The USD/CNY mid point is set each business day by the PBOC. USD/CNY is then permitted to trade plus or minus 2% from this reference rate. In open money market operations, the bank injects 125bn yuan via 7-day reverse repos - On Friday the CNY was set at 94.72 against its currency basket, a drop of 0.62 from the previous Friday's 95.34 value. (Read the full story)
Asian shares rose on Monday and the dollar stood tall after a stronger-than-expected July jobs report lifted confidence in the strength of the U.S. economy - heightening expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could hike interest rates this year. July nonfarm payrolls rose by 255,000 jobs and the June increase was revised upward to 292,000, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast July payrolls would increase by 180,000. "The robust U.S. labor market data raise the chances for monetary policy normalization by the Fed, but uncertainties for the U.S. remain high as well," wrote strategists at ... (Read the full story)
A strong start to last week fizzled relatively quickly for the EURUSD. Although the pair managed to close above the 1.1200 handle during Tuesday’s session, the surge was short-lived as the next three days combined for a total loss of 170 pips. Identifying actual false breaks can be challenging. However, given the prominence of 1.1200 since the middle of last year, I’m inclined to believe that Tuesday’s price action was indeed a false move above resistance. Also, false breaks are often followed by a sharp move in the opposite direction, which fits the description of the final 72 hours of last week. But even if that’s true, we still need to ... (Read the full story)
Low consumer-price inflation and a resurgent New Zealand dollar will make Thursday's Official Cash Rate (OCR) decision a no-brainer for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), but Governor Graeme Wheeler will need to do more than just cut the cash rate to send the right signals to markets on Thursday. A 25 basis points rate cut to the OCR has already been fully priced in by markets, with the RBNZ's economic update on July 21 all but confirming more easing is needed to get inflation back on track and contain the New Zealand dollar. So, on Thursday, the benchmark cash rate will almost certainly be cut to a new record-low 2.0%, but ... (Read the full story)
There's been no shortage of high-profile hacks over the last few years — think Target, Sony and Ashley Madison — but one sector that hasn't made as much news for breaches is financial. According to the Identify Theft Resource Center, out of the 781 data breaches tracked in the United States in 2015, just 71 were banking-related. While that may be welcome news to the millions of people who use financial websites and apps, that number is rising, jumping by about 50 percent from the year before. And with more people using everything from personal finance applications and robo-advisor sites to fraud-detection programs and mobile wallet ... (Read the full story)
