Archive for April, 2010
« Previous EntriesNot Good Enough!
Friday, April 30th, 2010US GDP figures came in this morning showing an advance of 3.2% annualized, just missing analyst expectations of 3.3%. While there is mild disappointment on the miss, GDP growth of any amount should be seen as positive at this juncture in time. Much of the advance in GDP growth came as a result of personal [...]
Markets Force Action!
Thursday, April 29th, 2010In the wake of the S&P downgrades of European debt, pressure is being applied to Germany in a call to action, politics be damned. The Euro is in real danger of structural collapse, as exploding debt and rising yields are encouraging defaults every day this continues without resolution. In the meantime, unemployment figures came in [...]
Euro Trashed!
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010I sometimes feel like a broken record when I go on and on about risk in the marketplace, but in my opinion this is the most important factor to consider. Many days worth of gains can be wiped out in one session, and that’s exactly what we saw happen yesterday. It is no great secret [...]
No Resolution!
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Hopes were dashed when the G-20 meeting ended without a resolution to the Greek crisis. While no one expected the G-20 to solve the problem, having all of these finance ministers in one place there was optimism that some good would come out of it. But alas, the drama continues, causing one analyst to claim, [...]
Inflation Looming?
Monday, April 26th, 2010There has been much debate over whether world economies are going to see inflation or deflation. I think we’ve been in a deleveraging situation where prices have contracted based on supply and demand and increased saving since the start of the financial crisis until now. With every passing day that the world financial system doesn’t [...]
It’s Official!
Friday, April 23rd, 2010Today Greece officially asked the EU and IMF to activate the aid package/bailout to help Greece meet its debt obligations. This now puts the ball in the court of the EU, in its first real test of structural stability. As a result, the Euro is actually higher coming off one-year lows, bouncing just higher off [...]
Too Much Debt!
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010Well, it turns out that that the economic situation may be worse than expected in Greece as budget deficits came in at 13.6% of GDP, higher than the forecast of 12.9%. While this is not a good number, turns out it is not even the worst in the region. Ireland’s budget deficit is at 14.3%. [...]
“Loonie” for Canada!
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010On the heels of yesterday’s interest rate policy meeting, the Loonie is seeing continued strength as the BOC set the stage for future rate hikes. The economy has been strong and while unemployment is a bit high, inflation fears are beginning to heat up as typically inflation will rise faster in Canada than in the [...]
A Traders Paradise!
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010Yes, I am speaking about the forex market! For starters, yesterday’s rebound from the fear in the market was nothing short of remarkable. Apparently the SEC voted “along party lines” to formally charge Goldman Sachs with fraud. Two thoughts on this: 1) it is beyond me why a supposedly independent watchdog agency would have “party [...]
Risk Heating Up!
Monday, April 19th, 2010This morning is marked by major risk-aversion in the forex market in an extension of Friday’s sell-off. News over the weekend has sent investors running for the safety of the US dollar and Japanese yen as carry trades are un-wound. What’s causing this fear to heat up? Well, in addition to the usual Greece rumblings [...]
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