Central Bank Watch
Bank of England
September 23, 2021
The Bank of England’s message was much like the Fed’s. While keeping the base rate pinned at 0.10% and maintaining quantitative stimulus at the recent pace, there were two, up from one, dissenters who favored cutting back the central bank’s pace of government bond purchases. A released statement revised down projected third-quarter British GDP growth […] More
Central Bank Watch
Norges Bank
September 23, 2021
Central bank rate normalization has begun in Norway. Officials of the Bank of Norway at today’s scheduled policy review decided to increase their policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.25% from a record low of zero percent. This action reverses a 25-bp cut in May 2020 that followed two reductions in March totaling 75 […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Brazil
September 23, 2021
Late Wednesday came the additional news from the Central Bank of Brazil of another full percentage point increase in the Selic interest rate to 6.25% along with a statement that another 100 basis point rate hike is probable at the committee’s next review. “At the present stage of the tightening cycle, this pace is the […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Turkey
September 23, 2021
The biggest central bank surprise move today was made in Turkey, where officials of the TCMB slashed their one-week repo rate by a full percentage point to 18.0% even though inflation keeps cresting and is currently at a 16-month high of 19.25%. As recently as March 2021, the rate had been lifted by 200 basis […] More
Uncategorized
Considerable Central Bank News and a Whole Lot More
September 23, 2021
The takeaways from Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference yesterday are that a tapering of Fed bond purchases could begin as soon as right after the next scheduled FOMC meeting and should be drawn down to zero by mid-2022, plus the lift-off date for the fed funds target could occur next year rather than in 2023. […] More
Deeper Analysis
FOMC Statement, Forecasts, and Press Conference
September 22, 2021
Reassured investors reacted bullishly in an initial way. Stocks, which already were higher on the day, rose further. Long-term Treasury yields slid a bit, and so did the dollar. The FOMC statement confirmed “that a moderation in the pace of asset purchases may son be warranted,” which investors believe implies sometime in the coming quarter. But […] More
Uncategorized
FOMC Preview
September 22, 2021
Today’s FOMC news is awaited for several reasons. The statement, less than half an hour away, is expected to confirm that quantitative tapering will begin next quarter even thought Covid trends have been worse than hoped of late and are having an adverse economic effect. The spike in inflation is persisting longer than had been […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Japan: Same Ol, Same Ol
September 22, 2021
The Bank of Japan Board wrapped up its two-day policy review and decided by an 8-1 vote not to change its settings with Kataoka once again dissenting in favor of greater stimulus. The current policy framework anchored around a -0.1% short-term interest rate target, considerable quantitative stimulus, and a 10-year JGB yield objective of “around […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Marking Time Ahead of Powell Press Conference
September 22, 2021
The FOMC is expected to confirm that tapering of its bond purchase program will begin in the fourth quarter. The announcement by the Fed and release of updated economic forecasts will be made at 14:00 EDT (18:00 GMT), followed by Chairman Powell’s press conference at 14:30. Earlier today, the Bank of Japan Board wrapped up […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Equities Trying to Rebound and Dollar Slips a Bit Ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC Announcement
September 21, 2021
The dollar is down 0.15% against the DXY weighted index. Dollar/yen is unchanged from Monday’s closing level, and the greenback lost 0.1% overnight against the euro and sterling and 0.4% relative to the loonie and Swiss franc. U.S. stocks had suffered their steepest daily loss on Monday since May, and share prices in other markets […] More
