Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan Holds Ground Against Tide of Rising Central Bank Rates
July 21, 2022
The Bank of Japan as expected made no concession to globally generated inflation, this year’s depreciation of the yen, and the trend of other central banks that have been tightening monetary policies. At its latest meeting, the BOJ Board kept its short-term interest rate at -0.1%, which has been the level since March 2013, or […] More
Dollar Up on Fresh Concerns Out of China and Russia and Continuing Worries that Fight to Constrain Inflation Will Cause a Global Recession
July 11, 2022
The highly contagious BA.5 subvariant of Omicron has emerged in China, prompting officials there to reimpose Covid restrictions that previously slowed that economy significantly. Russian President Putin warned that western sanctions will lead to an intensifying energy crisis. Higher inflation has been reported in several countries. Factors like these would make this a very challenging […] More
Bank of Japan Stands its Ground
June 17, 2022
The Bank of Japan Board met for 4 hours 35 minutes over two days and left its short-term interest rate and 10-year JGB yield targets unchanged at -0.10% and “around zero percent.” In the 8-1 vote, Board member Kataoka once again dissented, favoring more deeply negative rates and overall stimulus. Japan’s central bank launched its […] More
Volatile End to a Volatile Week as Bank of Japan Declines to Join Bandwagon of Monetary Policy Tighteners
June 17, 2022
The weighted DXY dollar index is 0.8% firmer than at Thursday’s close but 1.3% below Wednesday’s multiyear high. Against individual currencies in overnight trading, the dollar jumped 1.9% against the Japanese yen but slumped 1.6% relative to the Russian ruble. The greenback also rose 0.9% versus the Australian dollar, 0.6% vis-a-vis sterling, 0.5% versus the […] More
Bank of Japan Policy Unchanged
April 28, 2022
The Bank of Japan continues to contrast starkly with the Fed’s rapid transition from a patient strategy to a hurry-up offense against inflation. A four hour 54 minute deliberation over two days by the BOJ policy board ended in unchanged policy settings despite marked revisions in projected inflation and growth. The meeting unveiled a quarterly […] More
New Multi-Year Highs in the Dollar
April 28, 2022
The weighted DXY dollar index has advanced 0.7% on balance today and touched a 19-year high of 103.93, which constitutes an appreciation of 43.3 in April 2008 during the subprime mortgage financial crisis. Overnight dollar highs included a 20-year peak of 131.01 against the Japanese yen and $1.0471 versus the euro. Compared to closing levels […] More
A Turn for the Worse in Ukraine-Russian Conflict Sends Dollar Up and Equities Down
March 18, 2022
Hopes had been kindled early this week by reports of progress in cease-fire talks, but those signs have not panned out, and a new worry is that China is moving closer to supporting Putin’s imperialistic ambitions. The Central Bank of Russia did not raise its 20% policy rate further at today’s scheduled review, claiming that […] More
Equities and Dollar Up Ahead of FOMC Announcement
January 26, 2022
Share prices so far today have climbed 1.8% or more in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Great Britain. Futures trading in the S&P 500, DJIA, and Nasdaq show overnight gains of 1.0 – 1.8%. Equities in Asia closed narrowly mixed with drops of 0.4% in Japan and South Korea but gains of 0.7% in China […] More
Equities Selling Off Further
January 18, 2022
Share prices in Asia fell 0.9% in India and South Korea, 0.8% in Taiwan and 0.3% in Japan. European stock markets currently show daily drops of 0.9% in Germany, 0.8% in France, 0.6% in Italy and 0.3% in Great Britain. In U.S. futures trading, the tech-intensive Nasdaq is 1.5% lower, and losses in the S&P […] More
Stock Markets Drop in Wake of Week’s Spotlight on Central Banks and World Inflation
December 17, 2021
Other factors weighing on investor appetite for riskier assets include Omicron, whose true threat to public health and economic growth remains uncertain, and congressional paralysis over President Biden’s Build Back Better Bill. Two more central banks hiked their interest rates. The Bank of Mexico‘s increase late Thursday of 50 basis points to 5.5% reflected a […] More
