Archive for January, 2010
« Previous EntriesFastest Growth since 2003!
Friday, January 29th, 2010This morning, the US Q4 GDP figures came in at a better than expected 5.7%, the fastest growth since 2003. While this is seemingly good news for the US economy as it marks the 2nd straight quarter of growth providing further evidence that we moved forward from recession.
However, we’re not out of the […]
Its All About Jobs!
Thursday, January 28th, 2010This morning, it looks like risk appetite has returned to the forex market after yesterday’s FOMC meeting has been fully digested. The only thing “unexpected” from the meeting was that the decision was not unanimous, as KC Fed Chief Thomas Hoenig dissented and raised concerns about possible inflation. While this view will most […]
FOMC Day Fun!
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
This morning, the broader currency markets are trading in a slight range, with the Japanese yen (JPY) and the British pound (GBP) showing gains against the US dollar. There is a mild risk-aversion theme this morning as all eyes are on the US FOMC policy meeting today at 2:15 EST.
As far as news-worthy currency […]
UK GDP Misses Estimates!
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010UK GDP came in this morning at a less than expected .1%, missing analyst expectations of .4%. However, the good news is that their economy did indeed expand, officially removing the “recession” tag from their economy. Now the question remains what happens from here.
Will policy makers see this growth as a sign that the economy […]
Busy Week Ahead!
Monday, January 25th, 2010Rumors abounded last week that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was losing political support for re-confirmation and there was some speculation that he might not get the “nod’. Combine that with president Obama’s populist rhetoric and the markets sold off because of the uncertainty. The one thing I cannot stress enough is that THE MARKETS HATE […]
Obama Spooks the Markets!
Friday, January 22nd, 2010In what can only be described as adding insult to injury, President Obama announced yesterday his plan for regulating the too-big-to-fail banks and bring back some provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act. Now don’t get me wrong, I think these banks should be reigned in and be subject to stricter regulation, but man, his timing couldn’t […]
US Jobless Claims Rise!
Thursday, January 21st, 2010I don’t know why I even bother to express surprise anymore when every economic figure that comes out is “unexpected”. Trying to peg certain figures by using analyst expectations can be a fool’s folly. Let’s take today’s US Jobless claims figures which showed a rise of 36K more claims, as opposed to the analyst expectation […]
Chinese Growth Unstoppable?
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Wow. Chinese GDP has reportedly come in with a 10.7% increase for last QUARTER. This is the highest percent gain in China since 2007, when they were operating in overdrive to prepare for the Beijing Olympics! To put this in perspective, there are still countries out there reporting negative GDP growth!
If this number is for […]
Canada CPI, Risk Aversion Rule!
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010This morning, Canada reported its CPI number which came in at -.3% for December and the year over year number at 1.3%, both of which were less than expected. This is significant because the CPI is a measure of inflation, and this number is much less than the Bank of Canada’s inflation target of 2%.
What […]
More Problems for the Euro!
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010The Euro (EUR) is down again today against the US dollar (USD) and looks ready to test support at 1.42. The problems in Greece may have a carry-over effect which will diminish the Euro as a viable alternative to the US dollar.
The problem in the Euro Zone is two-fold: either the other Euro nations come […]