Obama
Fragile yet Better Tone in Market
November 22, 2011
Stocks in Europe have firmed 0.8% in Germany, 0.6% in France, and 0.4% in Great Britain. The dollar, which does best under conditions of high risk aversion, settled back 0.5% against the Swiss franc, 0.4% versus the euro and Aussie dollar, 0.3% relative to the kiwi, 0.2% against the loonie and sterling, and 0.1% versus [...] More
Europe Burning… and Draghi No Help
November 18, 2011
Although the dollar has given back some gains, stock markets in Asia and Europe tell the story of a euro debt crisis that’s still raging and threatening to drag the rest of the world down with it. The dollar fell overnight by 0.7% against the Swissie, 0.5% versus sterling, 0.4% relative to the euro, 0.3% [...] More
Spotlight on Central Banks and Obama
September 8, 2011
The dollar is 0.6% higher against the Swiss franc, which is trading at 1.2141 per euro. Swiss National Bank officials intend to unilaterally prevent the franc from strengthening past 1.2000/EUR. The dollar has risen 0.3% against the euro and 0.1% versus the Australian dollar but is 0.6% weaker against the kiwi and down 0.2% relative [...] More
Panic-Stricken Markets Greet Labor Day 2011
September 5, 2011
U.S. markets are closed for Labor Day, but elsewhere the mood is grim. Ten-year sovereign debt yields tumbled 15 basis points in Britain, 14 bps in Germany and five bps in Japan. Gold catapulted above $1900, gaining 1.3% to $1902.10 per ounce. Oil slumped 2.7% to $84.08 per ounce. Share prices have plunged 5.6% in [...] More
Fresh Blast of Risk Aversion
September 2, 2011
At 13:50 GMT, U.S. share prices were down 1.6-1.7%. Earlier trading overnight saw equities fall by 1.2% in Japan, 1.8% in Hong Kong, 1.5% in Australia, 1.1% in China and 0.9% in New Zealand. Europe has seen the most damage, with the German Dax and Paris Cac suffering losses so far of 3.5% and the [...] More
No Progress in U.S. Debt Ceiling Talks
July 25, 2011
Risk-on trading has returned. The Swiss franc and yen rose 1.8% and 0.5% against the dollar, which has also slipped 0.2% against the euro and 0.1% relative to the Canadian and New Zealand dollars. The dollar has firmed 0.1% against sterling and is unchanged versus the yuan. Gold leaped 1.2% to $1620.20 per ounce. No [...] More
Stocks Regroup as Markets Await Obama’s Budget Speech
April 13, 2011
Equities advanced 2.3% in India, 1.4% in China, 1.6% in South Korea, 0.9% in Japan, 1.1% in Singapore, 0.7% in Hong Kong and 0.6% in Taiwan and Malaysia. In Europe, the German Dax, British Ftse, and Paris Cac have recovered 1.1%, 0.9% and 0.8%. The improved tone of stocks after losses earlier this week occurred [...] More
Stronger Euro and Commodity Prices
April 8, 2011
Gold at $1471.20 per ounce is at another record peak. Silver hit a 31-year high of $40.23 per ounce. Oil reached a 30-month high of $111.68 per barrel and is 1.1% stronger on the day. The ECB’s tightening yesterday has buoyed the euro, which at $1.4411 is 0.7% above yesterday’s closing level. The dollar also [...] More
Lower Share Prices
March 29, 2011
Stocks are down 0.8% in Germany, 0.6% in France, and 0.3% in Britain. Earlier, equity markets lost 1.0% in China, 0.3% in Indonesia, and 0.2% in Japan but climbed 0.9% in India, 0.8% in South Korea and 0.5% in Australia. The dollar rose 0.3% against the yen and Swiss franc, a sign of greater risk [...] More
Focus this Monday on Geopolitics, Not Data
March 28, 2011
Chancellor Merkel of Germany suffered key state election defeats over the weekend. Key issue was nuclear power. The summit of EU leaders in Brussels failed to finalize an agreement on funding for the European Stability Mechanism. Such hopes ended when Portugal’s government collapsed. There appears to have been a partial reactor meltdown at Fukushima. Tepco [...] More
