Gold Silver Reports — The dollar’s best month in more than a year faces one last barrier: Janet Yellen speaks on Friday and any hint that interest-rate hikes will be delayed could spur a reversal for the greenback.
Economic
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Fed Signals Higher Rates
Gold Silver Reports — Gold fell for a fifth day, the longest run of losses in six months, as speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as next month strengthened the dollar and dented the metal’s allure.
Fed Rate Moves to Block Out
Gold Silver Reports — The U.S. economy should be solid enough to merit an interest-rate increase this year, and the central bank won’t cave to political pressure to refrain from tightening during a presidential election year, said John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Calls for Everyone’s Favorite Standard Are Back; Make America Gold Again
Gold Silver Reports — The gold standard is one of the oldest ideas about money, but the hardest of hard-money hawks sense an opening to breathe new life into it. Decades ago, the amount of cash circulating in a country was often limited by the stash of bullion held in its coffers.
Especially since 2008, developed-world policy has headed in the exact opposite direction, expanding the powers of central banks to stoke growth. Helicopter drops of money, potentially the next new thing, would be a giant leap further.
Inflation Weakness Helped Spur Rate Cut
Gold Silver Reports — A “broad-based” weakening of inflation pressures helped persuade Australia’s central bank that the economy would be assisted by an interest-rate cut even as the growth outlook remained steady. Central bank considered waiting for more data in May decision.
While Reserve Bank of Australia board members considered holding the cash rate unchanged so they could await more information, policy makers on May 3 opted to cut the benchmark by a quarter point to 1.75 %, according to the minutes of its latest policy meeting.
Central Bank Owners in Revolt Over $140 Payout
Gold Silver Reports – In the wake of World War I, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk set out to create a central bank that would steer his new Turkish Republic through the wreckage of the Ottoman Empire and end its dependence on London and Paris. He implored people to invest and thousands did, many with their life savings.
It was a great bet, at least on paper — the bank is now the most profitable joint-stock company in Turkey, earning $5.6 billion last year alone. But the Treasury took the lion’s share, leaving the 6,000 or so individuals who own a combined 14 percent stake just $140 to divvy up.
Better Data on New Economy; China’s Statistics
Gold Silver Reports — The new head of China’s statistics bureau last month visited a Beijing district that’s home to some of the biggest technology companies to deliver the message that his agency must improve tracking of the new economy “as soon as possible.”
Ning Jizhe said in a meeting with Beijing’s mayor and top Communist Party official that it’s challenging to accurately track new industries and business models, according to an article published by his agency, the National Bureau of Statistics. Officials haven’t created systematic ways to collect and classify data on the new economy, said Ning, a close adviser to Premier Li Keqiang who was named to the position in February.
China’s Biggest Banks Stand Exposed
Gold Silver Reports — China’s biggest banks stand exposed to their 1st annual profit declines in more than a decade.
China Stocks Zoom Signs of Growth Pickup
Gold Silver Reports — China’s stocks closed at a three-month high, led by technology companies, on signs of a recovery in the world’s 2nd-largest economy.
Dollar Slump Buys Crude Oil, Gold
Gold Silver Reports — U.S. equities fell, erasing gains as what is forecast to be the worst American earnings season since the financial crisis gets under way. The dollar tumbled to a nine-month low, boosting commodity prices.