Reserve Bank of Australia
Reserve Bank of Australia Lays Out a Long Path Before a First Interest Rate Hike
February 2, 2021
After customarily skipping of a January Board meeting, monthly policy reviews resumed in Australia where officials agreed to leave their Official Cash Rate unchanged at a record low of 0.1% where such has been since a 15-basis point in November. The OCR previously in 2020 had been cut twice in March by 25 basis points […] More
A Rise in Equities, Sovereign Debt Yields, and the Dollar as GameStop and Silver Swoon
February 2, 2021
The price of GameStop has imploded about 60% in the past 24 hours, and the other notable short squeeze has fallen back 6.3%. The removal of these unhealthy elements in financial markets has been beneficial overall. The S&P, DOW, and Nasdaq each opened about 1% higher. In the Pacific Rim earlier today, stock markets closed […] More
Reserve Bank of Australia Eases Policy Further… Not a Surprise
November 3, 2020
Policymakers at the Reserve Bank of Australia enacted their first Overnight Cash Rate (OCR) cut since March and introduced a program of government bond purchases, which will total A$ 100 billion over the coming six months and likely continue longer. Although the short-term economic outlook is better than at the time of the last full […] More
U.S. Election Day Has Come, and Stocks Are Rallying Around the World
November 3, 2020
There is a mood of trepidation this Election Day. Record numbers were cast early, and the choice is considered the starkest in living memory. Fears center on the possibility of a contested outcome and ensuing violence, with interference from cyber meddling and other glitches in counting the results. Despite widespread agreement that America is going […] More
Stocks Up, Dollar Marginally Lower, and Trump Out of the Hospital
October 6, 2020
Share prices overnight rose 1.5% in India, 1.2% in Taiwan, 0.8% in Indonesia, and 0.5% in Japan. Markets have also climbed 0.7% in New Zealand and 0.3% in Australia. In Europe so far, equities have risen 1.0% in Spain, 0.8% in Italy , 0.5% in France, 0.3% in Germany but just 0.1% in Great Britain. […] More
Dollar Loses More Ground as Trump’s Reelection Prospects Improve
September 1, 2020
On the heels of a weak performance in August, the dollar fell another 0.8% against sterling overnight and also lost 0.5% relative to the euro, kiwi, and peso, 0.4% versus the yuan, 0.3% vis-a-vis the loonie, and 0.1% against the yen and Australian dollar. It also costs more dollars today than yesterday to buy commodities […] More
Dollar Slips to 27-Month Low, While Gold and Stocks Strengthen
August 18, 2020
The dollar dropped overnight by 0.5% against the peso and sterling, 0.4% relative to the yen, 0.3% vis-a-vis the loonie, 0.2% versus the Australian dollar and 0.1% against the Swiss franc and yuan. The U.S. currency in trade-weighted terms touched more than a 2-year low. Recent selling pressure on the dollar has been driven by […] More
Sovereign Debt Yields Lower and Dollar Modestly Higher
August 4, 2020
Ten-year sovereign debt yields fell overnight by two basis points in the U.S. and Germany and by a basis point in the U.K. and Japan. Stock markets started strong in Asia, but the performance subsequently turned mixed. Share prices close up 2.0% in Hong Kong and India, 1.9% in Australia, 1.7% in Japan, 1.6% in […] More
Reserve Bank of Australia
June 2, 2020
As was expected, Australia’s central bank board left its official cash rate unchanged at 0.25% and reiterated that “it is likely this monetary support will be required for some time.” In assessing the future, Governor Lowe opined, ” the outlook, including the nature and speed of the expected recovery, remains highly uncertain and the pandemic […] More
Dollar Down, Equities Up, as American Street Protests Intensify
June 2, 2020
President Trump ramped up the confrontational rhetoric against store looting, promising to dominate urban streets with military force if need be. This threat of an American Tiananmen only riled up protesters further overnight, with cops injured in Las Vegas and St. Louis and the Macy’s NYC flagship store vandalized. If nothing else, the standoff has […] More
