* This article was originally published here
Friday, July 31, 2020
Weak Data, More Coronavirus Cases, and Concern Over Trump’s Wish to Delay November’s Election
In spite of overnight dollar gains of 0.5% against the Swiss franc, Mexican peso, and New Zealand dollar and a rise of 0.2% relative to the yen and Australian dollar, the U.S. currency suffered through July and seems likely to post its biggest trade-weighted loss in almost ten years. Compared to Thursday’s close, the dollar […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, July 30, 2020
U.S. Growth in Real GDP and Jobs in the Trump Era
Real GDP contracted 32.9% at an annualized rate (AR) last quarter, more than six times faster than during the prior quarter. Personal consumption, which accounts for roughly 70% of U.S. aggregate demand, plunged 34.6% annualized. Non-residential and residential business investment sank by 27.0% and 38.7%, respectively, and exports and imports plummeted 64.1% and 53.4%. These […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
FOMC Statement and Powell’s Press Conference
The Federal Open Market Committee ended its two-day policy review and released a statement that’s almost identical to the previous announcement on June 10. Just two sentences were added as indicated below, and none were deleted: Economic activity and employment have picked up somewhat in recent months but remain well below their levels at the […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
FOMC Statement
The Federal Open Market Committee ended its two-day policy review and released a statement that’s almost identical to the previous announcement on June 10. Just two sentences were added as indicated below, and none were deleted: Economic activity and employment have picked up somewhat in recent months but remain well below their levels at the […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
FOMC Preview
At the June 10th press conference seven weeks ago, Chairman Powell accentuated the positives, asserting that monetary policy was expansively well-positioned after numerous measures to promote flows of lending. He felt that labor markets probably hit bottom in April-May. The uncertain economic outlook would ultimately hinge considerably on the future evolution of the Covid-19 outbreak, […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Monday, July 27, 2020
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Friday, July 24, 2020
Next Week’s Menu: July 27 – 31, 2020
Central Banks: The fifth scheduled meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is set for Tuesday-Wednesday and will be followed by Chairman Powell’s press conference. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Amamiya also speaks publicly during the week, and a summary of the last BOJ meeting will get published. Holiday: The Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Russian Central Bank Interest Rate Cut as Expected
With a warning that “in the context of prevailing disinflationary factors, there is a risk that in 2021 inflation might deviate downwards from the 4% target,” officials at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation enacted their fourth one-week repo rate cut of 2020 to 4.25%. Together with reductions of 25 basis points in February, […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, July 23, 2020
By 3-2 Vote, South African Central Bank Officials Cut Repo Rate by 25 Basis Points
The fifth cut of the South African Reserve Bank repo rate this year brings the total drop of 2020 to 300 basis points. A released statement expects one more 25-bp reduction to be made around the final quarter of the year. The projected contraction of real GDP was revised a touch higher to 7.3%. “economic […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Masks, Phones, Freedom and Public Safety
The politicization of protective masks that cover one’s mouth and nose has been a strange and unexpected impediment against successfully managing the coronavirus pandemic. All but the best-made masks do not provide full protection against catching Covid, but wearing one has been shown to greatly prevent symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of the pathogen from infecting […]
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here