U.S. import prices
Easter Break Over but Covid-19 Pandemic Continues to Dominate Financial Market News
April 14, 2020
Having made the three biggest mistakes in handling the pandemic, the United States has now taken the global lead in both number of cases (30.3% of the worldwide total) and deaths (23,644 or 19.6% of the total). The mistakes were 1) being late to socially distance people, 2) deficient testing to identify asymptomatic carriers of […] More
Out of Fixed Income Assets and Into Stocks
November 15, 2019
After a few days that saw sovereign debt yields decline, ten-year U.S. Treasuries, German bunds and British gilts each rose two basis points overnight. In stock market action, equities rose 0.9% in Australia, 1.1% in South Korea, 0.7% in Japan and Taiwan but slipped 0.6% in China. European stock markets so far show gains of […] More
Yield Curve Inversion Amplifies Recession Fears and Flight to Safe Assets
August 14, 2019
The 2-year Treasury note yield edged marginally above the 10-year yield for the first time in 14-1/2 years. This and a similar yield curve inversion in the U.K. happened as investors selectively fixated on weak data while ignoring some better-than-expected statistics, causing share prices to drop sharply in Europe and the United States. Losses amount […] More
Stocks and Oil Firmer but Dollar and Fixed Income Asset Prices Lower
April 12, 2019
The dollar has weakened 0.7% against the Aussie dollar, 0.6% relative to the kiwi, 0.5% versus the euro, 0.4% vis-a-vis the loonie, 0.3% against the yen, peso and sterling and 0.2% versus the Swiss franc and Chinese yuan. The price of WTI oil strengthened nearly 1% overnight and is again above $64.00 per barrel. The […] More
Dollar Broadly Higher as Investors Seek Clarity on Brexit Mess and U.S.-Sino Trade Talks
March 14, 2019
British MPs last night defeated a motion for allowing the U.K. to leave the EU without any Brexit deal by a vote of 321-278. Today’s vote will be a motion to extend the Article 50 deadline beyond March 29th. Prime Minister May aims to hold another vote within the week on her Brexit deal. A […] More
Many Central Bank Meetings and a Stunning Deceleration of U.S. Import Price Inflation
December 13, 2018
The dollar shows no net overnight change against the Swiss franc, Chinese yuan, New Zealand dollar, or Canadian dollar. The greenback rose 0.8% versus the Mexican peso, 0.4% relative to the yen, and 0.1% versus the euro while dipping 0.1% vis-a-vis the Australian dollar and sterling. Asian equities rallied, but share prices in Europe and […] More
Down Goes the British Pound
November 15, 2018
With British Prime Minister Theresa May facing a vote of no confidence and several of her cabinet ministers resigning in protest against her Brexit deal, sterling slumped 1.5% overnight against both the dollar and euro. Weak British retail sales data were also released today, showing an unexpected 0.5% on-month drop in total sales (+2.2% on […] More
A Shift from Fixed Income Assets Into Stocks
September 14, 2018
The second week of September came and went without the feared announcement of much higher U.S. tariffs. Even though that danger remains looking ahead, there’s been a return ot riskier assets. Share prices in the Pacific Rim rose 1.2% in Japan today, 1.0% in Hong Kong and Singapore, 1.3% in Indonesia and Taiwan, and 1.4% […] More
Dollar Up, Stocks Listless, and Sovereign Debt Yields Lower as Week Draws to an End
July 13, 2018
The dollar rose overnight by 0.4% against the kiwi and yuan and by 0.2% relative to the euro, loonie, Swiss franc, Aussie dollar and sterling. The dollar dipped 0.2% versus the peso and 0.1% against the yen. The main pieces of economic news out today show A 67% widening of the Chinese global trade surplus […] More
Dollar Continues to Slide
July 18, 2017
The inability of the U.S. Republican Congress to pass legislation in the Trump era took a further toll on the dollar today. Gold rose. Stocks stalled, and long-term interest rates are lower. Subdued inflation remains a global economic trend. U.S. import prices slid 0.2% on month in June after a 0.1% dip in May and […] More
