Bank of Japan
Weak Yen, Better-Than-Expected Tech Earnings, and Bracing for U.S. PCE Data
April 26, 2024
The yen is currently trading near its overnight low of 156.86 per dollar, a trough not experienced since May 1990. The Bank of Japan’s Board meeting failed to raise interest rates further, kept planned monthly JGB purchases at around 6 trillion yen and failed to clarify a possible timetable for additional monetary policy normalization. Adding […] More
Bank of Japan Exits Negative Short-Term Interest Rate Territory
March 19, 2024
The Bank of Japan‘s ended “yield curve control”, a negative short-term interest rate target, and asset purchases other than government bonds and restored the primacy of its overnight rate — now 0-0.1% — as its primary policy tool. These changes were justified by the greater-than-expected 5% wage increases that came out of this year’s spring […] More
Yen Slides 0.9% in Spite of First Bank of Japan Interest Rate Hike Since February 2007
March 19, 2024
The Bank of Japan‘s ended “yield curve control”, a negative short-term interest rate target, and asset purchases other than government bonds and restored the primacy of its overnight rate — now 0-0.1% — as its primary policy tool. These changes were justified by the greater-than-expected 5% wage increases that came out of this year’s spring […] More
Global Equities Rise as Week With Many Central Bank Meetings Kicks Off
March 18, 2024
Among the many central bank policy meetings lined up for the coming week, two questions loom in particular. Will the Fed reduce the number of likely rate cuts this year from three as indicated earlier? Possibly. And will the Bank of Japan Board end its negative 0.1% overnight interest rate target, which is deemed likely […] More
Uncertainty About the Impact of A Chinese Government Plan to Support Equity Values
January 23, 2024
At a Chinese government cabinet meeting, officials are reported to have conceived plans to lend direct support to the economy’s flailing stock market and thereby buttress investor confidence. The rumored scheme only lifted the Shanghai composite index by a net 0.5% overnight, and a 3.2% initial jump in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trimmed […] More
Continuing Pivot Back Into Equities
December 19, 2023
Two themes are dominating financial markets today: 1) speculation that major central banks will cut interest rates next year sooner and by more than now signaled and 2) Chinese debt service strains. Share prices in Japan on Tuesday rose 1.4% in Japan after the Bank of Japan Board unanimously agreed not to change its ultra-loose […] More
Bank of Japan
October 31, 2023
The aforementioned Bank of Japan Board meeting ended with an announcement of no change in the -0.1% overnight interest rate target and an unchanged desire to keep the ten-year Japanese Government Bond yield around zero percent. As rumored, however, there was a significant tweak in how the JGB goal is viewed and maintained. There’s no […] More
U.S. Equities Not Out of the Woods and Yen Drops After BOJ Policy Tweet
October 31, 2023
Yesterday’s 1.2-1.6% advance in major U.S. stock market indices appears more a case of bottom-fishing than the start of an uptrend. The FOMC’s two-day policy review that starts today isn’t expected to result in an interest rate hike, but the post-meeting press conference will likely strike a hawkish tone in light of recent robust U.S. […] More
Investors Uneasy about Several Recessionary Risks
September 22, 2023
Preliminary September purchasing manager survey results out today attest to deepening economic weakness in Europe. Euroland’s composite PMI reading of 47.1 after 46.7 in August and 47.0 in July are consistent with a 0.4% quarter-on-quarter drop in GDP in 3Q. Such would represent a fourth straight listless quarter following a 0.1% dip in the final […] More
Stronger Dollar and Higher Bond Yields Ahead of U.S. Price Data to Be Released Thursday and Friday
August 7, 2023
U.S. consumer price and producer price figures will be reported Thursday and Friday. Several other countries release price data on those days as well including Japan, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal, France, Spain, Brazil, and Romania. In advance, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is six basis points firmer today, and European […] More
