The US dollar initially weakened versus the euro upon the release of US inflation figures, only to rebound in the afternoon as dim prospects for an auto industry bailout lead stocks lower and boosted demand for safe-haven assets. Looking at the data on hand, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plunged… Read More …
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US consumer prices fell by the most in 61 years, dropping 1% in October, a bigger fall than predicted by economists. The main catalyst for the decline was an 8.6% reduction in the price of energy, though food prices ticked up 0.3%. Core prices, which exclude both energy and food,… Read More …
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Japan official estimates of GDP have earned a reputation for inaccuracy. Data measurement is a problem that officials have worked on with some success. But reported growth rates still occasionally produce outsized surprises and subsequent revisions. While gross domestic product measures the value of goods and services in a specific… Read More …
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The DOW and S&P made new closing lows for the credit crisis on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said the economy could contract through the first half of 2009. Also, the Labor Department said earlier that prices in October declined the most since 1947 while the Census Bureau said housing… Read More …
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The Federal Reserve cuts its estimate for U.S. growth in 2009 and raised its estimates for unemployment, according to minutes released today of the Oct. 28-29 meeting. Fed officials said they expect the economy to contract moderately in the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, and… Read More …
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The major currencies whipsawed in the Tuesday session, with the greenback recovering from earlier losses in New York trading. The dollar tumbled to lows against the euro and sterling at 1.2813 and 1.5248, respectively, before recovering by the afternoon session. Read More …
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Stocks declined Wednesday morning as data on inflation, housing and gasoline demand continued to indicate the economy is in recessionary territory. Housing starts and building permits fell to their lowest annual rate on record in October, the Census Bureau said today. CPI had its largest monthly decline since 1947 and… Read More …
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Minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) early-November meeting candidly reveal that policymakers believe that they would ultimately need to cut rates by more than 200 basis points from the 4.5% level but were reluctant do more than 150 basis points until markets better understand their thinking and the factors… Read More …
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The Dow Jones Industrials Average started the day almost exactly flat with yesterday’s close, giving little guidance to the highly risk-sensitive US Dollar and Japanese Yen through early New York trade. Yet the key stock market index currently trades important support levels, and a break lower could easily force major… Read More …
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US consumer prices dropped 1% m/m in October – the largest monthly decline ever – driven by sharply lower energy prices. Annual headline inflation now stands at 3.7% down from 4.9% in September. Core inflation is now negative, with core CPI falling 0.961% on the month, taking the annual core… Read More …
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