Central Bank Watch
No Interest Rate Changes after Monthly Turkish Monetary Policy Committee Meeting
September 25, 2014
As expected, officials at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey left their signature 1-week repo rate at 8.25%, their overnight borrowing rate at 7.5%, and their overnight lending rate at 11.25%. The previous last meeting to end without an interest rate change was on April 24th. In August, the lending rate was cut […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Dollar Buoyancy Especially Against the Kiwi
September 25, 2014
The New Zealand dollar (a.k.a. the kiwi) plunged 1.6% overnight to a one-year low of $0.7944 against the U.S. currency, as RBNZ Governor Wheeler elaborated upon his recent claim that the current kiwi level is “unjustified and unsustainable.” The Australian dollar lost as much as 1.0% to USD 0.8791, a 7-month low, as a top […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
IFO Claims "The German Economy is No Longer Running Smoothly"
September 24, 2014
The IFO Institute’s German business climate index dropped 1.6 points to a 17-month low of 104.7. Such has dropped 6.5 points since April. Current conditions slid 0.6 points to 110.5 in September, down from 115.3 last April. Expectations fell 2.4 points to 99.3, 9.5 points weaker than last January. Manufacturing, construction, retail and especially wholesaling, […] More
Larry's Blog
The Dark Side of Street Protests
September 23, 2014
Without the prodding of street protests throughout history, the causes of social justice would not have progressed as far as they did. In the United States, there is greater racial equality and fairer conditions for children, women and workers. Law enforcement is more accountable. Women won the right to vote in 1920, 144 years after […] More
Central Bank Watch
Magyar Nemzeti Bank to Keep 2.10% Interest Rate for Extended Period
September 23, 2014
Hungary’s monetary policy rate was lowered after every monthly Council meeting from August 2012 through July 2014, falling to 2.1% from 7.0%. The statement accompanying July’s 20-basis point cut proclaimed that the easing cycle had ended. The new policy mantra, reiterated in today’s policy statement, pre-announces that the 2.1% rate will likely be retained for […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Sri Lanka Tweaks Policy to Promote Faster Bank Lending
September 23, 2014
A quarterly monetary policy review released today applauds Sri Lanka’s buoyant growth and benign inflation but expresses disappointment with the pace of bank lending in spite of previous reductions of the central bank’s key interest rates. The central bank lending rate (a.k.a. reverse repo rate) and its repo rate were sliced by 25 basis points […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Risk Aversion is Back
September 23, 2014
Share prices in the Pacific Rim fell 1.6% in India, 0.6% in Indonesia and 0.5% in Taiwan and South Korea. Japan was closed for the Autumnal Equinox holiday. Downward equity momentum has picked up in Europe, with losses so far of 1.6% in France, 1.3% in Great Britain, 1.1% in Germany, Italy and Spain, and […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Israel Retains 0.25% Key Interest Rate
September 22, 2014
Following back-to-back cuts of 25 basis points in July and August, Israeli monetary officials left their key interest rate at 0.25% as most forecasters were expecting. This level is even below the the 0.5% trough seen for five months in the middle of 2009. The rate had been lowered in eight moves between October 2008 […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Fresh Concern about Chinese Growth
September 22, 2014
Investor uneasiness that China’s government is not doing enough to promote faster growth were not alleviated by overnight remarks from China’s finance minister, nor from a G20 statement that talked in generalities but not specifics. The preliminary September Chinese purchasing managers index for manufacturing gets released on Tuesday. Group of Twenty finance ministers and central […] More
Deeper Analysis
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Release Statement
September 21, 2014
After meeting on the weekend in Cairns, Australia, finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20 released a statement that Asserted “growth in the global economy is uneven and remains below the pace required to adequately generate much needed jobs. Downside risks persist, including in financial markets and from geopolitical tensions.” Acknowledged the need […] More
