global forex

Extended Easter Holiday Keeps Many Markets Shut… But Glimmer of Relief Emerges from Rumored Scramble to Forge a 45-Day Ceasefire April 6, 2026 Most of Europe and many other markets (for example, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands) remain closed for Easter Monday. These closures…

Next Week’s Menu: April 4-10, 2026 April 3, 2026 Central Banks: Monetary policies will be reviewed in South Korea, India, New Zealand, Serbia, Poland, Romania and Peru. FOMC minutes get published, and Chicago Fed President Goolsbee speaks publicly. Easter Monday Holiday: will be observed in several countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, France,…

Good Friday 2026 April 3, 2026 Most markets in Europe and many in the Pacific Rim including Australia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore are closed today for the observance of Good Friday. The U.S. Treasury market and banks will have a shortened day to allow some reaction to U.S. March labor…

Trump Speech Sends Shock Waves Through World Financial Markets April 2, 2026 The highly anticipated update from President Trump in prime time last evening failed to clarify the big questions of when the Middle East war might end, when or exactly how shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz might resume, what Iranian government would…

Colombian Central Bank Interest Rate Hike April 1, 2026 A split decision at the Central Bank of Colombia produced a majority of four votes for a full percentage point interest rate hike to 11.25%, set against two votes for a 50-basis point increase and one vote cast for keeping the rate unchanged at 10.25%. Colombian…

Dealing With MidEast War Uncertainty and Digesting Purchasing Managers Survey, Japanese Tankan and U.S. Data Releases April 1, 2026 President Trump’s forever-shifting latest comments on the Middle East war project another likely 2-3 weeks to the conflict. Opening the Strait of Hormuz in such a way that shipping flow is secure and at a normal…

March and First Quarter 2026 in Figures March 31, 2026 March was dominated by wild daily and intra-daily swings in financial vital signs as sentiment about the outcome and duration of the Middle Eastern war swung with each news flash, and investors tried to figure out the implications for the path of energy prices, general…

Despite A Difficult March and Conflicting War News, Financial Markets Ending Month on Up-Note March 31, 2026 Equity markets in the Pacific Rim, a region particularly dependent on Middle Eastern energy, plunged in March by 14.4% in Indonesia, 11.8% in South Korea, 11.5% in India, 11.2% in Japan, 10.4% in Taiwan, 7.8% in Australia, 6.5%…

Huge Shift Between Sunday Night and Monday Morn March 30, 2026 Financial news headlines on Sunday evening (when news feeds were reporting 4% plus plunges in Japanese and South Korean share price value, yen depreciation through 160/$ to 160.47, and further sharp jumps in 10-year sovereign debt yields) had pointed to a grim  Monday session…

Next Week’s Menu: March 28-April 3, 2026 March 27, 2026 Central Banks: Monetary stances will be reviewed in Israel, Colombia and Jamaica. Minutes from the last Reserve Bank of Australia policy review and a summary of the last Bank of Japan Board meeting get published. Goolsbee, Williams and Musalem of the Fed, Swiss National Bank…