Central Bank Watch
Surprise Rate Hike at Swiss National Bank
June 16, 2022
Today’s biggest central bank surprise came from the Swiss National Bank, where inflation is at its highest since September 2008 but tame at 2.9% compared to inflation in other countries. Swiss officials have kept very low interest rates in order to keep the Swiss franc from climbing to very overvalued levels. For several years prior […] More
Central Bank Watch
Split Vote at Bank of England
June 16, 2022
In the wake of the Fed’s larger rate hike, some analysts had speculated that the Bank of England’s scheduled policy review yesterday and today would result in a bigger rate increase than the four previous 25-basis point moves, and three of six policymakers voted for a 50-bp hike, but the majority stuck with an incremental […] More
Central Bank Watch
Brazilian Central Bank Interest Rate Hike
June 16, 2022
The Central Bank of Brazil’s Selic rate was unanimously raised by another 50 basis points to 13.5%. Brazil is one of several Latin American countries with a legacy of past inflationary blowouts and has to be very careful in the current global environment. From a pandemic low of 2.0% up to March 2021, the Selic […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Lots of Financial Market Churning and Central Bank Activity
June 16, 2022
Federal Reserve officials settled on a 75-basis point rate hike in the past week. Chairman Powell anticipates another increase of 50-75 basis points after the July 26-27 policy review, and updated forecasts put a 3.25-3.5% federal funds rate in play by the end of this year. The baseline projections depict a soft economic landing, but […] More
