Category Archive: 4.) Marc to Market

The coming weeks will likely continue the correction of the trends that began last month. The markets recognize that tightening cycle is over. However, they swung hard, pricing in aggressive easing by most of the G10 central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Official comments and some high-frequency economic data have encouraged participants to rein in their expectations, reducing the odds of a rate cuts in Q1 and...

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The week ahead features the first estimate of US Q4 GDP, which will be revised for the next couple of years, and policy meetings by the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada, and Norges Bank, Norway's central bank. Although the market anticipates the beginning of an aggressive easing cycle by several central banks, and an exit of the BOJ's negative interest rate policy, the start is not expected until later in the first half....

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Given the world's turmoil, including the escalation, and broadening of the conflict in the Middle East and China's continued aerial harassment of Taiwan ahead of the election, the capital and commodity markets have remained firm. February WTI fell about 1.7% last week and March Brent slipped around 0.65%. Shipping costs are rising as the Rea Sea is avoided and supply chain disruptions are threatened. Still the MSCI index of developed equity market...

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The terribly mixed US jobs report spurred dramatic intraday swings in exchange and US interest rates. But at the close, the dollar was little changed against most major currencies, and expectations for Fed policy was nearly unchanged. The futures market has about a 70% chance of a cut at the March meeting. The Dollar Index was off by less than 0.1%. Job growth held up better than expected in December, the unemployment rate held steady, and average...

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