An Unflattering Picture Depicted by the Latest Federal Reserve Beige Book of Regional Economic Trends June 4, 2025 Before each of the scheduled FOMC meetings, each of the twelve districts survey contacts in their districts for impressions regarding economic activity, labor market conditions and price trends. Responses are summarized in the Beige Book, published today…
A New South Korean President, Central Bank Developments, Service Sector PMIs, and Anticipating U.S. Jobs Data June 4, 2025 Lee Jae-Myung, a former human rights lawyer who successfully led opposition to South Korean martial law and favors pragmatic diplomacy, has been elected to a 5-year term as the country’s next president. The South Korean Kospi…
Bearish Global Growth Outlook, Dutch Government Collapses, and In-Target Euroland Inflation June 3, 2025 Citing tariff strains, the updated forecast of the Organization for Co-Operation and Economic Development (OECD) has revised projected global growth for this year and next lower to 2.9%. In the United States where deportations and federal job cuts will inject additional…
Start of a Fresh Week and Month Associated with Heightened Trade War Concerns June 2, 2025 (189) The U.S. president did not let another weekend go by without stirring the tariff pot. He accused Chinese officials of breaking the terms of the recent deal that had mutually lowered each country’s import tariffs against one another,…
May 2025 in Figures May 31, 2025 Net dollar movements in May were inconsequential. The same cannot be said about long-term interest rates. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose in the United States, Great Britain and Canada but fell in several members of the euro area. Central Bank interest rates during May were cut by a…
Next Week’s Menu: May 31-June 6, 2025 May 30, 2025 Central Banks: Interest rate reviews at the European Central Bank, Bank of Canada, National Bank of Kazakhstan, Reserve Bank of India and National Bank of Poland. The Fed Beige Book of regional U.S. economic conditions, Bank of Canada quarterly Monetary Policy Report, and Minutes from…
Mountains of Data to Absorb May 30, 2025 Typical of the final business day of the calendar month, a great many data reports around the world have arrived. In addition, investors have again been whipsawed by fresh tariff news. It took only a matter of hours after yesterday’s U.S. Court of International Trade’s ruling against…
Korean and South African Interest Rate Cuts to 2.5% and 7.25% May 29, 2025 Central bank interest rates were sliced today by 25 basis points in both South Korea and South Africa. South Korea‘s new Base Rate becomes 2.50%, its lowest level since October 2022. A peak of 3.5% had been maintained from January 2023…
Favorable Nvidia Earnings, Revised U.S. GDP Data, and A Significant Court Ruling Against U.S. Tariff Policy May 29, 2025 Nvidia’s first quarter earnings leaped over 70% year-on-year, crushing analyst expectations and eliciting a 5.4% pre-open jump in the AI computer chipmaker’s share price. A small revision to U.S. quarterly GDP growth last quarter from -0.3%…
Another New Zealand Interest Rate Cut May 28, 2025 The reduction to 3.25% from 3.50% in policy interest rate of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand returns such to its lowest level since October 2022 and brings the cumulative decline to 225 basis points from a peak of 5.50% sustained from September 2023 until August…