Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Chile Keeps Benchmark Interest Rate at 5.25%
September 15, 2011
The Chilean monetary policy rate is reassessed each month and was left unchanged for the third time in a row. Previously, such was hiked at 12 of 13 meetings from June 2010 to June 2011, seven times by 50 basis points and five times by 25 bps. In a new statement, the state of monetary […] More
Central Bank Watch
Coordinated Central Bank Provision of Dollar Liquidity: Good or Bad News?
September 15, 2011
Central Banks in Switzerland, the euro area, and Japan have simultaneously posted notices on their web sites of a coordinated effort to undertake longer-term 84-day tenders of dollar liquidity, thereby covering a period that extends beyond end-December. Here’s an example from the ECB. One sees that each of the announcements provides links to similar announcements […] More
Central Bank Watch
New Worries at the Swiss National Bank about Deflation
September 15, 2011
At the regularly scheduled quarterly review of monetary policy, no further measures were unveiled, but Swiss central bank authorities tied the many actions announced since early August to a fresh threat of domestic deflation and recession caused by a “massively overvalued” franc and worsening prospects in Switzerland’s trading partners and global financial markets. To recap […] More
Deeper Analysis
How the U.S. Current Account Gap Was Financed in the Second Quarter
September 15, 2011
The dollar was on the ropes during the spring quarter of 2011, which was reflected not so much in the current account as in a combined $189.7 billion net outflow generated by portfolio and direct investment. These are the long-term capital movements. The balance of payments must zero out by accounting convention, but highest quality […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
A Busy Day of Data Releases, Events, and Market Movement
September 15, 2011
The dollar is lower, with overnight losses of 1.2% against the kiwi, 0.5% relative to the euro and sterling, 0.4% against the Swiss franc, 0.2% versus the Canadian and Australian dollars, and 0.1% against the yen. The yuan is steady. Stocks are up by a strong 2.1% in Germany, 2.0% in France, 1.6% in Britain, […] More
