Bank of Korea
Cloudier Near-Term Prospects for Central Bank Interest Rates
July 16, 2026
In a widely expected action and by a unanimous vote, the central bank rate in one country, South Korea, has been raised for the first time since January 2023 (see my review). In another (New Zealand), which on July 8th experienced its first rate tightening since May 2023, a key central bank official said more […] More
First South Korean Central Bank Rate Hike Since January 2023 and More Moves Likely to Follow
July 15, 2026
The Bank of Korea Board decided unanimously to raise the one-week repo rate to 2.75% from 2.50%, noting that inflation is likely to stay above the 2.0% target for “a considerable time,”citing improve economic demand, and expressing some concern about the won, housing price inflation and household debt. The statement of explanation concludes that officials […] More
Mixed Middle Eastern News But Investors Seeing the Cup Half Full
May 28, 2026
From a military standpoint, it doesn’t look like long-term peace in the Middle East is close at hand. The U.S. and Iran traded military strikes already this week, and the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is being repeatedly violated as well. Nonetheless, reports continue that Iranian and U.S. negotiators are close to a penciling a […] More
Markets Wanting Peace but Bracing for Inflation
April 10, 2026
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains minimal, and Iran is insisting that Israel’s continuing assault on Lebanon must be part of the discussion as a condition of Iranian participating in resumed peace talks with a U.S. delegation to be headed by VP Vance in Islamabad, Pakistan beginning tomorrow. The behavior of world financial […] More
Little Reaction to Nvidia Earnings Announcement or the Monthend Data Deluge
February 26, 2026
Nvidia announced solid earnings and revenues after yesterday’s session-ending bell, but its share price did not rise in response. That set the stage for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng to lose 1.4% today, and markets in Indonesia and Singapore also absorbed losses. In contrast, stock markets in Australia and Japan rose by 0.5% today, and those […] More
Oil Price Firms After Trump Lessens Military Threat Against Iran
January 15, 2026
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rebounded 4.2% overnight after President Trump withdrew his threat of immediate military action against Iran. Trump did this because info he has received suggests that the killing of protesters in Iran has lessened greatly. In other market developments overnight, The dollar is mostly mostly higher, with gains […] More
Interest Rate Decisions in Korea, Turkey and Ukraine Today Were As Expected
October 23, 2025
While a planned meeting between President Trump and Xi next week in South Korea is back on schedule, the get-together between Trump and Putin planned for Budapest remains canceled due to Russia’s intransigence against negotiating an end to the war with Russia. The United States and European Union have meanwhile extended economic sanctions against Russia, […] More
Korean and South African Interest Rate Cuts to 2.5% and 7.25%
May 29, 2025
Central bank interest rates were sliced today by 25 basis points in both South Korea and South Africa. South Korea‘s new Base Rate becomes 2.50%, its lowest level since October 2022. A peak of 3.5% had been maintained from January 2023 until an initial cut last October. Quarter percentage point reductions were also done in […] More
Favorable Nvidia Earnings, Revised U.S. GDP Data, and A Significant Court Ruling Against U.S. Tariff Policy
May 29, 2025
Nvidia’s first quarter earnings leaped over 70% year-on-year, crushing analyst expectations and eliciting a 5.4% pre-open jump in the AI computer chipmaker’s share price. A small revision to U.S. quarterly GDP growth last quarter from -0.3% at an annualized rate to -0.2% in the second of three planned estimates masks some sizable changes in the […] More
Central Bank Policies in the Spotlight; Dollar and U.S. Equities Rebound
April 17, 2025
The weighed dollar index recovered 0.5% from Wednesday’s intra-day low, with overnight gains of 0.5% against the Swiss franc and yen, 0.3% versus the yen, Canadian dollar and Swiss franc, and 0.1% relative to sterling. Ten-year sovereign debt yields, which had previously declined, rose overnight by 5 basis points in Japan, 3 bps in France, […] More
