National Bank of Poland
Polish Central Bank Interest Rate Raised 3 Times by Total of 165 Basis Points in Final Quarter of 2021
December 8, 2021
Following up on hikes of 40 basis points in October and 75 bps in November, officials at the National Bank of Poland lifted the reference interest rate today by 50 bps to 1.75%. In so doing, the entire post-pandemic rate reduction in 2020 from 1.50% at the start of last year has been reversed and […] More
National Bank of Poland Tightens
October 6, 2021
Poland’s is the latest central bank to hike interest rates in the face of above-target inflation. Whereas earlier rate increases announced in New Zealand and Iceland were not unexpected, a 40-basis point policy rate hike to 0.5%, which reverses the last of three cuts in the first half of 2020, had not been forecast. In […] More
Somewhat Weaker Dollar
April 8, 2021
The dollar is trading 0.2% lower against its DXY weighted index and versus the loonie, Swiss franc, sterling, Turkish lira and Mexican peso. Larger drops include losses of 0.6% versus the yen, 0.5% against the kiwi and yuan, and 0.4% vis-a-vis the New Zelanad dollar. No net change against the euro limited the weighted dollar’s […] More
Uncertain Economics, Public Health, and Politics
February 4, 2021
Investors continue to grapple with uncertainty on several planes. Covid: The trend in new cases has slowed but remains well above what was seen in earlier waves of the pandemic. Hospitalizations are down, but two potential super-spreading events loom: the Chinese New Year holiday and Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. Vaccines are being […] More
Poland’s Second 50-Basis Point Central Bank Cut Since March 17th
April 8, 2020
Poland’s central bank reference rate has been halved to 0.50% and henceforth will be surrounded by a zero percent deposit rate and a 1.0% Lombard rate. There had been an initial monetary policy response to Covid-19 on March 17, including a 50-basis point interest rate cut, liquidity injections via repo operations, and a program of […] More
More Fuel for These Stressful Times
April 8, 2020
Finance ministers in the euro area for a second time failed to secure a deal that would coordinate their response against the coronavirus pandemic. They will try again later. The Bank of France revised its forecast of French real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2020 from +0.1% to negative 6%, which would make […] More
Share Prices Rise on Primary Results and Another Active Day on Central Banking Front
March 4, 2020
Share prices have climbed in Europe by at least 1.4% in Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the U.K. and France. U.S. futures are higher too. The contest to decide the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee has revealed sharp regional, generational, ethnic divisions in the party. Biden won the South including Texas and Midwest; Sanders captured California, Colorado […] More
Continuing Resurgence of Equities and a Moderately Stronger Dollar, Too
February 5, 2020
Share prices climbed overnight by another 1.3% in China, 1.2% in Japan, 1.4% in Singapore, 1.0% in Indonesia and 0.9% in India and New Zealand. European gains thus far amount to 1.4% in Germany, 1.5% in Spain, 0.9% in France, and 0.6% in Great Britain. In the U.S., the DJIA is 1.1% higher, currently, and […] 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
Concerns Over Trade Lessen
December 4, 2019
Zig-zagging perceptions from day to day about the likelihood of a U.S.-Sino trade deal have been a major source all year of short-term financial market volatility. The shifts often happen inexplicably, like changing weather. Today investors are more hopeful than yesterday that a deal will be reached to culminate phase I of the trade negotiations. […] More
