Beige Book
Fed Beige Book Highlights
April 15, 2026
One way the Federal Open Market Committee prepares for each of the eight scheduled reviews of monetary policy per year is to have each of the twelve Districts conduct a survey of businesses in their jurisdiction to gauge regional trends in economic activity, pricing pressure, labor market conditions since the prior meeting. The finding are […] More
Dollar, Bond Yields and Commodity Prices Up and Another Momentum Shift in Equities
March 5, 2026
As has often been the case during the Iran war, there has been other equity market reversal between Asia’s and Europe’s trading day. Stock market indices rebounded 9.6% in South Korea, 2.6% in Taiwan, 1.9% in Japan, 1.8% in Indonesia, 1.1% in India, 0.9% in Malaysia and 0.6% in China. However, markets in Germany, Italy, […] More
More Difficult Access to Credit But Central Banks Still Leaning Into Inflationary Winds\
April 20, 2023
Touted as a hedge against inflation and other uncertainties, cryptocurrencies have proven to be a fair-weather friend. The price of Bitcoin, down another 0.5% overnight, has been a good barometer of whether investors see a cup half full or half empty. Today’s stock market mood has been edgy. U.S. equity futures are down over half […] More
Equities and Dollar Slip, Japanese Growth Revised Lower
March 9, 2023
With Fed Chairman Powell’s two-day testimony over and the Beige Book published, the dollar fell overnight by 0.7% against the yen, 0.3% versus the Swiss franc, kiwi, Aussie dollar and sterling and 0.2% relative to the euro and Chinese yuan. Powell left scant doubt that multiple additional interest rate hikes like ahead, and the Fed’s […] More
Risk Back Off after California Declares State of Emergency
March 5, 2020
Yesterday’s U.S. stock market rally extended into Pacific Rim trading hours overnight, with markets advancing 2.1% in Hong Kong, 2.0% in China and New Zealand, 1.3% in South Korea, and 1.1% in Japan, Australia, and Taiwan. But the covid-19 virus continues to extend its tentacles, and investor fear abruptly overtook hope in Europe where equity […] More
Brexit Deal Reached, Congressman Cummings Dead, and Beige Book Reflects Slowdown
October 17, 2019
Several big stories hit the wires this morning. First, Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and a leading figure in the investigation of President Trump, has died at age 68. He’d had several health problems, but exact details of cause of death were not provided. Second, British Prime […] More
Stronger Euro, Weaker Yen
March 3, 2016
The dollar rose as high as JPY 114.28 overnight, its strongest level since February 15. It’s off that high currently but still up 0.4% on balance. At the same time, the U.S. currency shows overnight losses of 0.6% against the New Zealand and Australian dollars, 0.4% versus the euro, 0.3% relative to the Swiss franc […] More
Central Banks, Data, and China All in the Spotlight
January 14, 2016
Following Wednesday’s U.S. stock market selloff, share prices fell 2.7% in Japan, 1.9% in Singapore, 1.6% in Australia, 1.0% in Taiwan, 0.9% in South Korea, 0.6% in New Zealand and 0.5% in Hong Kong. Equities in Europe are currently down on the day by 3.2% in Greece, 2.8% in France, 2.7% in Germany, 2.4% in […] More
No Respite from Volatility
October 16, 2014
The dollar and yen were well bid overnight. Japan’s currency climbed 0.3% against the greenback, which otherwise advanced 1.3% relative to the Australian dollar, 0.9% vis-a-vis the kiwi, 0.8% against the loonie, 0.6% versus the euro and Swissie but just 0.1% against sterling. Stocks slumped overnight by 2.2% in Japan, 1.4% in Singapore, 1.3% in […] More
Significant Day for Data Releases
December 4, 2013
The dollar climbed against commodity-sensitive currencies, gaining 1.2% against the Aussie dollar, 0.5% versus the kiwi and 0.1% relative to the loonie. Opec oil ministers meeting in Vienna hope to leave production quotas unchanged in an effort to keep price stable and near $100 per barrel. WTI oil advanced 1.3% overnight to $97.25 per barrel. […] More
