Next Week’s Menu: January 24-30, 2026 January 23, 2026 Central Banks: Monetary policy stance reviews in Ukraine, South Africa, Sweden, Canada, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Hungary , Uzebekistan and the Federal Reserve. The FOMC meeting is not one of those in which forecasts get updated, but Chairman Powell will hold a press conference. So will Bank…
Davos Aftermath January 23, 2026 Today was the last day of the annual World Economic Forum in Switzerland. While there been considerable relief that President Trump lifted his threat of a new round of sharp tariff hikes against Europe, a sour taste was left by the possibility that NATO unity has crossed a line from…
Turkish Central Bank Interest Rate Cut by Less than Forecast to 37% from 38% January 22, 2026 As in Hungary, Turkey’s interest rate and inflation experiences this decade epitomize the danger of allowing politicians a voice in monetary policy-making. It rarely ends well. The Central Bank of Turkey‘s interest rate has been as low as…
Trump, Central Bank News & Plenty of Data Vying for Investors’ Attention January 22, 2026 President Trump presented a much more compromising stance on Greenland at Davos than he had laid out prior to attending the conference. The resulting shift back into riskier assets that began yesterday carried into this Thursday’s session. On the central…
Dollar and Equities Remain on the Defensive; Greenland Dispute Center Stage at Davos January 21, 2026 President Trump has arrived in Davos. For a forum whose chosen annual theme is “A Spirit of Dialogue,” it is both ironic and undoubtedly purposeful that the U.S. president chose this moment to issue ultimatums on the non-negotiability of…
Greenland Tensions, Tariphobia, and A Snap Election in Japan Rile Investors January 20, 2026 President Trump’s relentless obsession with acquiring Greenland has shaken investor confidence to the roots. The seemingly delusional threat to do whatever it takes to get this done hadn’t been taken seriously until recently. Would a U.S. president really mimic the behaviors…
Escalating Economic Conflict Between Europe and the United States January 19, 2026 (156) Martin Luther King, Jr, the civil rights pioneer who espoused peace and brotherhood, would have been 97 years old, but on this commemorative observance of his birthday, President Trump has ramped up tensions with European nations opposed to his ownership demands on…
Next Week’s Menu: January 17-23, 2026 January 16, 2026 Central Banks: Interest rate levels will be reviewed in Japan, Turkey, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Romania, Norway and Kazakhstan. Minutes from the last European Central Bank Governing Council meeting and the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices will be published. Swiss National Bank…
Dollar Slipped Slightly Overnight But in Position for Likely Weekly Gain January 16, 2026 Like clockwork as documented in an earlier post, the dollar has opened another calendar year on an uphill trajectory and as in the first full week of January is poised for a second weekly advance in a row. Compared to 2025…
Oil Price Firms After Trump Lessens Military Threat Against Iran January 15, 2026 The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rebounded 4.2% overnight after President Trump withdrew his threat of immediate military action against Iran. Trump did this because info he has received suggests that the killing of protesters in Iran has lessened greatly….