U.S. rate hike- June, July or September?

Mar 19, 2015 04:30 am UTC| Commentary

In its statement, the FOMC has effectively eliminated the possibility of an April rate hike. But it put rate hikes squarely on the table from the June meeting onwards. In deciding whether to hike rates, the FOMC will...

A gentler rate path for U.S. economy

Mar 19, 2015 04:27 am UTC| Commentary

As expected, the Fed removed the reference to patience, but it surprised by significantly lowering its estimates of the appropriate rate path.The median forecast for the end of 2015 now stands at 0.625% (vs. 1.125%). The...

Violent reaction to Fed

Mar 19, 2015 01:29 am UTC| Commentary

Markets reacted violently to the Fed - though "patient" was dropped as expected, the market took everything else very dovishly. US 2 year swaps dropped almost 15bps to 79bps (now 82bps) and Fed fund futures pushed back...

Fed still patient in spirit, but tone of meeting was dovish

Mar 19, 2015 01:13 am UTC| Commentary

The FOMC dropped the "patient" guidance from its statement - as widely expected. But Standard Chartered Research comments, "Our impression after the FOMC meeting and Chair Yellens press conference is that the Fed remains...

Views & levels on major macro markets ahead of FOMC

Mar 18, 2015 17:48 pm UTC| Commentary

BofA Merrill Lynch views:US 2yr yields: Bearish. Absent a sustained break of the 100d (57.2bps), stay bearish for 77.1bps (Dec14 high) and beyond. Bulls need a break of the 5m t/line resistance (50.2bps) US 5yr...

Switzerland to see meager growth of 0.2% in 2015 and 0.5% in 2016

Mar 18, 2015 17:43 pm UTC| Commentary

Recent soft economic indicators are pointing to a slowdown in Switzerland economic growth in the coming months. The purchasing managers index has dropped below the 50-mark and all sub-components contributed to the...

Gold prices to rebound despite higher US interest rates

Mar 18, 2015 17:36 pm UTC| Commentary

US monetary policy is only one of many drivers of the gold price. In particular, more than 40% of gold demand last year came from Indian and Chinese consumers - for whom the nuances of US monetary policy are practically...