Economic Data

The Richmond Fed manufacturing index fell to -10 in August from -1 in July, joining other manufacturing index sugessting contraction in the sector.

If the Chairman has to do something, then the real question is what policy response is adequate to a) reviving asset prices and b) returning the US to trend real GDP growth (since the portfolio balance channel appears to be the only one…

The over-indebted American consumer will be hard pressed to simultaneously reduce debt and maintain levels of consumption that support economic growth. On CNBC today, Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley says, we need a debt jubilee for…

The latest round of EU GDP data, brought to light a reality which many who have been closely following the economies of Eastern Europe already suspected: that the heavily export dependent economies in the region would almost inevitably be…

Capital preservation has once again has become mantra. The safety offered by Japan and Switzerland are meeting resistance from policy makers. As the market looks for alternatives, the Swedish krona has much to offer, including a relatively…

Frederick Searby says that Brazil has the opposite problem of the developed economies in that it is dealing with overheating and inflation while the developed economies have a serious deflationary undertow. His view is that if there is a…

The yen is a safe haven. That assertion seems so obvious, that why it is the case is rarely explored. It does not seem to be a function, as some suggest, of its trade surplus, but rather its position as a net international investment…

There are a lot of reasons Germany has been doing well: wage restraint, educated workforce, low unemployment, etc. I could go on and on. But in a global growth slowdown, the Germans will not be immune any more this go round than they were…

It is far from clear that the current level of Estonian CDS prices risk in in any more satisfactory way than they did at the height of the crisis, since membership of the Eurozone has brought with it both positives and negatives. The 0.28%…

The first is the size of the ECB bond purchases. Second, the Franco-German summit tomorrow attracts attention. Third, the market continues to pare long Swiss franc positions with the local press suggesting the SNB and government may take…