Analysis: Currencies

Dollar set for best week in four months on hawkish Fed, geopolitics

The dollar was poised on Friday to cap its strongest weekly performance since October, buoyed by a run of better-than-expected economic data, a more hawkish Federal Reserve outlook and as tensions...

Japan's core inflation slows to 2-year low, complicates BOJ rate-hike timing

Japan's annual core consumer inflation hit a two-year low to match the central bank's 2% target in January, data showed on Friday, suggesting weakening price pressure that could complicate its...

Fed's Kashkari: Hassett comments about Fed researchers represent another attack on independence

The call by a top Trump administration official for New York Federal Reserve staff to be disciplined for recent research on tariffs was just the latest move by the administration to undermine the...

Visa strikes deal for Prisma, Newpay to boost Argentina presence

Card giant Visa said on Thursday it would buy payment platforms Prisma and Newpay from private-equity firm Advent International, bolstering its presence in Argentina. The deal will help...

ECB's Lagarde signals no imminent exit as politics and central banks collide

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has told colleagues she remains focussed on her job and she would tell them first if she was about to step down, a message they took to mean she was...

ECB's Lagarde hints her exit is not imminent in message to colleagues

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has told colleagues she remains focussed on her job and she would tell them first if she was about to step down, a message they took to mean she was...

Fed minutes downplay impact of Trump mortgage buying on housing affordability 

An effort launched by the Trump administration to improve home borrowing costs is not coming to much so far, meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve's January 27-28 meeting, released on Wednesday,...

ECB succession talk puts Knot and De Cos in frame for top job

The former governors of the Spanish and Dutch central banks are seen as the front-runners to replace Christine Lagarde at the helm of the European Central Bank, likely in a broader political deal that...

Fed minutes could highlight shift in balance of risks as policymakers put rates on hold

Minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's January 16-17 meeting released on Wednesday are expected to provide more detail on why central bankers kept interest rates on hold last month and what it may take...

ECB President Lagarde plans to quit before Macron's term ends, FT reports

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde plans to leave her job early, ahead of next year's French presidential election, to give outgoing French leader Emmanuel Macron a say in picking her...

Fed must dig deep on AI impact to make right rate calls ahead, Daly says

The Federal Reserve must dig deep into the data to assess whether artificial intelligence is boosting productivity growth and enabling faster economic growth without igniting inflation that would...

Fed's Barr says central bank likely on hold for some time as it watches for easing inflation

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said on Tuesday that another central bank interest rate cut could come somewhere well down the road amid ongoing risks to the U.S. inflation outlook. ...

Fed's Goolsbee: 'Several' rate cuts possible this year if inflation gets on track to 2%

The U.S. Federal Reserve could approve several more interest rate cuts this year if inflation resumes a decline to the central bank's 2% target, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Tuesday,...

US dollar may be due for a reprieve after a four-month decline

The U.S. dollar is due for a bit of reprieve after its four-month decline as the political and economic backdrop turns in its favor and some market analysts turn bullish on the currency. ...

Warsh may want a smaller Fed balance sheet, but that's hard to achieve

Kevin Warsh, nominated to lead the Federal Reserve, may want a smaller central bank balance sheet, but he's unlikely to get it absent major tinkering with the financial system, and even then, it might...

Currencies: a fragile calm

The macroeconomic releases of recent days have not upended the central scenario, but they have clarified the regime in which markets are now operating. We are neither in a euphoric acceleration nor...

Japan's fragile Q4 economic recovery poses early test for Takaichi

STORY: Japan's economy struggled to fire-up during the fourth quarter. It posted only weak growth and missed market expectations by a wide margin. Government data showed...

ECB opens up euro lifeline in bid to boost global role

The European Central Bank is opening its euro lifeline to nearly all foreign countries to boost the single currency's global role amid geopolitical turmoil and fraying alliances. The ECB...

US bank regulators move closer to proposing new 'Basel' rules for large banks

U.S. bank regulators appear to be moving closer to proposing a new version of the so-called Basel endgame rules dictating how large banks must measure their risk, according to regulatory filings...