« Less Money Needed! | Home | Dependence Day? »
Chinese Slowdown To Derail Recovery?
By Mike Conlon | July 1, 2010
Overnight, manufacturing growth slowed in China more than expected as the Chinese look to curtail inflation and their housing market. While the market views this as negative, China has been expanding at a break-neck pace and my opinion that slower, more sustainable growth should be welcome.
However, this spotlights the reduction in world demand as economies pare back to combat deficits and economic uncertainty and lack of confidence is causing consumers to reduce consumption.
In the UK, industrial production figures show a slight drop from the previous month, however in Japan, the Tankan manufacturing confidence figures fell less than expected.
Retail sales figures were lower in both Australia and Germany, though German manufacturing numbers were in line with expectations.
In the Euro zone, a successful bond auction from Spain countered yesterday’s news that Moody’s ratings agency was putting Spain’s AAA credit rating under review.
And lastly, in the US, initial jobless claims came in higher than expected, showing 472K vs. an expectation of 460K. This does not bode well for tomorrow’s Non Farm Payrolls report, though it could be setting us up for a surprise to the upside.
So this morning we are seeing US dollar weakness, and Euro and Yen strength.
In the forex market:
Aussie (AUD): The Aussie is lower this morning as retail sales figures and building permits declined giving investors’ reason to believe that Australia may be finished with rate hikes for the rest of the year.
Kiwi (NZD): The Kiwi is lower this morning as the global slowdown and the news out of China is putting pressure on the currency.
Loonie (CAD): The Loonie is lower as oil is down, but it is trading higher vs. the Dollar. Yesterday’s GDP figures caused selling in the Loonie and today Dollar weakness is paring some of those losses.
Euro (EUR): The Euro is higher across the board as a successful bond auction in Spain is giving the market confidence that the banking situation may not be as bad as expected. In about three weeks’ time, the results of the bank stress tests will be in and that will show the true health of Euro zone banks.
Pound (GBP): The pound is mixed this morning, trading back over 1.50 vs. USD despite the fact that manufacturing figures came in slightly lower than last month but in line with expectations. At this point, there is more confidence in the measures the UK is taking with regard to its finances than what is happening in the US, and this is reflected in recent Pound strength vs. the Dollar.
Dollar (USD): The Dollar is lower across the board as jobless claims came in higher than expected showing that the employment picture is not getting better. In addition, uncertainty over the financial regulation bill is causing trepidation, but overall the economy is still moving forward despite the employment picture. According to Alan Greenspan, our former Fed chief, this is a “normal slowdown” within the greater context of recovery.
Yen (JPY): The Yen is showing strength this morning though giving back some earlier gains. The Nikkei was down 2% last night, providing the Yen with a bid. The Chinese slowdown as caused the un-wind of carry trades, and the Yen is trading at a 6-month high vs. the Dollar.
As I mentioned yesterday, the only thing that matters here in the US is jobs. The employment picture is not improving and tomorrow’s Non Farm Payrolls report had better be decent or we could see a sell-off going into the long 4th of July holiday weekend.
I hate to continue to harp on policy here in the US, but there is a distinct divide in the economy. To put it bluntly, you have those that receive government hand-outs and those that eventually pay for it. One group is productive, the other isn’t.
Congressional plans to extend unemployment benefits are one such problem. While I feel badly for those unable to find work, at some point you have to lower your expectations and regroup. Because unemployment benefits are essentially equal to minimum wage, there is a disincentive to get off of the couch and work.
In addition, the financial regulation bill (which in my opinion is absolutely needed), has missed the mark. Two major problems that caused the financial mess have gone largely untouched (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).
Instead we’re going to get a bunch of rules and a business climate that is deemed unfriendly to business, which will help perpetuate the cycle of unemployment. Add future tax hikes to the mix and you can see where this is going. When it comes time for investors to decide where to invest their money, are they going to choose countries that are making an effort to return to fiscal responsibility, or the country with a blatant disregard for it?
I know what I would do. Hopefully, you do too!
To learn more about how you can take advantage of world events through the currency market, be sure to check out our currency trading courses!
To follow these events live with a free, real-time practice account, click here! Don’t miss out on the world’s fastest growing market!
Tags: account, AUD, Aussie, Australia, bank, cad, carr, carry trade, China, course, currenc, currency, currency market, currency trading, dollar, dow, economic, economy, EUR, Euro, fed, financial, forex, forex market, free, fx, fxedu, gbp, holiday, housing market, Il, invest, investor, Japan, jpy, Kiwi, live, loonie, lower, mie, Mike Conlon, money, news, nzd, oil, payrolls, pound, practice, practice account, rate, retail sales, setting, spot, ssi, time, trade, trades, unemployment, USD, Yen
Topics: What To Look At In The Market | No Comments »