The flurry of meetings held this week in Washington by the central bankers bodes no good for the global economy. The mainstream media have neglected it although the alternative media have not even if it is not clear what is going on. There are several possibilities: Deutsche Bank; Italian banks; China; energy bonds; falling bank profits. All the secrecy is disturbing.
US consumer prices climbed modestly in March for the first time in four months, meaning little urgency for the Fed to hike interest rates in the months to come. According to the Labor Department, its Consumer Price Index inched up 0.1% last month as a recovery in gasoline prices was partially offset by a decline in the cost of food. While the measure rose the most since November, it came in against economists’ expectations for a 0.2% gain. In the 12 months through March, the CPI increased 0.9% after rising 1.0% in February. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, inched up 0.1%, the smallest since August and followed a 0.3% rise in February.
Nestlé published its results today. No major information came out of it. The results were better than expected, with an organic growth as high as 3.9%, above what analysts were expecting (3.6%) and a Revenue Internal Growth (3%) (i.e. a sales growth adjusted for takeovers, disinvestments, price fluctuations and currency) was also higher than the consensus (2.5%).
Australia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to the lowest level in two-and-a-half years in March, reflecting an improvement in business confidence and signalling the Reserve Bank of Australia is unlikely to ease policy in the near-term. The jobless rate dropped to 5.7% in March, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A net 26,100 jobs were added to the economy in March, the biggest increase in 2016 and stronger than economists’ forecast of 18,000. The stronger labour market also further evidence that record-low interest rates are boosting a revival in industries like construction, tourism and education as a resource boom winds down.
The heads of two regional Federal Reserve banks backed an interest rate increase ahead of the Fed’s March meeting as an strengthening economy added to sentiment to tighten monetary policy. The heads of the Richmond and Kansas City Fed supported a quarter point lift in the main lending rates for banks "in light of continued improvements in labour market conditions and expectations that inflation would rise," according to minutes of the Fed’s March meeting. Recent signs that US inflation is accelerating lay the groundwork for the US central bank to hike interest rates, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said. The Fed should proceed with its earlier plan to raise interest rates four times this year.
An interview with Ulrich Leuchtmann, Head of Currency Strategy at Commerzbank, on Swiss Franc
Fed policy makers signalled an interest-rate hike in April is unlikely, minutes of the March policy meeting showed, confirming market’s growing anticipation that the US central bank will act cautiously […]
The Greenback continued on its descending route with the USDJPY breaching well below 110 and EURUSD hitting a new high since October 2015 at 1.1454. The Fed minutes largely confirmed that there will not be a rate rise in April, and little prospect for a hike in June.
