U.S. retail sales and industrial production
Spotlight on Central Banks, Fresh Data and, as Always, Covid
April 15, 2021
The uncertain delayed roll-out of the J&J one-shot Covid vaccine is creating consternation, especially in light of high rates of new cases in many places. The National Bank of Ukraine’s policy interest rate was raised a full percentage point to 7.5%. This was the second straight tightening and twice the size of the initial 50-basis […] More
Market’s Initial Reaction to American Rescue Plan Not Favorable
January 15, 2021
U.S. stock futures point to a decline of at least 0.5% at the open. Stock markets closed Friday with losses of 2.0% in South Korea, 1.1% in India, 0.9% in Indonesia, 0.8% in New Zealand, 0.6% in Taiwan and Japan. Equities are currently down about 1% in the U.K., Germany, France and Spain. The 10-year […] More
Much New Data for Investors to Digest
August 14, 2020
Today’s been one of those Friday’s with a significant body of economic data releases both from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. Prior to the U.S. contingent of releases, the dollar overnight had dropped 0.4% against sterling and 0.3% relative to sterling but risen by 0.2% against the Canadian and Australian dollars and 0.1% vis-a-vis […] More
Policy Support Overriding Covid-19 and Geopolitical Concerns at Least for Now
June 16, 2020
The weakness of stock markets early Monday dramatically reversed direction when the Federal Reserve announced an expansion of its corporate bond purchases. That turnaround extended overnight into trading in the Pacific Rim, where markets closed up 4.9% in Japan, 5.3% in South Korea, 3.9% in Australia, 2.4% in Hong Kong, 2.0% in Singapore, 1.8% in […] More
Fractious Politics Magnifying Fear Over the Covid-19 Pandemic
May 15, 2020
The Trump Administration’s harsh rhetoric against China has been elevated to trade sanctions. Semiconductor shipments to the Chinese firm Huawei are being prevented. In another disturbing political development, British Prime Minister Johnson reaffirmed and with more force that there will be no post-Brexit negotiations with the EU beyond the end of this year. In 2020, […] More
European GDP, U.S. Retail Sales and Industrial Production, Continuing Coronavirus Spread, and Another Trump Dispute With Own Government People
February 14, 2020
From a news standpoint, Friday has been a very busy day, but financial market movements have been tempered. Mid-morning in NY finds the dollar up 0.2% against the Swiss franc and sterling and plus-or-minus 0.1% relative to other key currencies. Share prices fell 0.6% in Japan and 0.5% in India and New Zealand but up […] More
U.S.-Sino Trade Relations Remains at Center Stage
August 15, 2019
The trade war between China and the United States rumbles on. While scheduled U.S. tariff hikes have been delayed to December, Beijing officials are not inclined to give the Trump Administration what it seeks and instead are preparing to retaliate in kind. A senior officials at the Reserve Bank of Australia expressed reservations about the […] More
Stronger Dollar
July 16, 2019
The dollar strengthened overnight by 0.9% against sterling, 0.6% relative to the peso, 0.4% versus the euro and Swiss franc, 0.3% vis-a-vis the yen, 0.2% against the Aussie dollar and 0.1% versus the kiwi. In other euro cross-rate developments, sterling weakened to a half-year low against the common currency, but the Swiss franc is hovering […] More
Weak Data Intensify Investor Flight from Risky Assets
December 14, 2018
Equities fell 2.0% in Japan, 1.9% in Hong Kong, 1.5% in China, 1.3% in New Zealand and South Korea, 1.1% in Australia and Singapore, and 0.9% in Taiwan. Share prices are also down 1.0% in the U.S. and Switzerland, 0.8% in France, 0.7% in Italy, and 0.6% in Canada and Germany. The flight to safety […] More
