After eight consecutive weeks of gains the MSCI Asia Pacific Index is roughly stable (-0,1%) in early Japanese afternoon. After Friday's progress, linked to the excellent press release on the American job market, concerns are shifting to the consequences of the new-found health of the American economy. Consequences that lie in a more prompt normalization of interest rates: Goldman Sachs has anticipated the first rise in key rates to the third quarter of 2015.
The Chinese central bank tries to protect the 7,5% growth target and in doing so takes measures that look more like fiscal policy than monetary policy; ultimately, however, these measures – such as 100 billion yuan for loans to agriculture and SMEs, and 300 billion for the construction of public housing – are not much different from measures for bailouts, asset purchases and bank-intermediated loans implemented by the Fed and the ECB.
Forecasts of a less distant rise in US rates strengthened the dollar, which stands at 1,358 against the euro and 102,1 against the yen. Gold also fell to 1317 $/ounce and oil is stable at Friday's levels, just below 104 $/b. Stable futures on Wall Street, which reopens tomorrow after a three-day weekend.
