Next month, in the durable goods series, the Census Bureau will release the results of its annual benchmark changes. In May 2019, the agency will revise the seasonal adjustments going back to January 2002. Unadjusted data will not be, well, further adjusted. None of this, apparently, will include any information gleaned from the comprehensive 2017 Economic Census. I haven’t closely followed the progress of the latter,...
Read More »FX Daily, May 25: US Dollar Loses Momentum Ahead of the Weekend
Swiss Franc The Euro is down by 0.63% to 1.1545 CHF. This is the fifth day in sequence that the Swiss Franc appreciated. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, May 25(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Italian stocks are flat, while most European bourses are higher, with the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 up 0.5% in late morning turnover in Europe. The benchmark is lead by real estate,...
Read More »FX Daily, April 26: Euro Remains Soft Ahead of Draghi
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.03% to 1.1957 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The euro made a marginal new low early in European turnover and held barely above the spike low on March 1 to $1.2155. So far, today is the first session since January 11 that the euro has not traded above $1.22. The euro stabilized as the...
Read More »Durable and Capital Goods, Distortions Big And Small
New orders for durable goods, excluding transportation industries, rose 9.1% year-over-year (NSA) in January 2018. Shipments of the same were up 8.8%. These rates are in line with the acceleration that began in October 2017 coincident to the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In that way, they are somewhat misleading. The seasonally-adjusted data gives a better sense of the distortions created by those storms. New...
Read More »FX Daily, February 27: Markets Tread Water; Powell is Awaited
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.29% to 1.1517 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, February 27(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The capital markets seem unusually subdued. The US dollar is mostly slightly firmer, except against the euro and Swiss franc among the majors. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index managed to eke out a small gain (0.2%), for a third advancing...
Read More »FX Daily, January 26: Trump-Inspired Dollar Short Squeeze Fades Quickly
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.33% to 1.1624 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates It was dramatic. Following the BOJ and ECB’s rather mild rebuke of dollar’s depreciation, US President Trump cautioned that his Treasury Secretary comments were taken out of context, and in ant event, he, the President ultimately favored...
Read More »Subject To Gradation
Economic growth is subject to gradation. There is almost no purpose in making such a declaration, for anyone with common sense knows intuitively that there is a difference between robust growth and just positive numbers. Yet, the biggest mistake economists and policymakers made in 2014 was to forget that differences exist between even statistics all residing on the plus side. It was misconception sometimes by design,...
Read More »FX Daily, October 25: Sterling and Aussie Interrupt the Waiting Game
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.32% to 1.1689 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 25(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Most participants seemed comfortable marking time ahead of tomorrow’s ECB meeting, and an announcement President Trump’s nominations to the Federal Reserve. However, softer than expected Australian Q3 CPI and a stronger than expected UK Q3...
Read More »FX Daily, September 27: Dollar Builds on Gains
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.17% to 1.1441 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, September 27(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The Federal Reserve may not be on a coordinated campaign to convince the markets of a pending rate hike as it did so effectively in late February and early March. But investors are getting the message. The Bloomberg calculation of the odds...
Read More »United States Durable Goods In July; Rinse, Repeat
The Census Bureau reported today updated estimates for Durable Goods in July 2017. Quite frankly, nothing has changed so minimal commentary is all that is required. The aircraft anomaly from last month faded, leaving total new orders of $229.2 billion (seasonally-adjusted). That is less than in May before the Boeing surge, and less even than estimated order volume in March 2017. US Durable Goods Orders, Jul 1993 -...
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