Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Elusive Peace in the Middle East Promoting Choppy Financial Market Conditions
July 22, 2026
The Trump Administration has no inclination to resume talks so long as the Houthi threat to halt traffic out of the Red Sea remains. Resumed military conflict has now stretched to 11 days, and this geopolitical purgatory is getting mimicked by oscillating financial market movements from one day to the next. The lurches haven’t necessarily […] More
Respite for the Dollar Ahead of FOMC Announcement
January 28, 2026
Financial market watchers and participants are overwhelmingly convinced that the Federal Open Market Committee will leave its federal funds target at 3.50-3.75%. The announcement arrives at 14:00 EST and will be followed by Chairman Powell’s press conference beginning 30 minutes later. Fed forecasts do not get updated this time. After this FOMC meeting, there will […] More
German Economic Setback, U.N. Speeches, and Parsing U.S. Monetary Policy
September 24, 2025
The dollar got an across-the-board lift from a disappointing German business climate survey result in September. That monthly report from the IFO Institute in Munich yielded an unexpected 4-month low reading of 87.7 after August’s 15-month high and in contrast to analyst expectations of a third straight rise. Commenting on the survey results, IFO President […] More
U.S.-Japan and Other Trade Deals but Also Confusion and Worry about Dollar’s Trend
July 23, 2025
Some good developments on the tariff front emerged in the past 24 hours, namely a trade deal between the United States and Japan that puts the U.S. tariff on Japanese imports at 15% instead of the 25% levy threatened in early April and also commits Japanese businesses to invest $550 billion in America. Deals were […] More
The Sounds of Chaos
May 22, 2025
In the wake of the tax-cutting and deficit-engorging bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last night, The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose as high as 5.154%, its most elevated level since mid-2007 just weeks before the start of the subprime financial market crisis that triggered the global great recession. Ten-year bond yields climbed […] More
Dollar Up Further Ahead of FOMC Decision
January 29, 2025
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to initiate a pause in rate cutting. This review is not one that comes with new growth and inflation forecasts, but investors keenly await Chairman Powell’s press conference for possible clarification of future policy moves. The dollar climbed 0.4% overnight against the euro, Swissy and Canadian dollar, 0.6% against […] More
China and Japan Grab the Early Focus, but U.S. Personal Consumption and PCE Deflation Are Now On Deck
September 27, 2024
China’s previously announced 50-basis point cut in the required bank reserve ratio and several interest rate cuts took effect today, lending further support to that country’s stock market. The Shanghai Composite index and Hang Seng index of Hong Kong closed 2.9% and 3.6% higher today. The need for policy stimulus was underscored by the release […] More
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
July 24, 2024
A central bank surprise occurred in Sri Lanka where an unexpected 25-basis point interest rate reduction was announced after a scheduled policy review. At 8.25%, the new rate level is its lowest since April 2022 and down from 15.5% maintained from March 2023 until an initial cut in June 2023. Consumer price inflation in Sri […] More
Dollar Loses More Ground to Yen and Equity Markets Fall
July 24, 2024
The dollar fell 0.7% overnight against the yen and 0.4% versus the Swiss franc. Alternatively, the greenback rose by 0.4% relative to the Mexican peso, 0.3% relative to the kiwi, 0.2% against the Australian dollar and 0.1% versus the euro. Pacific Rim stock markets closed down 1.1% in Japan, 0.9% in Hong Kong, 0.6% in […] More
Markets Waiting for the Proverbial Godot, I.E. Fed Easing
May 28, 2024
I found the market’s initially upbeat reaction to Fed Chairman Powell’s May 1st press conference puzzling and dismaying and in my opening post the following day wrote Investors had a somewhat more comforting reaction to Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference than I, fixating on the fact that he generally doubted there were be a need […] More
