stocks
February 2020 in Figures
February 29, 2020
February 2020 will be long remembered for its final week that saw an historic drop in equity prices around the world related to concerns about the ultimate economic impact of the spreading covid-19 virus. The Dow Jones Industrials Average index fell on each of the final seven business days of February, losing 13.6% in total […] More
February in Figures
February 28, 2019
Sterling and the dollar strengthened during February. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose slightly more sharply in the month than their counterparts in the other countries featured in the table below, but none of the central bank rates among them were changed. Equities in most of the places continued to recover, although not as much as […] More
January 2019 in Figures
January 31, 2019
Equities rebounded sharply in January from their December slump, and the price of crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) soared 18.2%. There were no central bank policy rate changes among the major economies surveyed in this monthly feature, but the Federal Reserve signaled a shift from rate normalization to one of patience with no more increases […] More
November in Figures
November 30, 2018
Share prices were highly volatile in November, closing higher in the U.S., Japan and Canada but lower in Great Britain and the euro area. Ten-year sovereign debt yields declined in all the economies examined in this monthly feature. None of the central bank rates among these economies changed key interest rates. Among developing economies, however, […] More
October in Figures
November 1, 2018
October was a broadly strong month for the dollar but a bad one for global equities. Monetary policy rates did not change this past month in the U.S., Euroland, Japan, Great Britain or Switzerland, but 10-year sovereign debt yields rose in North America while falling in Europe, and staying unchanged in Japan. The price of West […] More
August in Figures
August 31, 2018
Many stock markets performed well in August as such had in July. Exceptions were those in the U.K., Switzerland, and Canada. The yen and Swiss franc rose against the dollar, which otherwise advanced against the other currencies examined in this monthly feature. The dollar also strengthened 33% against the Turkish lira during August. The Bank […] More
June and Second Quarter 2018 in Figures
June 29, 2018
The dominant market themes in June and 2Q were a sharp rise in the price of oil and a strengthening dollar, neither of which belongs in a recipe to accomplish President Trump’s quest to reduce the U.S. trade deficit sharply if not to zero. Dollar appreciation was particularly pronounced against the Chinese yuan. The federal […] More
April in Figures
April 30, 2018
The dollar experienced its strongest month of 2018 in April, so naturally U.S. share prices under-performed equities in other countries. An upward grind in long-term interest rates continued and was considerably more pronounced in the United States and Canada than in Europe or Japan. Three-month interest rates rose slightly, except in Japan where such dipped […] More
March and First Quarter 2018 in Figures
March 31, 2018
March was a difficult month for equities, largely because of Fed tightening, U.S.-inspired geopolitical uncertainty, and trade war fears. Nevertheless, U.S. share price losses in the first quarter of 2018 were generally smaller than declines recorded in other countries. Despite higher short-term interest rates during March especially in the United States and Great Britain, year-to-date […] More
February in Figures
February 28, 2018
February was unlike January. The dollar had declined across the board in the first month of 2018, but declined, except against the yen, during February. Likewise, share prices performed well in January but experienced a difficult February, including the biggest U.S. monthly drop in just over two years. Stocks were spooked by speculation that the […] More
