Author: FX

The Bank of Canada (BOC) kept its policy rate unchanged at 2.25% in their January decision as widely expected while acknowledging heightened uncertainty from U.S. trade restrictions. During the press conference, BOC Governor Tiff Macklem emphasized the bank remains content with current monetary policy settings, though officials stressed they are prepared to adjust if conditions change. Key Takeaways Policy rate held steady at 2.25%, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and deposit rate at 2.20% Growth outlook remains modest at 1.1% for 2026 and 1.5% for 2027, broadly unchanged from October projections Inflation expected to stay close to 2% target,…

The Federal Reserve kicked off 2026 by keeping interest rates unchanged at 3.50-3.75%, breaking a three-meeting cutting streak as policymakers signaled growing confidence that monetary policy is now close to neutral. Despite two dovish dissents from Governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller—both favoring an additional quarter-point cut—the majority of the committee upgraded their assessment of economic growth and removed previous warnings about rising employment risks. Key Takeaways The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at 3.50-3.75%, pausing after three consecutive cuts in the final months of 2025 Split vote: The decision passed 10-2, with Governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller both…

The Japanese Yen (JPY) regains some positive traction against a broadly weaker US Dollar (USD) during the Asian session on Thursday and reverses a part of the previous day’s retracement slide from a nearly three-month low. Speculation that Japanese authorities would step in to stem further weakness in the domestic currency and the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) hawkish stance turned out to be key factors underpinning the JPY. The USD, on the other hand, remains close to a four-year low, touched on Tuesday, amid bets for further policy easing by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), and exerts some downward pressure…

The Average Directional Index (ADX) is a momentum oscillator that quantifies trend strength on a scale from 0 to 100. Developed by J. Welles Wilder in 1978, it’s one of the few indicators that doesn’t care whether the market’s going up or down—it only cares how forcefully it’s moving. Here’s what makes it different: While RSI tells you if something’s overbought and MACD signals momentum shifts, ADX answers a simpler question: “Is this trend worth trading?” A reading below 20 suggests weak, choppy price action. Above 25 indicates a developing trend. Anything north of 50 signals a strong trend that…

UBS says further Fed easing, resilient growth and broadening sector support should keep U.S. equities on track for an S&P 500 move to 7,700.Summary:UBS reaffirmed its 7,700 year-end target for the S&P 500, maintaining a constructive outlook for U.S. equities.The bank expects Federal Reserve rate cuts to remain a tailwind, even as the Fed pauses its easing cycle in the near term.UBS said softening labour market conditions and contained inflation should allow further policy easing in coming months.The bank continues to favour health care stocks, despite near-term pressure from U.S. Medicare Advantage policy decisions.Cloud revenue growth and AI moving into…

Markets navigated a complex session on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a 10-2 decision, with Chair Jerome Powell signaling no imminent policy changes while defending central bank independence amid ongoing political pressures and gold surged past $5,300 per ounce for the first time on dollar weakness. Check out the forex news and economic updates you may have missed in the latest trading session! Forex News Headlines & Data: API Crude Oil Stock Change for January 23, 2026: -0.25M (3.04M previous) Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes: The minutes from the December 18–19 Monetary Policy…

Microsoft (MSFT) stock dipped 4% afterhours on Wednesday despite offering a solid beat for the fiscal second quarter of 2026. For the quarter ending in December, Microsoft earned $4.14 in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) on revenue of $81.3 billion. The EPS figure beat by $0.22, while the revenue figure rose 17% YoY and topped consensus by $1 billion.Microsoft Cloud revenue came in at $51.5 billion, up 26% YoY.Sales in Productivity & Business Processes was $34.1 billion, up 16% YoY.Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $32.9 billion, up 29% YoY, which includes the “Azure and other cloud services” segment that saw…

The US has outlined a number of demands to Iran but the NYT reports that there is no indication from Iran that they’re giving into any of them, or even willing to negotiate them.US President ⁠Donald Trump is once again threatening that the United States is ready to launch a military attack against Iran as he demands Tehran make a deal over its nuclear programmeThe NYT reports that the US and EU officials have put three demands in front of Iran1) Permanent end to all enrichment of uranium2) Limits on the range/number of ballistic missiles3) An end to all support…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said rate decisions remain firmly in the Fed’s domain and expressed hope that policymakers would keep an open mind.Key QuotesMiran’s term could continue.It is up to the Fed on rates.I hope they will have an open mind.Have not narrowed or expanded chairman candidates.I spoke with Trump on the Fed chair on Tuesday. Fed FAQs Monetary policy in the US is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising…

FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEWUSD:The US Dollar continued to weaken yesterday as the bearish momentum set by the USD/JPY intervention risk remained intact. Late in the day, we got one final spike lower as Trump kind of endorsed a weak dollar by saying that he wasn’t concerned with the decline at all.The selloff in the past days wasn’t a fundamental-driven move but a “technical” one triggered by intervention risks. In general, these moves are eventually faded. The problem for the dollar is that there’s no strong reason for it to appreciate yet. Today, we have the FOMC decision where the central bank is…