Risk-sensitive assets are looking buoyant this morning as perceived tail risks recede and investors turn more optimistic on the direction of global growth. The US dollar is up slightly, Treasury yields are inching higher, and major American stock indices are climbing ahead of the North American open after series of strong corporate earnings releases in recent days, coupled with a drumbeat of trade...

A modest improvement in risk appetite is washing across markets after a trade deal between the US and Japan proved less economically-damaging than feared. The dollar and Treasury yields are holding steady, North American stock indices are printing gains at the open, and risk-sensitive units like the Australian and New Zealand dollars are climbing against their peers. In a social media post last night,...

Currency markets are turning in a mixed performance this morning amid an utter lack of new volatility catalysts. The dollar is holding steady in line with placid Treasury yields, most major currencies are trading within 20 basis points of yesterday’s close, and the yen is giving back some of yesterday’s gains after Prime Minister Ishiba’s governing coalition suffered losses in the weekend’s election....

• Upbeat tone. No news has been good news. US equities rose, while bond yields & USD slipped back. AUD a bit higher at start of new week.• RBA guidance. RBA meeting minutes out today. Governor Bullock speaks later in the week. Will the RBA support expectations looking for multiple cuts?• Data flow. Global PMIs due later this week. US corporate earnings also in focus with over 100 companies in S&P500...

Amid a quiet start to the week, the Japanese yen is finding modest support even after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s governing coalition lost its majority in the Upper House, suggesting that currency markets had largely priced in the outcome ahead of yesterday’s vote. The Liberal Democratic Party—dominant in Japanese politics for all but five of the past seventy years—shed 16 of the 66 seats it defended,...

• Hanging on. A quieter end to last week. US equities consolidated. USD a bit softer. AUD & NZD ticked up but still lost ground over the week.• US trends. US data has generally been a bit better than anticipated recently. Will this trend continue & will the USD’s rebound extend?• Event Radar. RBA Gov. Bullock speaks (Thurs) & the ECB meets (Thurs night). The global business PMIs are...

The dollar is resuming its upward climb and bond markets are stabilising after suffering a short-lived bout of extreme volatility early in yesterday’s session on speculation surrounding the potential firing of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Most major currencies are down between 1 and 1.5 percent against the greenback this week as the world’s most central currency enjoys a technical recovery...

• Market jolt. Reports & denials about whether Chair Powell may be removed generated a burst of volatility. On net, US equities rose & USD weakened.• Fed changes. Fed Chair can’t be fired ‘without cause’. Disagreement over rates not enough. Potential change another example of US policy uncertainty.• AU jobs. Volatile Australian jobs report released today. Will it show cracks...

Bond yields and the dollar are giving back some of yesterday’s gains after US wholesale prices flatlined in June, helping assuage fears of a sharp acceleration in the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator—the core personal consumption expenditures index—when it is reported at the end of the month. The producer price index for final demand remained unchanged last month after rising 0.3 percent...

• US CPI. Uptick in US inflation has seen Fed rate cut expectations fall. USD firmer on the back of higher yields. AUD & NZD lose some ground.• US data flow. US producer prices out tonight. US import prices & retail sales due tomorrow. More signs of tariff impacts could give USD more support.• AU jobs. Australian jobs report also released tomorrow. The data has been volatile the past few months....