Peoples Bank of China
Focus in Last Week of February to Be on U.S. Economic Policy
February 22, 2021
U.S. stock futures this Monday point to a lower open, with the S&P index down 0.8% and the Nasdaq off 1.4%. Share prices closed down 1.5% in China, 1.2% in New Zealand, 1.1% in Hong Kong and 0.9% in South Korea, while in Europe, equities are thus far down 0.5% or more in the U.K., […] More
Rise in Dollar and Share Prices
October 12, 2020
The People’s Bank of China over the weekend slashed reserve requirements on foreign exchange deposits to zero percent in a move to counter recent strength in the yuan, which gained 0.8% overnight. The move also buoyed China’s stock market by 2.6%. Other dollar gains overnight amount to 0.7% versus the Mexican peso, 0.4% relative to […] More
Broad Decline in Equities and Strengthening Moves in the Yen and Dollar
September 21, 2020
Japanese markets were closed today for Respect for the Aged Day and will remain so Tuesday for the Autumnal Equinox holiday. Elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, stock markets have dropped 2.3% in India, 2.1% in Hong Kong, 1.2% in Indonesia, and 0.7% in Australia and New Zealand. Selling intensified in Europe, where equities so far […] More
Sharp Equity Declines but Mixed Dollar
August 20, 2020
The U.S. equity market correction triggered by downbeat FOMC minutes released yesterday afternoon set the tone for overnight losses in European and Asian markets where bourses tumbled 3.7% in South Korea and 3.3% in Taiwan and by at least 1.0% in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, India, Germany, France, Italy, U.K., and Spain. Indonesia’s market did […] More
Broadly Softer Dollar amid More Hopeful Investor Mood
May 26, 2020
The evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic remains highly uncertain, but investors have chosen hope over fear at least for a day or so. Economies are being reopened at varying speeds, and there has been some encouraging news regarding vaccine development. Released economic data have confirmed improvement in many cases, meaning a slower implosion rather than […] 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
Pessimism Gaining Upper Hand in Financial Marketplace
April 15, 2020
Projected contractions in real GDP this year embodied in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook would make this the weakest calendar year economic performance since the early 1930s. The Washington-based group foresees activity falling by 3.0% in the world, 5.9% in the United States, 7.5% in Euroland, 6.5% in the U.K., 6.2% in Canada, and 5.2% […] More
Prime Loan Rate Cut in China
February 20, 2020
In response to the coronavirus outbreak in China that slammed economic activity, the central bank there cut its 5-year prime loan rate by five basis points to 4.75% and its one-year prime loan rate by 10 bps to 4.05%. The one year LPR had not been changed since a 5-basis point reduction in November and […] 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
China’s Central Bank to the Rescue
February 4, 2020
Stock markets around the world rebounded sharply after the People’s Bank of China ease its monetary stance to counter the growth impact of the coronavirus epidemic, where cases now exceed 20k and include over 425 deaths. The PBOC on Monday reverse repo rates by 10 basis points and injected CNY 1.2 trillion of liquidity. That […] More
