Japanese consumer prices
Continuing Uncertainty about the Inflationary Impact Ahead of Higher Tariffs
July 18, 2025
Overnight financial market movements have been generally limited. There is a softer dollar, down 0.6% against the Australian and New Zealand currencies, 0.4% verdus the euro and Swiss franc and 0.2% relative to the Canadian dollar and sterling. Ten-year sovereign debt yields have risen two basis points in Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and France […] More
World Financial Markets Quieted by Widely Shared Good Friday Holiday Observances
April 18, 2025
Today is a holiday in Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe and the Western Hemisphere, and many places in Europe. The weighted DXY dollar index fluctuated in a extremely narrow 0.2% high/low range overnight. Among stock markets that were open for trading part of today, share prices rose 1.7% in Vietnam, 1.1% in Malaysia, 1.0% […] More
Slew of Better-Than-Forecast Chinese Data and Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Killed in Gaza
October 18, 2024
It remains to be seen if the death of Yahya Sinwar, who planned the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel leads to a Middle East cease-fire and how the remaining two-plus weeks of the U.S. election are affected. The unstoppable and reprehensible war has thus far enhanced the likelihood that former President Trump will be […] More
Global IT Outage as Republican Convention and Chinese Third Plenum Wrap Up
July 19, 2024
It’s been a banner century for technology, but yesterday was not a day to showcase. A snafu caused by a security update gone bad led to widespread IT outages around the world that tangled the airline and banking sectors in particular. Former President Trump’s RNC 90+ minute acceptance speech has received widely mixed reviews, ranging […] More
Nascent European Recovery Suffered a Setback in June
June 21, 2024
Euroland’s composite purchasing managers index dropped 1.3 points to 50.8 this month, according to preliminary findings. This 3-month low defied market expectations of a further advance above the 50 neutral level, having previously risen from 46.5 last October to 52.1 in May. A deceleration in demand strength suggests June’s drop is unlikely to be a […] More
Equities Ending Week on an Up-Note; Dollar a Touch Softer
January 19, 2024
Stock markets in the Pacific Rim recorded Friday gains of 2.6% in Taiwan, 1.4% in Japan, 1.3% in South Korea and 1.0% in Australia, but Chinese and Hong Kong share prices dipped 0.5%. U.S. stock futures are up around 0.5%, and major European markets are up but by less. Ten-year sovereign debt yields in Europe […] More
A Widening Gap Around the World Between Service Sector Activity and Manufacturing Conditions
April 21, 2023
The dollar rose overnight by 0.6% against the Australian and New Zealand dollars and 0.4% relative to the Canadian dollar and sterling but also slid 0.3% vis-a-vis the Japanese yen and 0.1% against the euro and Mexican peso. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose four basis points in Italy and three bps in Germany, France and […] More
Dollar and Equities Strengthened Overnight
May 21, 2021
Preliminary May purchasing manager survey findings for Euroland show a 39-month composite index high despite marginally slower growth in manufacturing due to intensifying supply chain delays. Service sector activity is benefiting from a relaxation of Covid restrictions, and overall optimism regarding the one-year outlook remained high in May in spite of higher inflation. The French […] More
Trump Fans Political Chaos but Dollar Slippage Stays Orderly
November 20, 2020
The Trump campaign is continuing to try to discredit election results in several states. If it can persuade some key states not to certify Biden’s win, the President-Elect could fall short of the needed 270 electoral votes, throwing the election decision back to state legislatures, the House of Representatives, and perhaps the Supreme Court. The […] 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
