Analysis: Currencies

US new home sales jump to more than 3-1/2-year high; economists dismiss rise as a fluke

WASHINGTON -Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to the highest level in more than 3-1/2 years in August, but that likely exaggerates the housing market's health, and a weakening labor market...

US ready to support Argentina with $20 billion swap line, Bessent says

WASHINGTON -The U.S. is currently in negotiations for a $20 billion swap line with Argentina's central bank and stands ready to do what is needed to support the South American country, U.S. Treasury...

RBNZ's new Swedish boss joins bank shaken by politics, says 'kia ora'

WELLINGTON -New Zealand's first foreign central bank governor in modern history takes the top job amid heightened criticism of the bank's management of the economy and as independent monetary policy...

Asian stocks slip as growth concerns cloud outlook

SINGAPORE -Stocks in Asia fell on Wednesday, following declines on Wall Street as remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave little indication about the future path of interest rates and...

Dollar rises after Powell reiterates caution over further easing

TOKYO/LONDON -The U.S. dollar rose on Wednesday, rebounding from its lowest level in nearly a week, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a cautious tone on further easing overnight,...

Fed's Powell strikes middle path on inflation, jobs, as others take sides

WASHINGTON -U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the central bank needed to continue balancing the competing risks of high inflation and a weakening job market in coming interest...

Bank of Canada head expresses concern about Trump's Fed actions

OTTAWA -Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem on Tuesday expressed concern about President Donald Trump's attempts to pressure the U.S. Federal Reserve, saying his actions had started to hit financial...

Fed's Powell: Repeats no risk-free path as Fed balances job, inflation risks

WASHINGTON -U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the central bank is in a challenging situation with an ongoing risk of faster-than-expected inflation at the same time that weak...

Fed's Bostic says inflation risks still present in US economy

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Tuesday inflation risks are still in play in the U.S. economy, although he noted that thus far President Donald Trump's import tax hikes...

US business activity cools further, no widespread price increases

WASHINGTON -U.S. business activity slowed for a second straight month in September, and though firms complained about tariffs increasing costs they were not raising prices for their goods and...

Full impact of U.S. tariff shock yet to come as growth holds up, OECD says

PARIS -Global growth is holding up better than expected, but the full brunt of the U.S. import tariff shock is still to be felt as AI investment props up U.S. activity for now and fiscal support...

UN aviation gathering opens under shadow of cyberattacks, geopolitical tensions

A global gathering of aviation leaders that kicked off on Tuesday in Montreal faced U.S. criticism over its green focus, even as delegates confront high tech threats, pollution from rising numbers of...

Fed's Hammack still focused on inflation, calls for caution in easing policy

The Federal Reserve needs to be very cautious in removing restrictive monetary policy with inflation still above the central bank's 2% target and remaining persistent, Cleveland Fed President Beth...

Ukrainian Railways plans freight tariff increase to tackle debt

KYIV -State-owned Ukrainian Railways has prepared a recovery plan that includes raising freight tariffs to help control its debt amid intensified Russian attacks and falling cargo deliveries, CEO...

Miran defends low-rate view as colleagues caution on further cuts

WASHINGTON -New Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Monday that the Fed is misreading how tight it has set monetary policy and will put the job market at risk without aggressive rate cuts,...

Currencies: End of the dollar's decline

I admit that this catchy headline is a tad pretentious. However, it simply reflects the chart pattern of the dollar index since 2022, which only needed a helping hand to materialize - in the form of...

Fed's Musalem says limited room for further rate cuts

WASHINGTON -St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem said on Monday he supported the rate cut at last week's Fed meeting as a precautionary move to protect the job market, but said there...

What and where are Russia's frozen assets in the West?

MOSCOW -As much as $250 billion worth of Russian assets have been frozen in the European Union since the U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia's central bank and finance ministry...

EU to reopen market for Brazil's chicken meat after bird flu outbreak

SAO PAULO -The European Union will reopen its market to Brazil's chicken meat, lifting a ban imposed in May after a bird flu outbreak in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil's agriculture ministry said in...