The JPY is the strongest and the AUD is the weakest as the NA session begins.

The JPY is the strongest and the AUD is the weakest as the NA session begins. The USD, which was down with the JPY to start the trading week on Monday, is also mostly higher today despite another fall in rates today. The US yields are down 6-8 basis points in early trading.

Economically overnight, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) Core CPI y/y increased to 2.9%, exceeding the 2.6% forecast and the previous 2.7%. That will make the BOJ meeting later in the week more interesting, and is helping the JPY move higher (it is the strongest). Switzerland's trade balance reached 4.53B, surpassing the 4.20B forecast and the previous 3.14B. The UK's public sector net borrowing was 20.7B, slightly above the 20.5B forecast, but significantly higher than the previous 12.5B.

BOE's MPC member Broadbent spoke and acknowledges the BOE's policy approach has been suboptimal as inflation remains in double digits. The central bank Central bank A central bank is a financial institution that manages a country's monetary policy, and that often also includes issuing and/or monitoring the currency and regulating the money supply. Central banks also typically act as a lender of last resort to banks in times of financial crisis, and may also supervise and regulate banks and other financial institutions. Examples of central banks include the Federal Reserve in the United States, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan.The chief task A central bank is a financial institution that manages a country's monetary policy, and that often also includes issuing and/or monitoring the currency and regulating the money supply. Central banks also typically act as a lender of last resort to banks in times of financial crisis, and may also supervise and regulate banks and other financial institutions. Examples of central banks include the Federal Reserve in the United States, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan.The chief task Read this Term faces the challenge of balancing high inflation against a cost-of-living crisis and a potential economic downturn. Broadbent suggests that raising rates six months earlier might have only reduced peak inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Read this Term by 0.5%. In the UK today the CBI Industrial Order Expectations remained at -20, in line with the previous figure and slightly better than the -21 forecast.

Concerns about banking is starting to resurface. First Republic Bank's shares dropped over 20% following $100 billion in customer withdrawals last month, amid concerns over the banking sector crisis sparked by Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. Recall, a rescue deal was engineered, with 11 banks placing $30B in deposits in First Republic, stabilizing its deposit base. The bank plans to cut 20-25% of its workforce in Q2 and withdraw its financial guidance. Meanwhile, over in Switzerland, UBS reported a $28B increase in net new money at its wealth management division, with $7B coming after its government-brokered acquisition of Credit Suisse. UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti acknowledged challenging economic conditions, as UBS's net profit fell by 52% in Q1 due to provisions related to litigation surrounding US residential mortgage-backed securities.

U.S. stock markets are expected to open lower on Tuesday, with investors awaiting results from major big cap companies including Microsoft, Alphabet (after the close), and Amazon (on Thursday). Meta, Intel, Caterpillar and Merck will also report later this week. Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are all trading lower, indicating a weak opening. Earnings from these big tech firms could serve as a test to validate their stock price increases amidst concerns over an economic slowdown.

This morning results showed:

• McDonalds beat on the top and bottom lines as they benefitted from raising prices and positive traffic growth (stock up 1%).
• Raytheon beat as well. Stock is up 1.8% in premarket.
• Verizon (-0.81%) earnings were mixed with revenues light of expectations.
• GM (stock up 3%)beat on top and bottom lines and raised fiscal year EPS views to $6.35-$7.35 vs $6-$7.
• GE topped estimates and the stock is up 2.8% in premarket trading.
• UPS (down -4.4%) as they missed on the top and bottom lines.
• 3M beat on the top and bottom lines (up 0.89%).
• Pepsi shares are up 1.75% after in beat on the top and bottom lines.

Oil prices steadied with expectations of increased demand from China during the May Day holiday, but concerns about by potential Western interest rate hikes and OPEC+ supply cuts. U.S. crude futures traded slightly lower.

A snapshot of markets currently shows:

• Spot gold is down -$11.32 or -0.56% at $1977.50.
• Spot silver is down -$0.60 or -2.46% $24.51
• WTI crude oil is down $0.70 at $78.05
• Bitcoin is trading at $27,388 as trading remains in a fairly narrow trading range. The low reached $27,197. The I was at $27,587

in the premarket for US stocks, major indices are lower after mixed results yesterday:

• Dow Industrial Average is down -101.40 points after yesterday's 66.44 point rise
• S&P index is down -17.75 points after yesterday's 3.52 point rise
• NASDAQ index is down -46 points after yesterday's -35.25 point decline

in the European equity markets, major indices are also lower:

• German DAX -0.02%
• Frances -0.59%
• UK's FTSE 100 -0.18%
• Spain's Ibex -1.21%

Italy is on holiday today

In Asia, the the Shanghai Composite Index fell -0.8% to 3,264.87 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose less than 0.1% to 28,620.07. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank -1.9% to 19,578.20.

In the US at that market, yields are lower across the board:

• 2 year yield 4.065% -7.9 basis points
• 5 year yield 3.525% -8.0 basis points
• 10 year yield 3.450% -6.5 basis points
• 30 year yield 3.680% -5.0 basis points

in the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are also lower: