Coming up in Asia-Pacific trade: RBNZ decision, Japan trade data Big decision for the RBNZ The covid cases in Auckland have thrown a major wrench into the RBNZ's plans to hike rates today. A day ago a 25 bps hike was a sure thing and there was a 20% chance of a 50 bps hike in the OIS market.
US left too quickly, says Afghan bank governor The Afghan central bank governor, Ajmal Ahmady, tells the BBC he thinks country's economic situation will deteriorate.
This week's data will be key to evaluate whether US covid cases are rolling over Monday's data wasn't pretty The US reported 252,369 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the highest number since January and one of the 10 worst readings ever. The big caveat is that many states don't report data on weekends, so some of the numbers are for three days rather than one.
Forexlive America's FX news wrap: US retail sales disappoint but dollar rises anyway Forex news for North American trading on August 16, 2021 the US retail sales came in weaker than expected at -1.1% versus expectations of-0.2%. The core measure also was weaker than expected at -0.4% versus +0.2% estimate.
RBNZ says it will hold meeting as planned. New Zealand covid cases up to 5 RBNZ decision will be at 0200 GMT About two hours ago, New Zealand revealed that there are now 5 active covid cases in the country. The good news is that all 5 are related to the original case.
Biden approval level falls 7 points to lowest level of his presidency Approval data from Reuters/IPSOS Biden's approval rating is down to 46% from 53% after the Afghanistan pullout, according to Reuters/IPSOS. That's the lowest since he took office.
Weekly US oil private inventories show draws in oil and gasoline The expectation is for tomorrow's official data Crude prices fell about 20-cents on the headlines but this is a small miss at worst. That might be a hint at how fragile oil bulls are right now given the delta concerns.
More from Kashkari: End of this year or early next year are reasonable timelines for taper More from the Minneapolis Fed Given today's retail sales data and last week's consumer confidence numbers, I think the hawks are going to have a hard time getting a Sept taper announcement.
NIH Head’s Shocking Innumeracy I think traditionally people kind of considered, well, you know, kids aren’t going to get that sick with this. It [sic] more than 400 children have died of COVID-19.
Home Depot Punished Worker for Black Lives Matter Logo, Labor Board Says A former employee said Home Depot told him to stop wearing a Black Lives Matter logo or quit, according to a National Labor Relations Board complaint.Mourners in Home Depot aprons waited at a church in Houston last year to view the casket of George Floyd, whose death sparked nationwide protests against racial inequality.
Private oil inventory data coming up at the bottom of the hour WTI struggled again today Oil was higher early in trading today but eventually succumbed to worries about global demand after the covid case in Auckland and weak US retail sales.
Fed's Kashkari: I believe these will be short-lived high inflation readings Comments from the Minneapolis Fed President If you like maximum hand-wringing, wouldn't Kashkari for Fed Chair be interesting?
Major indices close lower but it could've been worse No new records today The final numbers are showing:
British Pound Technical Analysis: GBP/AUD, GBP/CAD, GBP/NZD Rates Sterling continues to post gains against the battered commodity currencies.
Bitcoin (BTC/USD) tests critical resistance, Ether and ADA follow Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrency wait for further motivation to move towards prior highs
US stocks off low levels as markets move toward the close No records today The US stocks are off their lows as market move toward the close. H owever, it seems certain that there won't be any new records made today in the major indices. A look at the current levels and comparing to the lows shows:
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Hedge Funds Bet Against Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation ETF A legion of retail traders helped make stock picker Cathie Wood’s flagship fund one of the hottest investments in the past year. Now, some professional investors are betting on its demise.
USD/JPY Rate Defends August Range as Fed Taper Talk Persists USD/JPY may continue to retrace the decline from the monthly high (110.80) as a growing number of Federal Reserve officials show a greater willingness to switch gears.
Palm Beach County set to declare state of emergency because of Covid Hospital bed shortage Palm Beach County has declared a state of emergency to improve a "disturbing shortage of hospital resources" for Covid 19 patients.
Home Depot 'discriminated against BLM supporter' The US DIY chain tried to stop a worker from raising issues of racial harassment with managers, a watchdog claims.
WTI crude oil futures settle at $66.59 barrel Down $0.70 or -1.04% It was an up and down day for the contract, but the contract is closing near the low for the day.