British consumer prices
In December The Bank of Japan Surprised Markets with a Policy Tweak; Failure to Tweak Further This Month Also Caught Investors by Surprise
January 18, 2023
Investors had assumed that last month’s doubling of the daily cap on the 10-year Japanese government bond yield to 0.50% was not, as then claimed, a mere technical tweak of the policy of yield curve control meant to enhance market functionality but rather an initial start to exiting the policy altogether. This month’s BOJ policy […] More
Two Competing Covid Narratives
July 15, 2020
As is the case on so many matters, faith and reason are clashing in how psychology is being affected by the coronavirus news. This week at least, faith — in this case optimism generated by favorable reports regarding a British vaccine in testing — is overriding the reality of accelerating trends in the virus’ spread […] More
Risk Preference Restored to Some Extent
February 19, 2020
EUR/USD is unchanged from yesterday’s closing level. The dollar is also flat against the yuan and kiwi, up most strongly versus the yen (0.8%) and then 0.3% relative to sterling. To the surprise of few, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not proving to be as adept at governance as he was at running for election. […] More
Share Prices Slip
January 15, 2020
If all goes as planned, the Phase One trade deal between China and the United States will be signed today, but significant tariffs remain. The quarterly meeting of branch managers at the Bank of Japan downgraded economic conditions in three of the nine main regions but found none to be experiencing contracting growth and remained […] More
Policies Driving Currency Markets as More Evidence Emerges of Slower Global Growth
February 13, 2019
Industrial Production in the euro area fell 0.9% in December, more than double the expected slide after a 1.7% drop recorded in November. This resulted in a 4.2% 12-month rate of decline, the biggest on-year contraction since November of 20o9. December output among the common currency bloc’s five largest economies fell from end-2017 levels by […] More
RBA Minutes Depress Australian Dollar in Otherwise Quiet Morning
June 17, 2014
The Australian dollar declined 0.4% against its U.S. counterpart. Minutes from the central bank’s June 3 meeting contained a more sober view of economic growth prospects, satisfaction that inflation will stay in target, and the continuing assertion that Australia’s exchange rate is stronger than warranted. The U.S. currency otherwise is is uchanged against the euro, […] More
Busy Session as U.S. Returns from President’s Day Closure
February 18, 2014
The Bank of Japan left unchanged its basic monetary policy of quantitative easing overlaid on zero interest rates. The central bank’s economic outlook wasn’t changed either in spite of yesterday’s softer-than-expected GDP figures. Some special facilities were extended another year and given higher limits even though they haven’t been fully utilized in the past. The […] More
Sinking Confidence amid Disinflation
November 12, 2013
The dollar strengthened overnight by 0.7% against sterling, 0.5% versus the yen and kiwi, 0.4% relative to the Australian dollar, 0.2% against the loonie and 0.1% vis-a-vis the euro and Swiss franc. The yuan remains unchanged. Pacific Rim equities varied widely. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 2.2%, and stocks also gained 1.0% in china and 0.9% in […] More
Federal Reserve in the Spotlight
September 17, 2013
Even as the Federal Open Market Committee meets today for the first of a critical two-day policy meeting, a story has emerged that Janet Yellen, the present vice-chairperson, is now the front-running candidate to succeed Ben Bernanke as chair-person. Bernanke’s second 4-year term ends in late January. In other central bank news, Minutes from the […] More
Central Bank Surprises in India and Australia
July 16, 2013
Published minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia reflected a tilt away from additional monetary easing. At the policy board meeting earlier this month, officials observed that past rate cuts were positively impacting housing and other aspects of the economy and believed that this support had not yet run its course. Aussie dollar depreciation was […] More
