Finance

Net Vs. Gross Investment

Deregulatory moves, both actual and anticipated, have been hailed as spurring business fixed investment. Is there content to this assertion? A glance at nonresidential fixed investment seems to be supportive. Figure 1: Private nonresidential fixed investment, in billions of Ch.2009$, SAAR (blue). NBER defined recession dates shaded gray. Source: BEA, 2017Q4 3rd release. However, the standard…

Indian Indices Trade Marginally Higher; Metal Sector Up 3.7%

Stock markets in India are presently trading marginally higher. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector and IT sector witnessing maximum buying interest. The BSE Sensex is trading up 87 points (up 0.3%) and the NSE Nifty is trading up 32 points (up 0.3%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.4%, while the BSE Small Cap index is…

To Whom Does The U.S. Government Owe Money?

The U.S. government’s 2017 fiscal year officially ended on 30 September 2017. At that time, we knew that the total public debt outstanding of the U.S. government increased by $671.5 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year, rising from $19,573 billion (or $19.6 trillion) to $20,245 billion (or $20.2 trillion) during FY2017. But what we didn’t know…

Gold Rises On Chart-Based Buying

Gold prices advanced for a fourth straight session on Wednesday and settled at $1349.16 an ounce. XAU/USD initially pulled back to the bottom of the 4-hourly Ichimoku cloud but bounce up quite nicely from there and climbed back above the $1348-$1347 area. World stock markets were mostly higher again yesterday. Asia-Pacific stocks continue to rise…

Threats And Reality

The data always matters. Two weeks ago, the markets were swayed by more talk of a trade war with China. I should clarify by saying that the stock market was shaken, since the Treasury bond market reaction was fairly tempered. By Tuesday, most of the losses were recouped, and stocks were higher on Wednesday and again on Thursday. More saber-rattling over…

CAD: Balanced BoC Tone; Comfortable Keeping Our Call For A July H

The Bank of Canada left rates unchanged and increased its estimate for the output gap. Nevertheless, the hawkish bias remains. What’s next? Here is their view, courtesy of eFXdata: CIBC Research discusses the reaction to today’s BoC policy meeting and notes that the BoC statement struck a fairly balanced tone today, which leaves CIBC comfortable with expecting…