equities
November 2021 in Figures
November 30, 2021
The Omicron revelation last week dwarfed all other developments that had occurred earlier in November. Equity prices and ten-year sovereign debt yields fell sharply in response. The dollar experienced strong gains during November. The price of West Texas Intermediate oil, whose prior rise has been a leading factor in the global intensification of inflation this […] More
June 2021 and Second Quarter in Figures
June 30, 2021
The dollar was strongly bid against other currencies and gold during June but lost modest ground over the course of the whole second quarter. Although all the central banks highlighted in the feature did not change interest rates during the second quarter, Fed officials signaled that quantitative easing is likely to begin sooner that thought […] More
April 2021 in Figures
April 30, 2021
The month of April experienced significant further appreciation of U.S. equities and the price of oil. The Canadian and British stock markets kept pace with America’s to a certain extent, but the Swiss and Japanese lost ground. The dollar fell against a broad spectrum of other currencies, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield premium relative […] More
March and First Quarter 2021 in Figures
April 1, 2021
None of central banks below changed policy interest rates during the first quarter, but 10-year sovereign debt yield recorded sharp advances. Favorable U.S. long-term interest rate differentials became even more so during March. In spite of rising long-term bond yields, equities experienced gain last quarter including in March. The U.S. and Canadian dollars strengthened last […] More
August 2020 in Figures
August 31, 2020
Financial markets in August experienced significant increases in share prices and 10-year sovereign debt yields and a pronounced further decline in the dollar’s external value. Central bank policy interest rates again held steady in the U.K., U.K., Switzerland, euro area and Japan but were lowered in several developing economy countries such as Mexico by 50 […] More
July 2020 in Figures
August 1, 2020
July was the weakest month for the dollar in practically ten years. The resulting improvement in U.S. price competitiveness resulted large U.S. equity price advances that were not experienced by European and Japanese stock markets. Dollar vulnerability also generated strong demand for gold, whose price soared nearly 10%. Late in the month gold briefly surpassed […] More
May 2020 in Review
May 30, 2020
With the central bank interest rates featured below already historically low, none as in April were lowered during May. Moreover the sharp declines of ten-year sovereign debt yields in April were partly reversed in several instances this past months. The talk of plans around the world to begin loosening stay-at-home restrictions lifted equity markets sharply, […] More
April 2020 in Figures
April 30, 2020
Imposed business shutdowns around the world in March had severely rattled financial market confidence, sending share prices sharply lower and the dollar significantly upward. The feared negative impact on economic data was visibly confirmed during April, but forward-looking investors found hope in the policy response of low interest rates and fiscal support. Although long-term interest […] More
March and First Quarter 2020 in Figures
March 31, 2020
Similar to February, the dollar’s net movements against the euro, yen, and Swiss franc were an oasis of stability amid the continuing financial market drama elsewhere. For the whole first quarter, the dollar was particularly well-bid against sterling and commodity-sensitive currencies like the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian dollars. For central bank watchers, March was […] More
December and 2019 in Figures
January 2, 2020
Equities performed spectacularly in 2019 as a whole and rose in December, too. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose in December but fell in 2019. Three 25-basis point cuts were made in the federal funds target last year, reversing all by one of the four hikes done in 2018. Elsewhere, there was only a 10-basis point […] More
