Reserve Bank of Australia
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
More Weak Data, More Holiday Closures, and a Few Monetary Policy Reviews
May 5, 2020
Markets didn’t trade today in China (Labor Day), Japan (Children’s Day), or South Korea (also Children’s Day). Share prices elsewhere in the Pacific Rim went up 1.6% in Australian, 1.1% in Hong Kong, 0.9% in Malaysia (aided by an interest rate cut), and 0.5% in Indonesia and Taiwan. India’s Sensex index fell 0.8%, but European […] More
Bigger Risk Appetite of Monday Continues
April 7, 2020
Share prices in Asia closed up 9.0% in India, 4.1% in Singapore, 2.1% in China and Hong Kong, 2.0% in Japan and 1.8% in South Korea and Taiwan. Equity markets so far in Europe show additional gains today of 4.3% in Italy, 4.0% in Germany, 3.1% in France, 3.5% in Spain and 3.0% in the […] More
Australian Interest Rate Cut
March 19, 2020
The Reserve Bank of Australia, which at a scheduled meeting on March 3 had cut its official cash rate by 25 basis points, cut the OCR by an additional 25 bps today to a record low of 0.25%. This move was only part of a multi-pronged package spelled out in a statement. A significant loss […] More
Markets Looking for Action, Not Words, as Virus Spreads
March 3, 2020
Share prices had rallied sharply on Monday amid hopes for an appropriately forceful policy response to counteract the drag from the spreading covid-19 pandemic. The OCED is warning that global growth this year will slow to an 11-year low even if the virus impact is comparatively short-lived and that growth could be as low as […] 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
Fading Hopes of a U.S.-Sino Trade Deal Hammers Share Prices
December 3, 2019
Evidence keeps mounting that a near-term trade deal is slipping away. President Trump denied any deadline and hinted that a phase I agreement will not happen before next year. Angry about the U.S. congress’s resolution of support for Hong Kong protesters and perceived U.S. interference in Chinese domestic affairs on the mainland, Beijing officials reportedly […] More
Higher Bond Yields
November 5, 2019
Ten-year sovereign debt yields advanced by another five basis points overnight in Japan and the United States, by 3 bps in Germany and 1 basis point in Great Britain. The dollar fell 0.4% against the Chinese currency, edging back marginally under 7.0 yuan per dollar. Elsewhere, the dollar advanced 0.4% against the Swiss franc and […] More
Another Australian Interest Rate Cut
October 1, 2019
The dollar overnight advanced 0.7% against the Australian dollar and 0.6% versus the kiwi following news of a third 25-basis point cut since June in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s official cash rate, which now moves to a record low of 0.75%. A statement from that central bank left the door open to even more […] More
