German PPI
Another Down Day Looms in U.S. Equities
May 20, 2021
U.S. stock indices fell on the first three trading days of this week, and futures point to a further slight loss at the open. FOMC minutes from the April 27-28 meeting revealed some committee members itching to begin considering a discussion on when to start tapering stimulus if U.S. data continue to show rapid improvement […] More
Counting Down the Days
October 20, 2020
It’s T-minus two weeks to the U.S. presidential and congressional election. In national polls, Biden leads by just under 10 percentage points, but suspense continues because of Trump’s refusal to say he will honor the result, the electoral college distortion that necessitates a Democrat to secure a 5% or greater popular vote plurality in order […] More
Good Trade News but Unsettling Covid Developments
June 19, 2020
Share prices got a boost from an overnight report that China will step up purchases of U.S. agricultural goods. This comes after Thursday’s revelation in the Bolton tell-all book that Trump had solicited a boost in Chinese purchases to voter reelection support from the mid-west. Several populous U.S. states like California, Florida, and Texas continue […] More
Disturbing News on Market, Economic, Medical and Social Fronts
April 20, 2020
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil collapsed under the weight of exhausted storage capacity and plunging demand. At its overnight low of $11.04 per barrel, the price was down 39% on the day and by more than 80% from its 52-week high. It’s also the lowest since the first quarter of 1999 during […] More
Dollar Down After Fed Expands Currency Swap Network.. Equities Up in Asia and Europe
March 20, 2020
The dollar fell overnight by 2.9% against the Australian dollar, 2.5% relative to the kiwi, 2.2% versus sterling, 2.0% vis-a-vis the loonie, 0.8% against the peso, 0.6% versus the yen and 0.4% relative to the euro and Swiss franc. The swap line arrangement that enables central banks to exchange on a temporary basis their own […] More
Solid Day for the Dollar But Stocks Struggle in Several Markets
February 20, 2020
The euro slid overnight to a 1-year low of $1.0777, and the dollar also hit a 42-week high against the yen of 112.18 and to close to an 11-year peak of 0.6617 per Australian dollar. Sterling fell to $1.2849, a quarterly low, and the yuan weakened 0.4% and past the 7.000 per dollar threshold. The […] More
Little Happening in Markets on this U.S. Holiday
January 20, 2020
U.S. markets will be closed today for Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. In the absence of U.S. leadership, the dollar has been mostly steady, with no net change against the yen, loonie, or peso, overnight upticks of 0.2% against the renminbi, kiwi, Aussie dollar and sterling, a 0.1% relative to the euro and a 0.1% […] More
China Uncertainty Weighing on Stocks
November 20, 2019
For some time now, much of the day-to-day swings in financial market sentiment has been attributed to shifting perceptions about U.S.-Sino trade talks, and oftentimes in the absence of concrete understanding of how those talks are really progressing. It makes one wonder if the trade talks have been a convenient excuse for explaining away normal […] More
Sterling Hovering Lower around $1.30 Amid Brexit Confusion
October 21, 2019
Saturday’s planned Brexit vote in the House of Commons didn’t happen. Instead, MPs requested that Prime Minister Johnson get another deadline extension from the EU. Boris Johnson sent an unsigned letter to the EU that only complained that an extension would be toxic and now seeks to force a Brexit vote today. No response yet […] More
Big Rise in Indian Share Prices, Marginal Change in China’s 1-Year Loan Rate, and Continuing Strain in U.S. Bank Funding Market
September 20, 2019
India’s stock market shot up 5.3%, its greatest one-day rise in a decade, after an announced cut in the country’s corporate tax rate to 25.75% from 30%. Other stock markets around the world showed only modest net movement and mostly upward in direction. The dollar and 10-year sovereign debt yields likewise remained generally steady overnight. […] More
