Are US equities about to get a boost from a surprising source?
The Bank of Israel this month joined the Swiss National Bank and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in investing in US stocks, initially setting aside 2 per cent of its $77bn reserves stockpile into share indices.
However, even though the amount could eventually climb to 10 per cent of its reserves, this hardly the sort of news that will move a market as big as US equities, for which $7.7 billion is small change.
But if other central banks, which collectively manage $10.7trn-worth of reserves, follow suit, then the impact could be significant. Read more
Large Chinese lenders will need to keep a fifth of their deposits with the central bank from March 25, after the People’s Bank of China announced an increase in reserve requirements. Individual banks that are lending too much might be targeted with further specific measures. Small-medium banks are probably now required to hold 16.5 per cent of loans, though, as ever, this is unclear from the Bank’s statement.
Domestic inflation seems a much likelier explanation for the recent appreciation of the yuan than American pressure. Many commentators have referred to the Chinese “bowing to pressure” or otherwise implied that the authorities have – without apparent trigger – capitulated to Western pressure. A quick look at the timing suggests otherwise. China is in the middle of a tightening extravaganza, raising interest rates and reserve requirements to tackle inflation. A strengthening yuan can have exactly the same effect, by making imports cheaper. Timing is only circumstantial evidence, of course, but it is something. 
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Chris Giles
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