French consumer confidence
Big Overnight Drop in the Price of Oil
May 27, 2026
The news regarding U.S.-Iranian negotiations remains confusingly mixed, but the market’s attention has honed in on an optimistic comment on Iranian state news predicting a return to pre-war shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz within a month. In response, the price of WTI crude dived as low as $87.77 (a 40-day trough) and is […] More
EU and India Finalize Grand Remedy Against the Trade Restraints of the United States & China
January 27, 2026
Perhaps motivated by a desire to deflect attention away from the mess that ICE has made in Minneapolis, President Trump wielded the tariff weapon once again, threatening South Korea with a 10 percentage point jump to 25% in the U.S. tariff imposed on that economy’s exports to the United States. That gambit, however, was overwhelmed […] More
Pausing While Watching Middle East and Awaiting Second Round of Powell Testimony
June 25, 2025
A fragile truce in the Iran-Israeli military conflict is mostly holding. Today is day two of a three-day NATO summit in The Hague. Agreement on a sharp increase in defense spending heads the agenda. In the wake of Middle Eastern developments over the past week, U.S. President Trump’s reception has been unexpectedly positive from what […] More
Dollar and Bond Yields Down, Gold Up, Foreign Stocks Mostly Down, But U.S. Stocks Up
April 24, 2025
The DXY weighted dollar index fell 0.5% overnight on slides of 0.7% against the yen, 0.6% versus the euro and Swiss franc, and 0.5% relative to sterling. This day, however, has seen a lower dollar correlated with lower sovereign debt yields as well, including drops of seven basis points in Italy, six bps in France […] More
Dollar Strengthening
August 28, 2024
The weighted DXY index of the dollar recorded a larger than usual 0.6% advance today, with gains of 0.7% versus the euro, 0.5% against the yen, 0.4% relative to sterling, and 0.3% against the Swiss franc, kiwi, and Aussie dollar. Investors eagerly await the next significantly clue, which will be Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report later […] More
Indications that a Debt Ceiling Deal Will Be Reached in Time
May 26, 2023
While no deal has been attained yet to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, both sides of the discussions are expressing optimism, and investors are anticipating that the U.S. will not default. That’s why equities are higher, but the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is also up two basis points to an 11-week high after the release […] More
Marking Time Amid an Eclectic Assortment of Data Reports
August 26, 2020
There’s been no dominant market theme Wednesday. Investors await the virtual Jackson Hole central banker symposium that kicks off tomorrow with a widely awaited speech from Fed Chairman Powell. The RNC provided more red meat to the pro-Trump faithful on its second night. Optimism persists that the United States and China will avoid all-out trade […] More
Decline Continues in Equity Markets
February 26, 2020
The dollar climbed overnight by 0.6% against sterling, 0.5% relative to the Australian dollar, 0.3% versus the yen and peso, 0.2% vis-a-vis the loonie, and 0.1% against the yuan. The dollar also extended its uptrend against several developing country currencies like the South African rand and South Korean won. Alternatively, the dollar dipped 0.2% against […] More
Dollar Firms Modestly; Equity Markets are Mixed
January 8, 2020
The dollar recorded overnight gains of 0.3% against the euro, 0.2% versus the yen and sterling, and 0.1% vis-a-vis the loonie. The dollar remains unchanged relative to the yuan, Swiss franc and kiwi. ADP estimates that U.S. private-sector employment increased last month by a robust 202k, beating November’s result and exceeding analyst expectations. There was […] More
Important Decisions Later Today in the Long Brexit Saga
January 29, 2019
The major dollar relationships have moved 0.2% or less overnight. President Trump’s State of the Union Address has been reset for February 5th. Originally, it would have been today but was delayed because of the federal government shutdown. That leaves today’s major object of market attention fixed on Britain’s Parliament, where a series of votes […] More
