. economic recovery would not be possible unless and until the housing market implosion ran its full course and had hit bottom. Less than two months shy of the […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Euro Area Public Finance Figures Released
April 26, 2011
All markets are again open following the Good Friday/Easter holiday break. Today is the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident near Kiev. Commodity price gains have been trimmed following their sharp run-up in recent days. Gold at $1505.20 per ounce is 0.9% below yesterday’s peak of $1518.32. Oil is off 0.2% at $112.03 per […] More
Deeper Analysis
Dollar Seemingly Weak on Diversification
April 25, 2011
The U.S. currency continues to struggle even against the euro, which some analysts early this year predicted would make a run at parity because of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. That crisis has been every bit as bad as imagined, attested by the extremely wide Greek, Irish and Portuguese bond premiums over German bunds. The dollar […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Israel Interest Rate Left at 3.0%
April 25, 2011
The Bank of Israel paused monetary policy tightening this month, having already lifted its base rate by 100 basis points in three successive moves during the first quarter of 2011. That advance, including a stepped-up 50-basis point hike in late March, exceeded the combined increases of 75 basis points each in calendar 2009 and 2010. […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Commodity Prices Up This Easter Monday
April 25, 2011
Markets remain closed in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and much of Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the U.K. and France. Silver rose over 3% to a 31-year high of $49.79. Gold touched a record peak of $1518.32 and is 0.9% higher on balance at $1517.70 per ounce. Oil climbed 0.4% to $112.73 per barrel. […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
April 22, 2011
The Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight next Wednesday. Note that the FOMC interest rate policy statement will be released at 12:30 local time (16:30 GMT) instead of the usual 14:15 hour. Then Chairman Bernanke at 18:30 will inaugurate a new press conference feature in attempt to make policy even more transparent. Four press […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Most Markets Shut for Good Friday
April 22, 2011
With very few markets trading, overnight price movements were very minimal. The dollar has risen 0.2% against the yen and yuan and by 0.1% against the Canadian dollar. The U.S. currency is unchanged versus the Australian dollar and sterling and down 0.1% against the euro, Swissy, and kiwi. Gold set yet another all-time high of […] More
