Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.37% at 1.1303 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 11(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The S&P 500 closed higher yesterday for the ninth session in the past ten, but the coattails are short and global equities are trading with a heavier bias today. A firm CPI reading in China took a toll local shares with the...
Read More »FX Daily, April 10: Be Careful What You Wish For
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.15% at 1.1276 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 10(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates There were only a few formal disputes under NAFTA 1.0. It says more about the adjudication process than the underlying issues. It was not binding. The Democrats want stronger enforcement provisions in what the NAFTA 2.0. It is understandable. Still,...
Read More »Warum Trump sein Handelsziel verfehlt
Ob er auf sie hört? Donald Trump und IWF-Chefin Christine Lagarde. (Foto: Neil Hall/Keystone) Noch immer ziehen sich die Verhandlungen zwischen China und den USA hin. Trotz der stetigen Verlautbarung von US-Präsident Donald Trump, es fehle wenig zu einer Lösung, wird der Termin für sein Treffen mit dem chinesischen Staatschef Xi Jinping immer wieder aufs Neue verschoben. Schon jetzt ist klar, dass Trump sein wichtigstes Ziel nicht erreichen wird: einen Abbau des Aussenhandelsdefizits der...
Read More »Monthly Macro Chart Review: April 2019
The economic data reported over the last month managed to confirm both that the economy is slowing and that there seems little reason to fear recession at this point. The slowdown is mostly a manufacturing affair – and some of that is actually a fracking slowdown – but consumption has also slowed. On a more positive note, housing seems to have found its footing with lower rates and employment is still fairly robust....
Read More »FX Daily, April 8: Brexit, the EU-China, and the Abandonment of the Open Door
(I am in Mexico at the World Trade Center General Assembly, participating on a panel about USMCA–NAFTA2.0–for which approval remains elusive. It is possible that the US threatens to pull out of NAFTA 1.0 to force action by the US Congress. Mexico is due to pass legislation this week that may meet demands by the some in the US and Canada for stronger labor protections. However, with the steel and aluminum tariffs still...
Read More »FX Weekly Preview: Important Steps Away from the Abyss
It seems to be well appreciated among by policymakers and investors that the system is ill-prepared to cope with another financial crisis. It is understandable that so many are concerned that the end of the business cycle could trigger a financial crisis. In practice, it seems like it has worked the other way around. The financial crisis triggered the Great Recession. The economy previously contracted when the tech...
Read More »China PMIs jump in March
Industrial gauges rebound on seansonality as well as policy easing. Chinese PMI readings moved back into expansion territory in March. The official Chinese manufacturing PMI rose to 50.5, up from 49.2 in February, and beating the Bloomberg consensus of 49.6, while the Caixin manufacturing PMI came in at 50.8, also up from 49.9 in February and beating the consensus expectation of 50.0. Details of the PMI survey report...
Read More »External Demand, Global Means Global
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its benchmark money rate for the second straight meeting. Reducing its repo rate by 25 bps, down to 6%, the central bank once gripped by political turmoil has certainly shifted gears. Former Governor Urjit Patel was essentially removed (he resigned) in December after feuding with the federal government over his perceived hawkish stance. Shaktikanta Das, a career bureaucrat with...
Read More »FX Daily, April 04: Limited Price Action Does not Do Justice to Macro Developments
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.06% at 1.1207 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 04(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The global capital markets are subdued despite several macro developments. The US and China may announce as early as today when the two presidents will meet to ostensibly sign a trade deal, while House of Commons effort to block a no-deal...
Read More »Retail Sales In Bad Company, Decouple from Decoupling
In a way, the government shutdown couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. As workers all throughout the sprawling bureaucracy were furloughed, markets had run into chaos. Even the seemingly invincible stock market was pummeled, a technical bear market emerged on Wall Street as people began to really consider increasingly loud economic risks. There had been noises overseas, troubling indications that had gone on...
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