Archive for February, 2016

FX

Monday, February 15th, 2016

Via Marc Chandler at SocGen: Drivers for the Week Ahead - The poor Q4 15 growth in the US cannot be laid at the Fed’s feet, as it did not raise rates until the quarter was nearly over - The Federal Reserve releases the minutes of last month’s meeting in the middle ...

Record Trade Surplus in China

Sunday, February 14th, 2016

Both imports and exports take a chunky tumble. Via Bloomberg: A slide in China’s exports in January was eclipsed by an even bigger tumble in imports, leaving a record trade surplus for the world’s biggest trading nation. Overseas shipments declined 11.2 percent in January in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, the ...

Japan Economy: Less Than Festive in Q4

Sunday, February 14th, 2016

Via the WSJ: By Eleanor Warnock Updated Feb. 14, 2016 9:47 p.m. ET TOKYO—Japan’s economy shrank for the second time in three quarters at the end of 2015, the latest blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-growth program and a possible motive for further fretting by jittery investors worried about softening global ...

Stronger Yuan Fix

Sunday, February 14th, 2016

PBOC Raises Yuan Fixing by Most in Three Months as China Reopens 2016-02-15 01:37:10.13 GMT By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) -- China strengthened the yuan’s reference rate by the most in three months as onshore markets reopened after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. The People’s Bank of China set the daily fixingagainst the dollar, which restricts onshore ...

Out of Bullets in Japan

Sunday, February 14th, 2016

Via the WSJ: By Takashi Nakamichi Updated Feb. 12, 2016 5:29 p.m. ET 31 COMMENTS TOKYO— Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda once awed the markets. Now he looks like just another central banker running out of options. Mr. Kuroda took the helm of the BOJ in March 2013, vowing to do whatever it takes ...

BOJ Official Calls For Government to Do More

Saturday, February 13th, 2016

Via FT: BoJ deputy says Japan needs bolder measures to unlock growth Third arrow of Abenomics must fly faster says Nakaso 4 hours ago by: Ben McLannahan in New York The deputy governor of the Bank of Japan has called on the country's government to pull its weight, as the central bank strains to haul ...

GDP Now

Friday, February 12th, 2016

The Atlanta Fed GDP Now model shows Q1 2016 running at 2.7 percent. Recessions are made with decidedly less sterner (economic) stuff than that. Via the Atlanta Fed: Latest forecast — February 12, 2016 The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2016 is ...

(Long) Weekend Data Preview

Friday, February 12th, 2016

Via Robert Sinche at Amherst Pierpont Securities: AUSTRALIA: Motor Vehicle sales for January follow 11 months of YOY sales gains as domestic demand growth remains solid. CHINA: Likely on Sunday evening China will release January data on both Bank Loans and the broader Aggregate Financing Activity. Comments in late January suggested that ...

Michigan Confidence Survey

Friday, February 12th, 2016

The confidence number slipped a bit in January but the more meaningful metric is the measure of inflation expectations which is now at its lowest level since inception of the survey in 1979 as expectations dropped to 2.4 from 2.7. If I were still hawking bonds to the unsuspecting I might ...

Retail Sales Recap

Friday, February 12th, 2016

Via  TDSecurities: TD SECURITIES DATAFLASH            US: Retail Sales Start 2016 on their Front Foot Retail Sales rose by a stronger-than expected 0.2% m/m in January. Measures of core sales showed an even more robust gain with a healthy breadth of spending. The prior month was also revised higher to also show a 0.2% ...