Why do Hong Kong's interest rates follow the Fed?
The Fed moved on Wednesday and Hong Kong's official rate followed within hours, by formula. The rates people borrow at answer to the peg on a slower clock.
🌏 Japan raised rates to 1.25% the day its core inflation slowed to 1.7%
Two of nine board members voted no, citing prices under 2%. The statistics bureau's own footnote shows how much the energy measures took off.
🌏 Hong Kong's base rate rose to 4.25% by formula. HSBC's rate did not
The Fed moved at 3 am Seoul time and Hong Kong's official rate followed by formula within hours. The rates people borrow at are another matter.
🌏 Japan bought 3.6% more crude and paid 58.7% more for it
Japan's August trade gap hit ¥1.11 trillion. Read the crude line twice: once as barrels, once as yen, and the price shows up in the space between.
🌏 KOSPI −3.26% on an AI essay, and why 3:30 is still the close
Seoul fell hardest on a weekend call to slow AI, Tokyo's broad index rose, and Korea's new evening session left the meaning of the close untouched.
Why do the Nikkei and the TOPIX move differently on the same day?
On Monday the Nikkei rose 2.12% and the TOPIX 0.55%, same market, same session. The difference is the weighting rule, and it is worth understanding.
🌏 Nikkei −1.93% — the week's close, and Japan's import bill in two currencies
Friday's closes, the week's moves, and a Japanese import bill that reads one way in yen and another in the currency the deals were written in.
🌏 Japan's rate is 1.0%. The rate it is judged against is a range
A Bank of Japan board member set today's 1.0% policy rate against a neutral range of 1.1% to 2.5%, and said why the second one cannot be a number.
🌏 China's factories charged 3.8% more, its shoppers paid 0.8%
China's factory gate rose 3.8% in August, consumer prices 0.8%. The gap sits upstream, in mining and energy. Seoul closed above 7,000 after 33 sessions.
🌏 Japan grew faster than first thought, and the Nikkei fell 1.7%
Tokyo's index sank 1.7% on a better growth number, because the yen jumped. Seoul touched 7,171.52 before lunch and closed 0.58% lower.
Is the won weak, or is the dollar strong?
Separate the won's own move from the dollar's with the broad dollar index, the Seoul close and the ECB reference fix.
Recession watch: the curve and the claims
The two US series with the best record — the yield curve and jobless claims — with the whole Treasury curve and the BLS payrolls print beside them.