Financial Market Repercussions From Broadening Middle East War March 2, 2026 (150) Hot money flows seeking a safe haven lifted the dollar by almost a full percent on a weighted basis. Individual gains amount to 1.2% against the Swiss franc, 1.0% versus the New Zealand dollar, 0.9% to a 5-week high relative to the euro,…
February 2026 in Figures February 28, 2026 U.S.-generated uncertainty, which had been so prominent in 2025, somehow managed to build to an even greater extent in the first month of President Trump’s second term. Despite being the creator of the chaos, America’s currency benefited from safe-haven demand, so losses versus currencies against which the dollar…
Three-Dimensional Chaos February 23, 2026 (151) Trading volume in the U.S. today will be muted by a blizzard affecting tens of millions in the Northeast corridor. Stock markets in Japan and China were shut by the Emperor’s Birthday holiday and the tail end of Lunar New Year observances, respectively. The Middle East is on high…
Next Week’s Menu: February 21-27, 2026 February 20, 2026 Central Banks: Monetary policy stances will be reviewed in South Korea, Israel, Thailand, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan and Jamaica. Goolsbee and Musalem of the Federal Reserve, Takada of the Bank of Japan and Governor Bullock of the Reserve Bank of Australia have public speaking engagements. Events and Holidays:…
U.S. GDP, PCE Price Deflator, and the Preliminary February Purchasing Manager Surveys Top Friday’s Menu February 20, 2026 The dollar was narrowly mixed just prior to the eagerly awaited twin-bill of U.S. economic data releases, unchanged against the euro and loonie, 0.3% higher relative to New Zealand’s currency, 0.3% stronger against the Mexican peso, and…
Interest Rate Cut in the Philippines February 19, 2026 There has been another interest rate cut at the Central Bank of the Philippines, the sixth in a row for this monetary authority that reviews its policy stance on a bi-monthly basis. At 4.25%, the new rate level will be back to its lowest level since…
Next Week’s Menu: February 14-20, 2026 February 13, 2026 Central Banks: Monetary policies will be reviewed in New Zealand, Indonesia, Romania and the Philippines. Minutes from the last policy meetings at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Federal Open Market Committee are being published. The Fed is also preparing its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report….
Central Bank Rate Cuts of 100 Basis Points in Egypt and 50 BPS in Russia February 13, 2026 Egyptian consumer price inflation, which crested in September 2023 at 38.0%, receded to 11.7% two years later and is currently at 11.9%. The Central Bank of Egypt‘s policy interest rate over the past ten months has been…
Dollar Exhibits Better Tone Ahead of U.S. CPI Releases, But Tech Stocks Retreat February 13, 2026 Thursday’s difficult session for U.S. equities, led by the tech sector, extended into other countries on Friday with share prices closing down 1.6% in Singapore, 1.4% in Australia, 1.3% in China and India, 1.7% in Hong Kong, and 1.6%…
Narrowly Mixed Dollar as Investors Await U.S. CPI Data Tomorrow February 12, 2026 There were 227k new U.S. jobless insurance claims last week, down a bit from the last week of January but more or less aligned with what had been expected. The net takeaway from yesterday’s January jobs figures was that, excluding other policy…