Archive for September, 2010
« Previous EntriesA Tale of Two Europes!
Thursday, September 30th, 2010The dichotomy between the PIIGS countries and Germany and France is striking, as the former bloc is struggling with soaring deficits, and the latter two countries are thriving. Today’s news from the region is indicative of these differences. First the good: the German Jobless rate fell to the lowest levels since 1992 as exports picked [...]
Get Used To Slower Growth!
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010It is no great secret that economies around the globe are slowing. Those countries with heavy debt burdens have been challenged to find growth, while emerging economies and export-driven countries continue to thrive. Such is life in the global marketplace. Overnight, the Japanese Tankan Sentiment survey rose the least in nearly 18 months as manufacturers [...]
More Debt Concerns?
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010Once again, Euro zone debt concerns have rattled the markets as Moody’s rating service has downgraded its rating on Anglo Irish Bank and speculation is that Spain or Portugal may be next. So yields on Irish debt have risen, which in turn have made the bonds more attractive to European Central Banks who snapped up [...]
Focus On Franc!
Monday, September 27th, 2010Here is Abe Cofnas’ weekly outlook for the Swiss franc: With the recent very bearish news on the US Dollar Index, it’s a good opportunity to see if there is a contrarian move shaping up. I think there is. First look at the US Dollar Index and the USDCHF charts. They are very much co-movers [...]
Japan Does It Again!
Friday, September 24th, 2010Earlier this morning, the Bank of Japan again intervened in the currency, selling Yen which caused it to weaken. As I mentioned yesterday, the market may have been trying to test the BOJ as most of the country is away from business on holiday. In the Euro zone, German business confidence came in better than [...]
Data Still Weak!
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010This morning, various data has sent the markets lower and into risk aversion mode as economic uncertainty still abounds. However, we are bouncing off of earlier lows as the sessions are shortened by the Autumnal Equinox holiday in Asia which has many markets closed. Last evening, GDP figures in New Zealand came in worse than [...]
Yen Tactics!
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} THE USDJPY IN A SIDEWAYS PATTERN RESULTING IN 3 CLEAR STRATEGIES By Abe Cofnas Last week’s Bank of Japan intervention in the Yen was quite a sensational technical and fundamental event. It moved the USD/JPY 3 Yen and altered the shape of the sentiment towards the [...]
Housing Surprise!
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010This morning, US Housing starts increased 10.5% vs. an expectation of a .7% increase, handily beating estimates and posting the largest gains in nearly 4 months. While this is a good start to the morning and further encouraging risk appetite, one data point does not a trend make. This comes ahead of the FOMC meeting [...]
No Lipstick For This PIIG!
Monday, September 20th, 2010Yesterday, the Irish Finance Minister came out and said that Ireland would not need to access the EU emergency fund to bail out its banking system, allowing yield spreads to decrease as confidence came back to the market. European stocks are higher to start the morning, following overnight gains from the Asian equity markets. The [...]
East Vs. West!
Friday, September 17th, 2010This morning, both the US and the Euro zone reported less than expected CPI and PPI data respectively, showing that while inflation is positive is still underwhelming the market. It is apparent that all of the accommodative monetary policy around the globe is not causing runaway price increases, and may be setting up for a [...]
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