Tag Archives: Japan

Overview: With many financial centers, especially in Europe, closed for the long holiday weekend, risk-appetites remain in check. Most Asia Pacific markets fell, and poor earnings from Infosys and Tata Consultancy, saw India pace the decline with a 2% drop. US futures are also trading with a heavier bias.  Interest rates remain firm. The US 2- and 10-year yields are up a couple of basis points to 2.47% and 2.85% respectively. China’s GDP inexplicable rose though...

Arguably the most important data next week is the flash PMI. It is not available for all countries, but for those generally large G10 economies, the preliminary estimate is often sufficiently close to the final reading to steal its thunder. Moreover, and this applies to high-frequency data more broadly, given the overshoot of inflation in most counties, with some exceptions, notably in Asia, central banks appear to be on set courses.  The near-term data are...

Overview: What appears to be a powerful short-covering rally in the US debt market has helped steady equities and weighed on the dollar.  Singapore and South Korea joined New Zealand and Canada in tightening monetary policy.  Attention turns to the ECB now on the eve of a long-holiday weekend for many members.  The tech-sector led the US equity recovery yesterday, snapping a three-day decline.  Most of the major markets in Asia Pacific advanced but Taiwan and India. ...

Overview:  The capital markets are calmer today.  The market is digesting the FOMC minutes, where officials tipped an aggressive path to shrink the balance sheet and confirmed an “expeditious” campaign to lift the Fed funds rate to neutrality.  Benchmark 10-year yields are softer, with the US off a couple basis points to 2.58%.  European yields are 1-3 bp lower.  After the equity losses in the US yesterday, including a 2.2% drop in the NASDAQ, Asia Pacific equities...

Overview: The Reserve Bank of Australia hinted that it was getting closer to a rate hike.  The Australian dollar was bid to its best level since the middle of last year.  Australian stocks advanced in a mixed regional session while China and Hong Kong markets were closed for the local holiday.  BOJ Kuroda called the yen’s recent moves “rapid.”  The yen is sidelined today as the dollar weakens against other major currencies, led by the Antipodeans.  In addition to the...

Overview: Interest rates continue to rise, but equities are looking through it today and the dollar is drawing less succor. Asia Pacific equities were mostly higher. With half of Shanghai in lockdown, Chinese equities were unable to join the regional advance. Europe’s Stoxx 600, led by energy and consumer discretionary sectors, is rising for the third consecutive sessions. US futures have a small upward bias. The US 10-year yield is up a few basis points to 2.50%,...

This year was supposed to be about the easing of the pandemic and the normalization of policy. Instead, Russia's invasion of Ukraine threw a wrench in the macroeconomic forecasts as St. Peter’s victories broke the brackets of the NCAA basketball championship pools. The war has pushed up the price of energy, metals, and foodstuffs, which seemed to be advancing prior to the conflict.  High-frequency economic data are important because of the insight generated about...

With the Fed (sadly) taking center stage last week, and market rejections of its rate hikes at the forefront, lost in the drama was January 2022 TIC. Understandable, given all its misunderstood numbers are two months behind at their release. There were some interesting developments regardless, and a couple of longer run parts that deserve some attention. Picking up where TIC left off from December, when more indicated bad (tight money) than good (not as tight),...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.14% to 1.0387 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, March 17(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The markets continue to digest the implications of yesterday’s Fed move and Beijing’s signals of more economic supportive efforts as the Bank of England’s move awaited. The US 5–10-year curve is straddling inversion and the 2-10 curve has flattened as the Fed moves from one horn of the...

Overview: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global response is a game-changer, as Fed Chair Powell told Congress yesterday.  The UK-based research group NISER estimated that world output will be cut by 1% next year or $1 trillion, and global inflation will be boosted by three percentage points this year and two next.  The recovery in US stocks yesterday may have helped lift Asia Pacific shares today (China and India are notable exceptions). However,...