Euroland retail sales
Dollar, Bond Yields and Commodity Prices Up and Another Momentum Shift in Equities
March 5, 2026
As has often been the case during the Iran war, there has been other equity market reversal between Asia’s and Europe’s trading day. Stock market indices rebounded 9.6% in South Korea, 2.6% in Taiwan, 1.9% in Japan, 1.8% in Indonesia, 1.1% in India, 0.9% in Malaysia and 0.6% in China. However, markets in Germany, Italy, […] More
Weak U.S. Job Growth Continued But Unemployment Rate Unexpectedly Slipped Back to 4.4%
January 9, 2026
In a week full of data releases, the most eagerly awaited report from the get-go had been today’s U.S. December employment situation report from the Labor Department, which presented mixed results relative to market expectations but an overall soft picture. Non-farm payroll jobs climbed by a smaller-than-forecast 50 thousand, and revisions to the October and […] More
Lull in Data Flow Slows Pulse of Market Activity
December 4, 2025
Thursday has been a comparatively inconsequential trading session. The dollar is narrowly mixed, dropping 0.3% against sterling but ticking 0.1% higher relative to the euro and yen. U.S. equities are holding but not extending yesterday’s rise. Japan’s Nikkei-225 played catchup, jumping 2.3%, and the Hang Seng closed 0.7% stronger. Stock markets in Germany, Spain and […] More
Slight Retreat in the Dollar and A Razor-Thin Bank of England Interest Rate Decision
November 6, 2025
The stepped down a little in overnight trading, losing 0.3% against the euro and yen, 0.2% relative to the Swiss franc and sterling, and 0.1% vis-a-vis the Canadian and Australian currencies. Alternatively, South Korea’s won lost 0.4% against the dollar and even more versus the yen. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose three basis points in […] More
More Tariff News
July 7, 2025
(184) Like so many other Mondays this year, financial markets are marching to the beat of President Trump postings on Truth Social rather than economic fundamental trends. And as typically has been the case, the postings serve a dual purpose of unveiling new and changed information about future policy but also deflecting attention away from […] More
Federal Reserve Tops a List of Many Central Banks Deciding Interest Rate Levels
May 7, 2025
Today’s FOMC decision at 18:00 GMT (14:00 EDT) is universally expected to be an unchanged federal funds target range of 4.25-4.50%. Updated macroeconomic forecasts are not scheduled at this meeting, so the focus will be on what Fed Chairman Powell says at his press conference, which begins at 14:30 EDT and, even more influentially, how […] More
U.S. Election Reaction Sharing Spotlight with Central Banks
November 7, 2024
The Federal Reserve, which is expected to cut its interest rate target today by 25 basis points, is but one of several central banks in today’s news. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Brazil’s Selic rate was lifted late yesterday by 50 basis points. The Bank of England’s base rate has been cut today by an […] More
Japanese Intervention Risk Returns Even as Expected Size of Next Fed Rate Cut Shrinks
October 7, 2024
Ever since the international monetary system switched from fixed to market-determined flexible dollar exchange rates in March 1973, government officials in Japan have been particularly sensitive to excessive currency market volatility. The asymmetry since 2022 between loose Japanese monetary policy and tight stances elsewhere has presented a particularly difficult challenge especially with Japan transitioning out […] More
Bottom Fishing
August 6, 2024
After Monday’s historically sharp movements across many financial market types, investors overnight and early today took a chance on those movements being overdone but remained cognizant of the risk for aftershocks. The backdrop to Monday’s selloff remains pretty much intact, and today’s additional news hasn’t been particularly remarkable. One continuing concern is the potential for […] More
Europe Commanding the Spotlight
June 6, 2024
Today’s 80th anniversary of the D-Day assault on Normandy Beaches finds Continental Europe at another crossroads. Allied defenders of democracy have struggled to maintain a cohesive response to the challenges posed by the axis of Russia, China and Iran as well as the troubling war between Israel and Hamas. European Union parliamentary elections begin today […] More
