German orders
Street Expecting Good U.S. Jobs Report
January 6, 2012
Today is U.S. jobs day, and whisper numbers are conjecturing that non-farm payroll employment may have risen as much as 200K. This optimism follows yesterday’s strong jobless claims and ADP private employment figures. There appears to be more room for a reaction to weaker-than-forecast results. In the meantime, investors have other concerns, mostly but not […] More
Intensified Worries about Portugal, Ireland and Spain
July 6, 2011
Just when the peripheral debt crisis in Europe appeared to be ebbing, a downgrade by Moody’s of Portuguese sovereign debt to junk status (Ba2) has stirred that pot of fear anew. Peripheral bond spreads versus Germany have widened, and the euro is lower. Another usual victim of risk aversion, commodity-sensitive currencies, have been surprisingly resilient. […] More
Dollar Struggles Continue
June 7, 2011
The dollar fell 1.0% against the New Zealand dollar, 0.7% versus the euro, 0.6% against the Canadian dollar, 0.5% relative to sterling and 0.3% versus the Swiss franc. The greenback is unchanged against the Australian dollar and 0.1% firmer relative to the yen. A senior Chinese official, Guan Ho, warned that the dollar is likely […] More
Investors Avoiding Risk as Central Banks Meet
May 5, 2011
The yen strengthened beyond 80/USD for the first time since March 18, touching a high of 79.58 and climbing 1.1% on balance. Central banks in Malaysia and the Philippines hiked key interest rates by 25 basis points today. Central banks are also meeting in the U.K., Euroland, and the Czech Republic. Markets are positioned for […] More
Less Anxiety Than on Monday
March 8, 2011
Maybe because its Mardi Gras time, there’s less angst in the air. Share prices, the dollar, and sovereign debt yields are up. Focus of investor worry has swung somewhat back toward Europe’s debt problems from fear about the impact of elevated oil prices. Investors believe Qaddafi will be gone when the fighting stops. Ahead of […] More
It’s Okay to Carry Risk
February 7, 2011
Monday markets have been calm and in a hopeful mood about such dangers as the European debt negotiations, the Egyptian situation, and the resistance of general inflation against commodity price pressures. At 16:00 GMT, stocks show mostly decent gains, the dollar is modestly higher, and oil prices have been low. Today’s data calendar was thin […] More
Fresh Concerns about Ezone Peripheral Economies
September 7, 2010
The euro fell 0.9% against the dollar. Stocks have declined 1.4% in Madrid, 1.2% in Paris, 1.0% in Zurich, 0.9% in London and 0.7% in Frankfurt. Ten-year sovereign bund and gilt yields are six and four basis points lower. Bond spreads between Euroland’s peripherals and Germany have widened to more than 935 basis points in […] More
New Concerns about U.S. and Global Growth Prospects
July 7, 2010
Stocks fell 1.7% in Sri Lanka, 1.1% in Hong Kong, 0.8% in India, 0.6% in South Korea, and 0.5% in Australia. Selling intensified in Europe, where the Paris Cac is trading 1.6% lower, the Spanish IBEX has lost 1.5%, and both the German Dax and British Ftse show losses of 1.3%. A poorer-than-expected service sector […] More
