Links to follow today ….
Central banks, China. A pension deficit and looming debt crisis driven by a rapidly greying population. That’s the nightmare scenario for Chinese authorities, including the nation’s central bank, who are increasingly worried about the financial implications of the country’s demographic challenges. China population: what’s driving central bank concern about the nation’s ageing workforce? | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)
Central banks, CBDCs. The proposed authoritarian evolution of centrally issued digital currencies takes the world closer to dystopia. Central Bank Digital Currencies And The Orwellian New World Order | Nasdaq
Central banks, bitcoin. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz said Thursday the surge in cryptocurrencies is serving as a referendum on the perceived ability of the Federal Reserve to manage risks facing the world’s largest economy and suggested people continue to buy into bitcoin. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz says the record-breaking rally in crypto shows a lack of faith in the Fed – and cites central-bank uncertainty as a reason for bitcoin’s latest surge (msn.com)
Central banks, Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada sent out a warning to investors this week that inflation still matters. In a surprise move, it accelerated the timetable for a possible interest-rate increase and began paring back its bond purchases on Wednesday. That made Canada the first major economy to signal its intent to reduce emergency levels of monetary stimulus. Inflation Forces the Bank of Canada’s Hand Ahead of Fed and ECB (msn.com)
As we enter a new week, the rates to start your day ….
As of 11:30 am EST, Bloomberg reports that the yield on the three-month Treasury note closed at 0.02% last Friday while the two-year note closed at 0.16%. The ten-year and thirty-year Treasurys closed Friday at 1.56% and 2.23%, respectively.
The Federal Funds rate, the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight in support of their reserve requirements, is at .07%, while the Fed Funds target rate is still at .25%. The prime lending rate is 3.25%.
Exchange rates of interest as of 5:30 pm EST….
| Currency Pairs | Rates as of 5:30 pm EST 25 April 2021 |
| EUR/USD | 1.1890 |
| GBP/USD | 1.3718 |
| USD/CAD | 1.2568 |
| AUD/USD | 0.7625 |
| USD/JPY | 108.0210 |
| USD/NOK | 8.5402 |
| USD/CHF | 0.9417 |
| USD/SEK | 8.7274 |
| USD/MEX | 20.5078 |
Alton Drew, Consiglieri 