Central Bank Watch
Central Bank Rate Cuts in Brazil and Chile of 50 Basis Points and 100 Basis Points
January 31, 2024
A short list of central bank interest changes during January up to the 30th had included Israel, Peru, Kazakhstan and Turkey, but four other joined the club on the final day of the month. Cuts of 50 basis points at the National Bank of Georgia and 25 bps at the Central Bank of Colombia have […] More
Central Bank Watch
Colombian Central Bank Rate Cut
January 31, 2024
The Central Bank of Colombia’s key interest rate was lowered today by 25 basis points to 12.75%. Although a cut had been widely expected, many analysts were anticipating a 50-bp size, and indeed two of the seven committee members had favored the bigger reduction. Today’s is the second consecutive 25-basis point easing of the rate, […] More
Central Bank Watch
A Change in Risk Balance Between Fed’s Twin Goals But Not Enough So to Lock and Load a Near-Term Rate Cut Just Yet
January 31, 2024
The first critical modification in today’s FOMC statement declares The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are moving into better balance. That’s a new idea. Fed monetary policy is guided by twin mandates that occasionally cannot be addressed simultaneously. The Fed is coming off such a period when price […] More
Central Bank Watch
January 2024 FOMC Preview
January 31, 2024
The Fed policy announcement and subsequent press conference are scheduled for 14:00 EST and 14:30 EST. Macro-economic forecasts have not been updated for this meeting, and policy settings are expected to be left unchanged. So the focus will be on the statement’s first paragraph that defines U.S. growth and price trends and on what Chairman […] More
Central Bank Watch
Interest Rate Cut by the National Bank of Georgia
January 31, 2024
Officials at the National Bank of Georgia reduced its key interest rate by another 50 basis points to 9.0%. 150 basis points of easing had earlier been done during the final seven months of 2023. Rate reduction since last May of 200 basis points reverses two-thirds of the prior 300 basis points of tightening implemented […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Disappointing Tech Earnings, FOMC Statement, BOJ Signal and End-Month Data Dump Make for a Busy Day
January 31, 2024
In pre-market trading, share prices for Advanced Micro Devices, Google and Microsoft are currently down by 3.9%, 5.3% and 0.9% following earnings reports that were not as robust as expected. The FOMC rate announcement today is due at 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT). A clear signal of what the Fed may decide in March seems unlikely, […] More
