Now that the new president has taken office, investors will be waiting eagerly to see what his economic agenda will be. The currency markets want to know whether the new administration will genuinely continue to support the strong dollar policy of the previous administration. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill departed from his prepared confirmation hearing text to say at the opening: "I should say at the very outset, I am in favor of a strong dollar" in order to deflect uncertainties that were rife in the market.

The minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meeting on January 10 and 11 will be released. (There is only a two week time lag between meeting and release of minutes.) With manufacturing still weak primarily because of the strong pound sterling, it will be interesting to see how the vote went. Several of the Bank of England's key policy making indicators were released last week. The bottom line here is that the Bank of England has scope to cut interest rates in the coming months. (See indicator scoreboard above.)

Also on this week's agenda is the Bank of Canada's decision on interest rates. In an effort to separate Canadian monetary policy from that of the United States, the Bank has begun issuing, on a fixed schedule, their interest rate decision along with their take on the Canadian economy. The Canadian and the Fed policy making interest rates are currently the same - 6 percent. Market players will be looking for signs that Canada has caught cold from the United States, its largest trading partner.

Introduction   •   Global Stock Market Indexes   •   Recap of Global Markets   •   Currencies   •  Indicator Scoreboard

The Bottom Line   •   Looking Ahead