War in the Ukraine by another name
Everything is in motion this morning as the conflict in Ukraine moved toward an all-out, but thoroughly denied, invasion of the east of the country by Russian troops, tanks, and artillery.
Everything is in motion this morning as the conflict in Ukraine moved toward an all-out, but thoroughly denied, invasion of the east of the country by Russian troops, tanks, and artillery.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Index, the TOPIX, posted its highest close overnight since March after climbing for a ninth day. That’s quite a turn around for Japanese stocks. The TOPIX is still down 5.7% for 2014,
With Japanese GDP growth unexpectedly slowing to an annual 1% rate in the fourth quarter and with the Japanese consumer facing an increase in the national sales tax to 8% from 5% in April, Japan’s central bank today extended its unlimited loan program for another year
Disappointment over weaker than expected GDP growth in Japan for the fourth quarter was overshadowed by faster than expected lending growth in China.
What looks likely to drive the financial markets once Santa is back at the North Pole and his rally has passed into the record books? Here’s what I think deserves watching as we turn the corner into January.
The drivers seem to be better than expected U.S. retail sales for November; a report that industrial production in the EuroZone contracted in October; and a sense that a possible decision to begin tapering off the current $85 billion in asset purchases at the Federal Reserve’s December 18 meeting might not be especially scary. That last would reduce demand for the safe-haven Japanese currency.
The dollar is down agains the yen and the euro, but it looks to be stabilizing on worries that Japan’s economy is weak enough to bring the Bank of Japan back into action and on uncertainty about economic news from the EuroZone set for release tomorrow