Central Bank of Chile
Central Bank of Chile Tightens Again
September 1, 2021
Yesterday’s monetary policy review ended with a greater-than-expected 75-basis point hike in the Central Bank of Chile’s policy interest rate to 1.50%. An initial 25-basis point increase had been authorized at the previous review in July. The latest decision was made unanimously, and officials signaled that interest rate normalization has further to go. At 1.50%, […] More
Watching China and Central Banks
July 15, 2021
The U.S. dollar edged slightly higher overnight, with gains of 0.4% against the Australian and New Zealand currencies, 0.3% versus the euro, and 0.1% relative to the Swiss franc, loonie, and DXY weighted index. Alternatively, the dollar slipped 0.2% against the Chinese yuan and 0.1% versus sterling, while dollar/yen stayed steady. Share prices had climbed […] More
Another Batch of Important U.S. Data Due Later Today
May 14, 2021
Thursday’s ebbing of inflation phobia in financial markets extended into overnight trading, and now investors await this morning’s release of U.S. import prices, retail sales, industrial production, and the U. Michigan index of consumer sentiment. Equity markets in the Pacific Rim rebounded 2.3% in Japan, 1.8% in China, 1.1% in Hong Kong, kand 1.0% in […] More
Quarter-End, a Flood of Reported Data, and an Eagerly Awaited Speech by Biden on His Infrastructure Plans
March 31, 2021
The dollar is trading modestly lower (e.g. -0.1% on the DXY weighted index) on this final day of the first quarter. In overnight equity market action, share prices climbed almost 1% in Australia and New Zealand but have slipped in Asia and, to a lesser degree, in Europe. The S&P 500 and DJIA futures indices […] More
Equities Down and Dollar Weak but Little Changed Overnight
December 8, 2020
Senate Majority Leader McConnell has not yet lent his support to the bipartisan U.S. fiscal stimulus plan. Opinion polls suggest the all-important senate races in Georgia are both close, and unprecedented funds are being poured into both contests. The EU summit begins in two days, with fiscal stimulus and trade relations with the U.K. high […] More
Coronavirus Infections Climb and Negotiations Stumble
October 16, 2020
Global and U.S. Covid-19 cases rose over the last day by 434k and 65k, while the possibility of a vaccine before the U.S. election is growing more doubtful. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. will opt for no trade deal with the EU unless European leaders make substantial further concessions. That’s not going […] More
Equities Still Well Bid for the Most Part
September 2, 2020
Fed Governor Brainard’s call for more fiscal and monetary stimulus encouraged the risk appetite of investors overnight especially in European trading. Ten-year German bund and British gilt yields fell by 3 basis points each, and stock markets have risen by 2.3% in France and Germany, 2.2% in Italy, 1.7% in Switzerland, and 1.6% in Great […] More
Covid-19 Is in Control Rather than Being Under Control
July 16, 2020
The best laid plans of mice and men…. Governments want to reopen economic activity, but a rising curve of new coronavirus cases both around the world and in the United States is setting other imperatives. Over the past 24 hours, there were 230.3k cases world wide, including a record 71.7k in the United States, where […] More
Chile’s Secend Central Bank Rate Cut in March and Fifth Reduction Since Mid-2019
April 2, 2020
The Central Bank of Chile Board authorized a 50-basis point reduction of its policy interest rate on March 31 by unanimous vote just two weeks after an emergency meeting that cut such by 75 basis points on the 16th. In the second half of 2019, officials had also engineered cuts of 50 basis ponts in […] More
A Busy Day on Several Fronts
December 5, 2019
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Pelosi has instructed Democratic members to draw up articles of impeachment against President Trump. Revised third-quarter GDP data for the euro area left the quarterly growth rate unchanged at 0.2%, which matches the second-quarter result. Consumption, business investment, and government spending made positive growth contributions, but net exports and inventories […] More
