Canadian current account
Lots of Data and Some Other Surprising Developments
February 28, 2024
Michigan voters, whose support was critical to Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, dealt him a big setback in yesterday’s Democratic Party primary. Almost 101k voters made an organized protest against U.S. military support for Israel by casting an “uncommitted ballot. In addition to votes for Williamson and Phillips, that meant that almost 1 in 5 […] More
Escalating Financial and Political Chaos in Ukraine and Russia, and Rest of World Feeling Pain, Too
February 28, 2022
Ukrainian and Russian talks in Belarus are unlikely to defuse the military conflict. Russian President Putin seeks to replace Ukraine’s government and has insinuated that he may use nuclear weapons if Nato doesn’t back off. In this high stakes game game of chicken, Nato allies seek to decapitate the Russian ruble and financial markets and […] More
Immediate Market Reaction to Omicron Trimmed Back but Only Partially
November 29, 2021
It will take a week or two before a clearer picture emerges of the Omicron Variant and investors have a better understanding of key questions such as the protection existing vaccines provide to the new mutation. Markets had reacted very adversely on Friday to first learning about Omicron. Today has seen a partial reversal of […] More
Some Optimism from Three Fronts
August 29, 2019
Investors continue to believe that the U.S. and China can work out some kind of truce in the trade war. It is also thought the resignation of the Scottish Conservative Party leader, Ruth Davidson, may impede British Prime Minister Johnson’s ability to pull the U.K. out of the EU without any negotiated deal on October 31. […] More
Some weak European and Japanese Data
August 29, 2018
French GDP growth slowed to a 0.2% per quarter rate in the first half of 2018 from 0.7% per quarter in the second half of 2017. In the second quarter alone, personal consumption contracted for the first time since the summer of 2016. Imports advanced five times faster than exports, and net foreign demand exerted […] More
Concerns from Several Places
May 30, 2017
Markets in China and Hong Kong remain shut for the Dragon Boat Festival, but British and U.S. markets reopened following 3-day holiday weekends. European political uncertainty is one theme in early Tuesday trading. The outcome of the British election on June 8 is not assured, since opinion polls show a narrowing lead for Prime Minister […] More
A Lot to Ponder in Spite of U.S. and British Holiday Closures
May 30, 2016
U.S. markets will be closed for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summertime currency trading. London markets are shut, too, for the late May Bank holiday. At the summit of G7 leaders held in Japan, a mixed agreement was reached not to engage in competitive devaluation but also protesting excessive exchange rate volatility. Japan’s prime […] More
Thanksgiving Day 2014
November 27, 2014
Markets will lack the usual leadership of the U.S. trading presence, but some interesting data were released earlier. Germany’s unemployment stayed at a record low of 6.6% in November. 14K fewer workers were without work, which was a surprise to forecasters. German consumer price inflation slowed to 0.6% in November from 0.8% in the three […] More
Calm before U.S. Sequestration
February 28, 2013
It doesn’t look like the sequestration, across-the-board U.S. federal spending cuts, will be averted. But equities are doing well, with overnight gains of 3.0% in China, 2.0% in Hong Kong, 2.7% in Japan, 1.7% in Indonesia, 1.6% in the Philippines, and 1.3% in Australia. In Europe, the Dax and Spanish Ibex are 0.8% higher. The […] More
Spanish Delay
August 30, 2012
Following talks in Madrid between the leaders of Spain and France, Spain’s Prime Minister announced another delay in whether it would seek a bailout. This news added to some weak data to depress share prices and commodities, but currency movements have been limited. The dollar has risen 0.3% against the Aussie and Canadian dollars, 0.2% […] More
