Tom Hanna's Lifestream

Commentary and Overnight TradingThe Bank of Japan returned to a near Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) that it had only abandoned in the last couple of years, after the Fed's ZIRP announcement Tuesday, and announced that it will buy corporate debt to inject money into businesses. The European Central Bank announced it was cutting interest it pays on deposits in the hope of spurring banks to loan to each other rather than deposit excess reserves. Central banks and governments worldwide are matching the US Federal Reserve move for move in easing monetary policy, which should help support the dollar. On the other hand, with increasing good signs in credit markets and liquidations wringing some of the riskiest excesses from financial markets, investors are not flocking to the dollar as a stable haven. The flight to quality is reversing - bad news for US citizens traveling overseas, but good news for US exporters.Asian stocks are down in early overnight trading (1:30 AM Eastern) driven partly by drops in commodity stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.96%, while the Hang Seng and Nikkei are each down less than 1%. US stock market futures are down less than 1% as well. Crude oil has recovered 0.6% after dropping nearly 10% Thursday. The dollar is down against many currencies, including the yen, euro and pound, but is up against the Canadian dollar and several Asian currencies. ;Thursday's Economic NewsMortgage rates below 5%The Mortgage Bankers Association and Freddie Mac both reported goodnews for those needing to refinance mortgages and those with resettingARMs with the MBAA reporting an average 15-year Fixed Rate Mortgage(FRM) rate below 5% and Freddie Mac reporting a 1-year ARM rate below5% and 15-year FRM rates below 5%. Even 30-year FRM rates are flirtingwith 5% according to both reports.Jobless Claims - December 18, 2008 Initial Claims: 554,000 Change from Last Week: Down 21,000 4-Week Moving Average: 543,750Money Supply - December 18, 2008 M1 Seasonally Adjusted Prior Month: $1525.0 billion M1 Annual Change (Unadjusted): Up $160 billionLeading Index (US) - November 2008 Leading Index: Down 0.4% Coincident Index: Down 0.3% Lagging Index: Up 0.1%What I'm ReadingBank of Japan Cuts Interest RateThe Bank of Japan became the latest central bank to cut rates to rock-bottom levels, reducing the benchmark rate to 0.1%.ECB Moves to Foster Interbank LendingThe ECB widened its interest-rate corridor and cut the return it givesbanks for holding cash with it as it seeks to prod interbank moneymarkets back to normality.RBS slashes China '09 GDP growth forecast to 5 pct  BEIJING, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland on Fridayslashed its forecast for China's 2009 gross domestic productgrowth to 5 percent, from 8 percent, warning about the potentialfor increasing social tensions as the economy falters.Mexico to cut import tariffs to support industryBank of Japan Cuts Benchmark Rate to 0.1%, to Start Buying Corporate Debt The Bank of Japan cut its benchmarkinterest rate to 0.1 percent and said it would buy corporatedebt as a deepening recession chokes off funding for businesses. ECB's Trichet Says Deposit-Rate Cut May Help Revive Money-Market Lending European Central Bank PresidentJean-Claude Trichet said financial companies may begin lendingmore to each other after policy makers made it less attractiveto turn to them for support. Japan Says Economy Won't Grow in Fiscal 2009 as Global Recession Deepens Japan’s government slashed itseconomic growth forecast for next fiscal year as the global slowdown prompts companies to cut business investment. U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Index Falls 0.4% as Outlook Deteriorates A gauge of the economy’s futureperformance posted its biggest annual drop since 1991 in Novemberas the declines in housing and job markets accelerated, showinglittle sign the U.S. contraction will ease in early 2009. Paulson May Ask Congress to Release Next $350 Billion in Bank-Rescue Funds Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson mayask Congress for the second half of the $700 billion bank rescueprogram, concerned that the deepening recession may sparkfurther financial turmoil. Harvard Economist Feldstein Says Recovery Won't Start for Another Year The U.S. economy likely won’t startrecovering from a recession for at least another year, makingthis the longest downturn since the 1930s, said HarvardUniversity economist Martin Feldstein, a member of thecommittee that charts American business cycles. Greenspan Says Financial Markets Are Likely to Rebound in 6 to 12 Months Financial markets, which have beendepressed by “fear” not seen since at least the 1930s, arelikely to rebound in the next six to 12 months, former FederalReserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in a commentary publishedby The Economist online. Philippines Posts Third Straight Monthly Budget Deficit on State Spending The Philippine government posted itsthird straight monthly budget deficit in November as it boostedspending to counter the global recession. World Economy to Contract for First Time in Almost 50 Years, Bankers Say The world economy will contract nextyear for the first time in almost 50 years, as industrialnations are wracked by recession, and growth in emerging marketsis cut almost in half, a banking industry group said. Thanks for reading. This content is originally from EconoIndicators or The Economic Indicators Blogger blog. Click through for more.