currencies

By Michael Pettis. With the PBoC’s currency announcement last Saturday and the surge (!) in the value of RMB on Monday (all very kindly timed to add zest to my meetings this week in Boston, New York, and Washington), you would assume that…

The euro has declined about 0.75% this week.  This seems fairly resilient, given that news stream that included the downgrade of a large French and Dutch bank, record premiums by Greece and Portugal and disappointing euro zone…

The final revision to Q1 US GDP was disappointing in the headline and composition.  It is mitigated on the margins, for investors, by the substantial upward revision in corporate profits. Growth was revised to 2.7% from 3.0%…

Highlights The US dollar is little is generally firmer in a risk averse environment ahead of the weekend.   The notable exception is the Swiss franc, which is benefiting from tensions in the euro zone and the recent downgrade of…

Hugh Hendry opines on strategy, George Soros and the euro. He believes the euro "is finished" for many of the same reasons I worry about the euro zone – namely that it acts like a deflationary gold standard for euro zone members.…

G-20 Thoughts I am going to be talking about the G-20 tomorrow at 700 London Time/1200 East Coast Time on BBC World News. The key issue is fiscal consolidation. I am taking the German side of this (see Why I am siding with the Germans on…

I am going to take the German side of the argument on the euro zone’s need for fiscal consolidation. It’s not that I like wearing a hair-shirt. Hardly. It’s because the Europeans have no other choice if they are to avoid higher interest…

There is nothing preventing the Federal Reserve from buying up any financial asset it so chooses with money it creates out of thin air. In fact, I seriously doubt that the vaunted bond market vigilantes would be able to cause US interest…

Highlights The US dollar is little is generally firmer.  However, the main driver is not really the greenback but heightened risk aversion and fears of a renewed economic downturn given the austerity in Europe and weakness in the…

The decision to leave rates on hold was an easy one for the Fed to make.  The Fed still anticipates this will be the case for an extended period.  The statement seemed to recognize some of the less favorable data since it met…