Economics

The US dollar is trading within yesterday's ranges against the major currencies. The Canadian dollar is the main exception. It is pushing lower still, with the greenback pushing a little beyond CAD1.1550. The main development today is the continued drop...

Today we learn of the participation of the second opportunity to borrow funds from the ECB under the Targeted Long-Term Repo facility.  Recall that this year's access was limited to 7% of a bank's loan book (loans to households and...

The markets have been subject to large moves in recent days.  Some, including the dollar, were counter-trend moves.  Some, like oil, were accelerations of the existing trends.  There have been a number of surprise developments today, including the less dovish...

Global investors panicked Tuesday after Greek stocks fell over 10% and China signaled a tightening of its credit market amidst fears of growing defaults and oversized risk in local bonds.While Brazil, Greece, and China saw a bearish market on greater...

As the official election campaign rolled out last week, the media are still trying to get a handle on what the upcoming Japanese election is all about. This is ‘the election Japan didn’t need to have’ or the election ‘that’s...

The incumbent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) seems to be cruising towards a victory in the snap election to be held on 14 December. But beware of interpreting this as a ringing endorsement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Instead, the likely...

The United States added 321,000 jobs in November as job growth continued to accelerate, marking 2014 as the best year for jobs since 1999.The United States added over 2.5 million jobs in 2014, while a number of secondary indicators point...

The fifth round of the China–Japan–South Korea Free Trade Agreement (CJK FTA) negotiations concluded in Beijing on 5 September. The three countries hope the negotiations will finish in 2015, but this partly depends on the progress of the Trans-Pacific Partnership...

If there was one report to count on to shake up markets, it was the monthly US jobs report.  Part of the issue was that of all the economic data that the US reports, economists had the greatest difficulty in...

The strength of the US employment report is seeing the dollar jump across the board.  The divergent theme is out in relief.  The 321k rise in non-farm payrolls is the strongest print of the year and is the second monthly...

The European Central Bank may begin a U.S. style quantitative easing program as early as January 2015.In a press conference, ECB President Mario Draghi said that a bond-buying program would help stimulate growth in the European Union while also keeping...

The oil and gas boom in the United States was made possible by the extensive credit afforded to drillers. Not only has financing come from company shareholders and traditional banks, but hundreds of billions of dollars have also come from...

The ECB meeting or more precisely, the press conference, is the main event of the day, and possibly of the week and month.  ECB President Draghi and Vice President Constancio have expressed heightened urgency to boost inflation as fast as...

With the snap election in Japan on 14 December looming, Japanese voters may not realise exactly what they are bargaining for if they re-elect an Abe-led Liberal Democratic Party government as expected. The extensive support for state sponsorship of Shinto...

The US dollar is extending its advance as the divergence theme moves into overdrive.  The dollar has drawn close to JPY119.50.  The euro has fallen to new lows near $1.2320, turning back from $1.25 on Monday.  The Australian dollar briefly...