Archive for June, 2010
« Previous Entries Next Entries »What Is Biflation?
Thursday, June 17th, 2010One of the economic terms du jour is biflation, which is a condition marked by both simultaneous inflation and deflation. This is becoming more and more significant as central banks around the globe grapple with how to set policy. Today’s US CPI figure is a perfect example of this. The US Consumer Price Index showed [...]
Who’s Next?
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010Greece Forgotten, Spain Next? You knew it had to be too good to be true. The Euro had been on a multi-day climb higher and had shaken off news of the Greek credit downgrade. So the mood yesterday was that all is well and that somehow this Euro zone debt crisis was magically resolved. Not [...]
Greek Junk!
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010Yesterday, Moody’s ratings agency cut Greece’s credit rating from investment grade to junk, citing the economic risks the nation is facing. This derailed yesterday’s rally, and reversed some of the gains just as the Euro session closed. However, defenders are quick to point out that this news has already been factored in by the market [...]
Getting Better!
Monday, June 14th, 2010Global recovery appears to be gaining traction, as regions around the globe are reporting increases in economic data consistent with growth. As we’ve made it through another weekend without any European debt landmines exploding, the market is in risk-taking mode this morning. Industrial production figures in the Euro zone came in better than expected driving [...]
Consumers Disappoint!
Friday, June 11th, 2010Well so much for that. US retail sales figures disappointed this morning, coming in at a loss of 1.2% vs. an expected gain of .2%. While these numbers show that economic recovery is still fragile here in the US, much of this can be attributed to the lack of hiring by businesses. In addition, this [...]
Asia Leads The Way!
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Overnight, China reported a 48.5% increase in exports showing signs that its economy is still cooking with gas. However, this figure could be a “one-off” as China’s largest trading partner, the EU, is enacting austerity measures to deal with its debt crisis. An additional sign that Pac-Rim growth may be intact is the interest rate [...]
Ban The Shorts!
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010Both France and Germany have called on the EU to ban short-selling on certain stocks and government bonds with the intention to curb speculation in the market. While I am never a fan of this type of regulation, there does need to be some sort of “fix” for the market as speculation has gotten a [...]
Big Ben Is Back!
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010Just when you started wondering where are esteemed Fed Chairman has been, Bernanke gave a speech last evening that helped buoy the markets higher. Bernanke re-affirmed that indeed recovery is intact here in the US; though moderate given the depth of the recession. These comments helped send futures higher, and encouraged risk-taking in the forex [...]
Who’s Buying?
Monday, June 7th, 2010The market starts out his morning in “relief mode” as there was no negative news related to the European debt crisis released over the weekend. The G-20 met over the weekend to discuss global economic challenges going forward and appear to be divided over what is the best course of action to resume growth. The [...]
Jobs Disappoint!
Friday, June 4th, 2010US Non-Farm Payrolls came in at a less than expected 431K vs. an expectation of 520K. While this does reflect job growth from last month’s gain of 220K, the number is disappointing as census workers were included in this reading. This shows that job growth in the private sector is not happening as quickly as [...]
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