Icelandic Interest Rate Hike March 18, 2026 Policymakers at the Central Bank of Iceland today followed Australia’s lead yesterday, raising the Icelandic 7-day term rate by 25 basis points in a 3-2 decision that included two dissents favoring an increase of 50 basis points. It was the bank’s first rate increase since August 2023, and…
U.S. PPI, Fed Decision and Powell’s Press Conference Loom on a Day With Many Other Central Bank Rate Decisions as Well March 18, 2026 There’s been scant net movement in the dollar overnight. The Federal Open Market Committee is not expected to change the 3.5-3.75% federal funds target range, but today’s meeting has created considerable…
Another Australian Central Bank Interest Rate Hike March 17, 2026 By a narrow 5-4 vote, the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia pulled the trigger a a second consecutive 25-basis point hike of the Official Cash Rate, which at 4.10% will now represent its greatest elevation in ten months. Australian CPI inflation last month…
Imploded Investor Confidence in Euroland, Some Central Bank Decisions, and the Alleged Death of Another Top Iranian Official March 17, 2026 In overnight financial market action, The dollar has dipped 0.3% against the Australian dollar following a rise in Australia’s Officials Cash Rate. The dollar is also down 0.2% versus the Mexican peso, and by…
Post-Covid Inflation Heavily Influenced by Global Factors March 16, 2026 National inflationary trends this decade have by and large followed a similar pattern. Consumer price inflation peaked in June 2022 at 9.1% in the United States, at 8.1% in Canada and at 10.6% in Euroland. The British and Turkish CPI peaks of 11.1% and 85.5%…
Iran War and Central Bank Interest Rate Decisions to Dominate This Week’s Financial Market News March 16, 2026 (148) But right now, markets have responded positively to stronger-than-projected Chinese data while awaiting today’s release of U.S. industrial production. The Iran War narrative is meanwhile focused on whether President Trump will declare America’s main goals accomplished…
Next Week’s Menu: March 14-20, 2026 March 13, 2026 Central Banks: Numerous central banks have scheduled monetary policy reviews this coming week, led by the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank and Bank of England and also including central banks in Australia, Armenia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Canada, Russia, Sweden,…
Dollar Continues Rising But Stocks and Sovereign Debt Yields Pause Ahead of U.S. Data Reports March 13, 2026 The weighted dollar index climbed another 0.4% overnight, moving above 100.0 for first time since November 25. The Korean won briefly touched 1500, its weakest level since March 31, 2009 when the global financial crisis was still…
Coping with a Massive Oil Price Shock March 12, 2026 Tomorrow will mark just two weeks since the start of the latest Middle Eastern war. At $94.10, the current price of West Texas Intermediate oil is 7.8% higher than yesterday, 45% above its pre-conflict level, and 71% greater than the recent low in December. This…
Investors Wait Uneasily for U.S. February CPI on Otherwise Light Day for Data Releases March 11, 2026 Despite Trump’s prediction that the war in Iran is nearly done, Iran still shows no inclination to negotiate. Ships aren’t going through the Strait of Hormuz, and the price of oil has rebounded over 3% to remain well…