Service sector PMIs
Dollar Up Amid More PMI Results and Unexpected U.S. Employment Data
December 3, 2021
The dollar strengthened overnight by 0.3% to within half a percentage point of its 52-week high. The currency is 0.4% higher against the euro but just 0.1% up versus the yen. The price of WTI oil recovered 3.0%, and that of gold rose 0.5%. Ten-year sovereign debt yields have slipped two basis points in the […] More
After Political Setback for the Democrats, Investor Attention Turns to Fed and Global Economic Trends
November 3, 2021
The FOMC decision will be announced at 14:00 EDT (18:oo GMT) and followed by Powell’s press conference 30 minutes later. A tapering of Fed net monthly asset purchases currently totaling $80 billion of Treasury securities and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities is widely expected. Running on an anti-vaccination and anti-progressive cultural message, U.S. Republicans in […] More
Economic Recoveries Restrained by Worker Fears of Catching Covid
September 3, 2021
U.S. August labor statistics highlight a mix of weakening jobs growth and strengthening upward pressure on prices. Non-farm payroll jobs rose only 235k, about a third as much as was forecast. This undershoot overwhelmed a combined 132k upward revision of jobs growth in June-July. Although the unemployment rate and under-employment rate dropped by 0.2 and […] More
Much Data in Spite of U.S. Holiday
July 5, 2021
Monday’s menu of economic data releases includes over 30 purchasing manager surveys, French industrial production, British and German new car sales, Turkey’s CPI and PPI, Australian and Singaporean retail sales, and consumer confidence in Spain, Mexico and the Philippines. Fissures have developed in OPEC unity over production quotas. Observances continue of America’s 245th birthday. Today […] More
Investor Anxiety on Multiple Fronts
June 3, 2021
Investor concern about runaway inflation keeps getting fed by fresh data. Today’s menu of May purchasing manager survey reports revealed record input inflation in many cases, intensifying capacity constraints, and input price inflation bleeding into output charges. A further 4-percentage point acceleration of Turkish producer price inflation to a 30-month high of 38.2% in May […] More
U.S. Political Stress, PMI Services, A U.S. Jobs Report Shocker, and FOMC Minutes on Today’s Radar Screen
January 6, 2021
In the Georgian senate runoff elections, Warnock has apparently beaten his Republican opponent, and Ossoff holds a razor-thin 50.2%/49.8% lead over the Republican incumbent with 98% of ballots counted. If these leads hold, Democrats would take over the senate majority. The congress is scheduled to tally the state certified presidential electoral voting results this afternoon […] More
U.S. Election Outcome Still Uncertain but Republicans Did Much Better than Foretold by Polls
November 4, 2020
The U.S. congress will remain divided, with the senate in Republican hands and Democrats controlling the house of representatives. Officially according to the AP, Biden secured 238 electoral votes whereas Trump so far captured 213 electoral votes. Among undeclared states, more electoral votes lean toward Trump, but margins are thin and subject to switching sides […] More
Dollar Down Amid Worries about the President’s Medical Condition
October 5, 2020
Medical reports on President Trump have been opaque and not entirely truthful. He’s been put on steroids and other meds consistent with a possibly serious case of Covid-19. Today’s other attention-grabbing news has been reported progress in talks between the EU and U.K. over a post-Brexit trade arrangement. The dollar fell overnight by 0.9% against […] More
Price of Oil Jumps and Dollar Falters
August 5, 2020
Overnight declines in the dollar amount to 1.0% against the Mexican peso, 0.9% versus the Australian dollar, 0.6% relative to the euro, Swiss franc and loonie, 0.5% vis-a-vis the kiwi, yuan and sterling and 0.2% against the yen. The price of WTI oil leaped 3.2%, partly in response to an enormous explosion at the port […] 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
