Central Bank Watch
National Bank of Poland Very Comfortable with its 2.5% 1-Week Repo Rate
March 6, 2014
Officials at Poland’s central bank on Wednesday not only kept their accommodative 2.5% interest rate but extended the likely interval before such is changed from the middle of this year to the end of the third quarter. An explanation of the decision revised projected inflation downward a bit even as the forecast for growth was […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
A Four-Ring Circus
March 6, 2014
Global investors and currency market watchers have lately been watching four acts. In ring number one is the standoff between Ukraine and Russia. Geopolitical events are generally shooting stars, exerting considerable market pressure at first but without the sustainability to dominate for long. The Putin gambit backfired when the ruble and Russian security prices were […] More
Central Bank Watch
ECB Governing Council Decides Against Any Further Stimulus at This Time
March 6, 2014
The central bank of the euro area retained key interest rates, namely a 0.25% refinancing rate flanked by a zero deposit rate and a 0.75% marginal lending rate. The last change in any of these was made in November when the refi rate and MLR, but not the deposit rate, were cut by 25 bps. […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank Negara Malaysia Retains a 3.0% Interest Rate
March 6, 2014
A released statement from Malaysia central bank officials retained the 34-month-long overnight policy rate of 3.0% in spite of rising inflation. The statement cites volatile conditions in the international financial markets, an expectation of moderating domestic demand and subdued external price pressures for justifying the retention of the policy status quo as policy is oriented […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of England: No Change is Policy Settings
March 6, 2014
The Monetary Policy Committee released its standard statement for times when policy is not changed. As such, no meaningful fresh information about the current policy stance was provided. The Bank Rate has been at 0.5% since March 2009, and the asset purchase ceiling of GBP 375 billion has been used fully since November 2012. Minutes […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Further Rise of Share Prices Ahead of ECB Event
March 6, 2014
Stocks have risen 1.6% in Japan, 1.1% in India, 0.9% in Taiwan, 0.8% in New Zealand, 0.6% in Hong Kong and Indonesia, and 0.5% in China. In Europe, equities are up so far by 1.3% in Spain, 0.7% in France, 0.3% in Germany and Switzerland, and 0.2% in Britain. The dollar fell overnight by 0.8% […] More
