<strong>FOMC Minutes: Sentiment for 50 bp Rate Hike Deferred Due to Ukraine Concerns</strong><strong></strong>
– Future 50 BP Hikes Apt To Be On The Table – FOMC Made Ready For Balance Sheet Reduction With Expanded Caps By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve officials leaned heavily toward further increases in short-term interest rates at their mid-March Federal Open Market Committee meeting, but conditioned the size and pace of […]
FOMC: Likely Bal Sheet Runoff to be $60 Bln Tsys/Month, $35 Bln MBS/Month
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee minutes released Wednesday suggested a more aggressive runoff of the balance sheet than had generally been expected – at least before Gov. Lael Brainard’s more hawkish statements Tuesday – sending markets into sudden volatility as the implications were absorbed by market participants. The details of what the […]
ISM: US March Service Sector Activity Picks Up on Easing Covid Rules But Headwinds Remain 
–ISM: US Service Providers Continue Facing Surging Costs, Supply Bottlenecks –ISM’s Nieves: Fed Has to Tighten To Keep Inflation From Hurting Economy –ISM: Supply Delivery Delays Ease in March; Inventories Up but Still Too Low –ISM: War in Ukraine Pushing Up Prices, Creating Uncertainty for Many Firms By Max Sato (MaceNews) – US service sector […]
Japan February Household Spending Sluggish Amid Omicron, Snowstorms
–Spending Up Slightly on Year but Posts 2nd Straight Drop on Month –Ministry Drops ‘Flat’ Reference to Falling Spending; To Watch Covid Impact By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending posted the second straight month-on-month drop in February as the worst spike in Covid cases in the two-year pandemic hit many regions and bad […]
BOC Q1 Survey: Business Sentiment Slips but Still High on Demand
–Firms See Rising Costs Amid Ukraine War, Higher Wages due to Tight Labor Markets — 70% of Firms in Canada See Above 3% Inflation Over 2 Years Vs. 67% in Q4 — BOC Consumer Survey: Prices Surge but Longer-Term Inflation Views Anchored By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Sentiment among companies in Canada dipped in the […]
BOJ March Tankan Business Sentiment Slips on Covid, Ukraine; Capex Plans Revised Down
–Fall in Sentiment After Recent Improvement Not As Bad As Forecast –Major Firms Revise Down FY21 Capex Plans, See Small Rise in FY22 –Smaller Firms Unexpectedly Revise Down FY21 Capex Plans; Cautious of FY22 By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Confidence among many sectors in Japan slipped in March after improving for the sixth straight quarter […]
Italy To Raise Defense Budget To 2% of GDP, But EU Common Funding Needed – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s parliament is expected to clear on Thursday a defense budget increase to reach 2% of GDP following the Ukraine crisis, though the goal is to achieve at European level a common funding mechanism for military expenditures, according to ruling coalition sources. “We have pledged, as per NATO agreements […]
Japan February Retail Sales Dip on Covid Rules; Auto Sales Remain Weak on Chip Shortages 
–METI Repeats Retail Sales Are Flat After Downgrading Its View Last Month –Department Store Sales Mark 1st Y/Y Drop in 5 Months on Bad Weather, Omicron –Fuel Sales Up on Rising Energy Prices; Demand for Medicine, Cosmetic Solid By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese retail sales posted the third straight monthly dip and the first […]
BOJ March Meeting Summary: Watch Underlying Inflation, Japan Needs Easing
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Bank of Japan board members argued sustainable inflation must come from domestic demand amid moves among firms to pass higher costs onto consumers, with one pointing to downside risks to the inflation outlook from a fallback in global commodities prices later this year, according to the summary of opinions expressed […]
Analysis: Bank of Japan to Keep Easing Stance, To Check 10-Year JGB Yield Rise Despite Yen Fall
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan is committed to maintaining its current monetary easing framework aimed at guiding low inflation toward its 2% target despite the recent rapid depreciation of the yen, which could further push up import costs amid rising food and energy costs. The BOJ on Monday resumed unlimited fixed-rate […]