Tag Archives: IMF

Overview: Better US news from the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments has helped lift sentiment today and is encouraging a more risk-on mood ahead of the FOMC meeting. News that US President Biden and China’s Xi will talk tomorrow for the second time this year may be notable but does not appear to be impactful in the capital markets. China’s CSI 300 and the Hang Seng were exceptions to the general advance of equities in the Asia Pacific region today....

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.04% to 1.0378 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: After a slow and mixed start in Asia, where Australia and India are on holiday, equity markets have turned higher. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is up around 1.9% near midday in Europe, which if sustained would be the biggest gain of the year. US futures are snapping backing too, with the...

Overview:  A weak close in US equity trading yesterday and the widening of China's "cultural revolution" for a two-month investigation of the financial sector stopped a three-day advance in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.  China, South Korea, and Taiwan saw more than a 1% decline in their major indices.  All the major indices weakened.  South Korea's Kospi fell to a new marginal low for the year and took the won with it.  The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 in Europe is off around...

Overview: Investors’ mood did not improve over the weekend, and the lack of risk appetites are rippling through the capital markets today. Equities have tumbled, yields have backed off, and the dollar is well bid.  Hong Kong and Australia led the sell-off in the Asia Pacific region, off 3.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Regional losses may have been larger, but Japan, Chinese (mainland), and South Korea markets were on holiday. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is off 2%, the...

Overview: Investors’ mood did not improve over the weekend, and the lack of risk appetites are rippling through the capital markets today. Equities have tumbled, yields have backed off, and the dollar is well bid.  Hong Kong and Australia led the sell-off in the Asia Pacific region, off 3.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Regional losses may have been larger, but Japan, Chinese (mainland), and South Korea markets were on holiday. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is off 2%, the...

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: About US$275 billion (about SDR 193 billion) of the new allocation will go to emerging markets and developing countries, including low-income countries. This from the IMF’s July 30, 2021, statement gleefully announcing its governing body(ies) has(d) agreed to a general allocation of $650 billion in SDR’s, biggest in history, according to existing quotas. The purpose: “to boost existing liquidity.” This really does sounds very...

The 2020 election was a roller coaster experience for both sides and for all International observers who understood its massive economic and geopolitical implications for the rest of the West. There was no shortage of drama, sensationalism, half-truths and full untruths at every stage of the process, from the Democratic primaries right to this day, with politicians and partisan journalists painting their own version of reality, fueling divisions and rallying their...

The 2020 election was a roller coaster experience for both sides and for all International observers who understood its massive economic and geopolitical implications for the rest of the West. There was no shortage of drama, sensationalism, half-truths and full untruths at every stage of the process, from the Democratic primaries right to this day, with politicians and partisan journalists painting their own version of reality, fueling divisions and rallying their fanatical followers...

It’s actually pretty easy to see why the IMF is in a hurry to secure more resources. I’m not talking about potential bailout candidates banging down the doors; that’s already happened. The fund itself is doing two contradictory things simultaneously: telling the world, repeatedly, that it has a highly encouraging $1 trillion in bailout capacity at the same time it goes begging to vastly increase that amount. Very reassuring. The IMF is becoming like the Federal...

The spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF will be held virtually this week amid a profound economic crisis spurred by a novel coronavirus. Unlike previous such viruses, this went global in such a destructive way that many countries have responded the same way. Encouraging social distancing, closing non-essential businesses, and enforcing lockdowns. The economic contraction that has begun is beyond what has been seen since the Great Depression. Even before the...