The looming return of lockdowns to contain Europe’s latest wave of Covid-19 cases poses risk on economic recovery and postponement of the timetable for the ECB’s wind down of emergency stimulus. Euro zone bond yields dropped on Friday and Germany’s entire yield curve fell into negative territory for the first …
Read More »Lagarde, Weidmann Clash Over Inflation Response
German central bank head set up a clash over Eurozone monetary policy warning that inflation is to stay above the ECB’s target for longer than expected.Jens Weidmann told a banking conference in Frankfurt on Friday: “Given the considerable uncertainty about the inflation outlook, monetary policy should not commit to its …
Read More »US Oil Drilling Rigs Rose For Fourth Week
Baker Hughes reported, Friday, that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by seven to 461 this week.The new figures followed increases in each of the previous three weeks, including a climb of four oil rigs last week, Baker Hughes data shows.The total active U.S. rig count, …
Read More »Clarida Warns Of Globally Coordinated Interest Policy
Central banks in different countries can usefully share analysis and may adopt similar policies in response to common global shocks, but explicit coordination would likely do more harm than good, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Friday.The Fed official signaled skepticism toward adopting coordinated interest-rate policies among major …
Read More »Lockdown News Quakes Wall Street, USD Boosted
Renewed concerns about COVID-19 in the face of looming European lockdowns impacted a range of sectors Friday, pushing stocks and oil down. This latest news boosts the US dollar.Stocks have been shaken in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and major indexes were on track for a mixed finish to …
Read More »House Passes $1.75 Trillion Social Safety Pact
The House of Representatives on Friday passed the largest expansion of the social safety net in decades, a $1.75 trillion bill that funds universal pre-K, Medicare expansion, renewable energy credits and affordable housing. The final vote was 220-213, and only one Democrat, Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the bill. …
Read More »Fed’s Waller Favours Faster Taper, Faster Rate Hike
Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Christopher Waller said on Friday that the rapid improvement seen in the labour market and high inflation makes him favour faster taper and sooner rate increase. Inflationary pressures are becoming more extensive, and will last longer into 2022 than expected. Waller added that the …
Read More »T-Yields Drop On EU Lockdown Concerns
US bond yields experienced a sharp drop on Friday, the primary catalyst for which was a continued ramp up in concerns about lockdowns in Europe where Covid-19 infection and hospitalization rates continue to surge. The drop in bond yields coinciding rally in bond prices reflects a broader outperformance of safe-haven …
Read More »Retail Sales Surge by Christmas Shopping
Early Christmas shopping have pushed up shop sales in October as people spent more on clothing and on toys.Sales rose by 0.8% in October, following no growth in September, according to the Office for National Statistics. Clothing sales reached their highest level since the start of the pandemic.Second-hand stores, like …
Read More »Macron: UK playing with France’s nerves on fish licenses
French President Emmanuel Macron said, Friday, that the UK is playing with France’s nerves over fishing licenses. Macron also reaffirmed that the UK is not respecting post-Brexit fishing arrangements and reiterated that his government would continue to support the fishermen until they get their licenses. GBP has not reacted to …
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