Bank of England
U.S. Treasury Yield Climbs Sharply in Spite of Fed’s Message and Lifts Dollar
March 18, 2021
Markets aren’t buying yesterday’s dovish policy message from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield roared ten basis points higher overnight to 1.74%, just shy of doubling mid-December’s level. The 10-year British gilt yield rose 6 basis points even though the Bank of England maintained its policy settings, too, and called its current monetary […] More
Bank of England Keeps Policy as Is in Unanimous Vote
February 4, 2021
The Bank of England‘s Monetary Policy Committee had reduced the base rate twice in March 2020, first by 50 basis points and a week later by 15 bps to 0.10%. Today’s statement after maintaining 0.10% and bond-purchase ceilings of GBP 875 billion for gilts and GBP 20 billion of corporate bonds provides the following guidance to […] More
Uncertain Economics, Public Health, and Politics
February 4, 2021
Investors continue to grapple with uncertainty on several planes. Covid: The trend in new cases has slowed but remains well above what was seen in earlier waves of the pandemic. Hospitalizations are down, but two potential super-spreading events loom: the Chinese New Year holiday and Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. Vaccines are being […] More
Dollar Slinks to Another 32-Month Low and Several Central Banks Leave Interest Rates As Is
December 17, 2020
The DXY trade-weighted dollar index fell below 90 to as low as 89.79. Overnight losses occurred across of broad cross-section of key bilateral dollar relationships amounting to 0.9% versus the kiwi, 0.8% relative to sterling, 0.7% versus the Australian dollar, 0.5% against the yen and euro, 0.3% vis-a-vis the Canadian dollar, and 0.2% versus the […] More
U.S. Still Counting Votes as 24-Hour Rise Covid Cases and Deaths Exceed 107K and 1.1K
November 5, 2020
U.S. Election News: Biden’s electoral college count seems likely to reach 270 threshold. Trump is suing to halt counting of absentee ballots, and street protests against such action broke out in several cities overnight. Congress most likely will remain divided with Dems controlling the House and Republicans holding the Senate, but there too ballot counting […] More
Equities Fall Even as Central Banks Commit to Maintaining Low Interest Rates
September 17, 2020
Share prices in Asia closed down 1.6% in Hong Kong, 1.2% in South Korea, 0.8% in Taiwan and India, 0.7% in Japan and 0.4% in China and Indonesia. Equities in Europe so far today have dropped 1.2% in Italy, 0.9% in France, 0.8% in Germany and Spain, and 0.5% in the U.K.. The dollar recovered […] More
No U.S. Fiscal Package Yet as New Jobless Claims Exceed 1 Million for 20th Consecutive Week
August 6, 2020
Congressional talks on an additional fiscal stimulus reportedly remain far apart. The hope has been to secure agreement by tomorrow. Global Covid-19 cases just rose above the 19 million mark, and the U.S. total is closing in fast upon 5 million confirmed infections. Although more than 200k less than forecast, new U.S. jobless insurance claims […] More
Bank of England Expands Quantitative Stimulus
June 18, 2020
The Bank of England by a vote of 8-1 increased its asset buying ceiling from GBP 645 billion to a new level of GBP 745 billion. The Monetary Policy Committee members expect to hit that ceiling by the end of 2020. The program was raised back on March 19 by GBP 200 billion from a […] More
More Concern than Hope in Thursday’s Marketplace
June 18, 2020
It’s been a busy day for central bank watchers, as monetary policy was reviewed in the U.K., Norway, Switzerland, Brazil, Taiwan, and Indonesia. Released statements and some new data adhere to the baseline view that economic activity contracted even more sharply in the second quarter than the first but that the rate of slide began […] More
Disconnection Thursday Between Recessionary Data and Buoyant Stocks
May 7, 2020
Equities were mixed in Asia but have risen more impressively in Europe this morning. There were drops of 0.8% in India, 0.7% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in China but advances of 0.6% in Taiwan, 0.3% in Japan and 0.5% in New Zealand. The British Ftse, German Dax, and Paris Cac each have risen at […] More
