foreign exchange
Market Eyes U.S. Tax Bill
December 19, 2017
President Trump’s signing of a broad tax bill appears fairly imminent. The House of Representatives will vote on the bill today; passage is assured. A senate partisan vote, where Republicans hold a narrower majority, could occur late today and most likely no later than Wednesday. Equities in Asia mostly advanced overnight after a strong U.S. […] More
Strong U.S., Japanese, Chinese, French and Canadian Data Reported and Brexit Talks Take a Step Forward
December 8, 2017
There have been some impressive stock market advances overnight in Asia (Japan 1.4%, Hong Kong 1.7%, Singapore 1.1%, and India 0.9) and Europe (Italy 1.3%, Germany 0.9%, Spain 0.8% and the U.K. 0.7%). The S&P is 0.4% firmer in early U.S. trading. The dollar is closing out the week on a high note, having risen […] More
November in Figures
November 30, 2017
The dollar fell mostly during November, constituting a change in direction from movements in October. Nonetheless, U.S. stocks recorded impressive gains just as they had the month before. Japanese share prices also climbed sharply in November, but many European stock markets declined. Investors became more confident that the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates in […] More
A Noteworthy Week to End with the Release of U.S. Monthly Labor Market Data and the Start of Trump’s 11-Day Trip to Asia
November 3, 2017
Over the past week, Republican lawmakers pressed hard in their quest to pass a major tax cut by Christmas. Jerome Powell, viewed widely as a continuity choice, was nominated to be the next Federal Reserve Chairman. The Bank of England raised its interest rate for the first time since July 2007. The latest British purchasing […] More
October in Figures
November 1, 2017
Whereas September had experienced upward pressure on long-term interest rates, October had a slight downward bias. The rhetoric after central bank meetings in Japan and Euroland was a bit more dovish than expected, leaving an impression there will not be an initial interest rate hike in 2018 by either. Stock markets performed will during October, […] More
September and Third Quarter in Figures
October 1, 2017
The Fed, ECB, and BOJ did not change monetary policy during the third quarter, so short-term interest rates were very stable. But more hawkish talk from the Fed and ECB, a surprise Bank of Canada rate hike, and higher British inflation lifted longer-term rates in those economies during the quarter. A mixed dollar in August […] More
British Inflation Marching to a Faster Beat
September 12, 2017
The U.K. is not displaying the subdued inflation found in most other developed economies. The August batch of British price data revealed a 0.6% monthly advance in total consumer prices and an acceleration of its 12-month increase to 2.9% from 2.6% in both June and July. Core CPI inflation rose 0.3 percentage points (ppts) to […] More
August in Figures
August 31, 2017
Ten-year sovereign debt yields feel pretty much in tandem during August except in Japan where the drop was less sizable but consistent with the Bank of Japan’s target. Short-term interest rates remained low and well anchored by ultra-loose monetary policy stances. The dropped significantly against the Chinese yuan and marginally against traditional “hard currencies” like […] More
Dollar Possibly on Course for a Perfect Storm of Uncertain Timing
July 10, 2017
A term often mentioned today in assessments of the Hamburg Summit has been the G19. With the United States delegation marching to its own drumbeat, the other nineteen governments agreed to coordinate on a host of policies for their mutual benefit and to proceed in effect as a Group of Nineteen. If the U.S. renounces […] More
June and the Second Quarter in Figures
July 1, 2017
As in the previous quarter, a slide in the price of oil was a key development during the second quarter, and half of this move occurred in June. Gold also lost value both in June and the whole quarter. A second theme of the period was a shifting view about future monetary policies in the […] More
