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PRESS RELEASE


Two Days After the Fed Raises Interest Rates Dec. 16, the Crash Speeds Up

Dec. 18, 2015 (EIRNS)—Over only two days since the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate rise on Dec. 16, the following have happened:

  • The Dow-Jones average has dropped 500 points;

  • U.S. Treasury long-term rates have dropped sharply, as in "flight to safety";

  • High-yield markets have dropped sharply, with energy high-yield spreads now at 1,450; i.e., you need $1,450 up front to insure a $10,000 bond on these markets;

  • The Bank of Japan announced a new Quantitative Easing aimed at the stock market on Thursday, and the Tokyo stock market futures zoomed way up; they then dropped by 1,000 points Friday, for a final loss of 400 points;

  • The Canadian dollar fell to 1.4 to the U.S. dollar, the lowest since 2003;

  • The Kansas City Fed’s industrial index for December came out at -9, with orders, employment, shipments, and prices all deeply negative. This makes for a contraction in this index every month in 2015 except November;

  • Moody’s dropped Glencore’s rating to Baaa3, the last step above junk and insolvency, with a continued negative outlook.

  • The oil price dropped below $35 a barrel for WTI crude.

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