Global Market Commentary, Analysis and Investments
Stocks are plunging again today as we go to press. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down a whopping 500 points – back below 11,000…AGAIN. Meanwhile, most European markets are off more than 5%.
In other news, a small biotech company, Medicinal Genomics, announced today that it has successfully mapped the DNA of marijuana. Also, President Obama leaves today for a vacation.
[Read more...]The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 172 points last Friday – punctuating another thoroughly forgettable week for American capitalism. Friday’s loss submerged the Dow back below the 12,000 mark, while also producing a sixth straight losing week for the US stock market.
How rare is a six-week losing streak?
[Read more...]The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 172 points last Friday – punctuating another thoroughly forgettable week for American capitalism. Friday’s loss submerged the Dow back below the 12,000 mark, while also producing a sixth straight losing week for the US stock market.
How rare is a six-week losing streak?
[Read more...]Frank Holmes and the co-managers of the U.S. Global Investors Global Resources Fund (PSPFX), Evan Smith and Brian Hicks, participated in a special webcast for the Peak Advisor Alliance last week. Here are some candid portions of the Q&A:
Q. How are interest rates currently affecting commodity prices?
[Read more...]Nothing is cheap in today’s investment world. Because of the trillions of currency units that governments all over the world have created – and are continuing to create – financial assets are grossly overpriced. Stocks, bonds, property, commodities and cash are no bargains. Meanwhile, real wages are slipping rapidly among those who are working, and a large portion of the population is unemployed or underemployed.
[Read more...]We saw the return of some pretty good volatility in the currency and metals markets yesterday with the dollar rising sharply and commodities dropping. It was definitely a ‘risk off’ kind of day with almost every currency down versus the US dollar as investors, scared by the ongoing European sovereign debt problems and a slowdown in the Chinese economy, rushed into the US dollar which is still seen as a ‘safe haven’. Yes, in spite of all of the debt and deficit problems here in the US, the US Treasury market is still seen as a risk free environment and it is where large investors hide during uncertain times. The 10-year bond, which we track in the currency roundup below, was up over 60 basis points dropping the yield back down below 3.2%.
[Read more...]Currency investors started to move back out of their ‘safe havens’ yesterday with most of the currencies moving higher versus the US dollar. The Japanese yen (JPY) was the biggest mover, setting a post-World War II high as money was repatriated back into the country. The biggest losers were the other side of the carry trades, the New Zealand dollar (NZD) and Australian dollar (AUD). The kiwi was down over 1%, and the Aussie dollar was down just .2% versus the US dollar. Things are still a bit dicey in Japan, and it looks as if at least one of the damaged reactors is going to meltdown. The Japanese are doing everything they can to cool the reactor complex, but radiation levels continue to hamper their efforts.
[Read more...]Chuck headed on a multi stop cross-country trek to get out to San Francisco today, so he left the Pfennig to me. I think he said he had to fly through Dallas to get over to San Francisco; just one of the joys of no longer being a ‘hub' airport.
There was a plethora of data releases here in the US yesterday, but the numbers offset each other keeping the markets fairly stable. Surprisingly strong industrial production data was offset by weak housing starts. Other data showed that wholesale costs in the US increased in July for the first time in four months, throwing cold water on those warning of deflation. Commodity prices were the main driver of the increases of 4.2% versus last year. The core price index (ex food and energy) was still up 1.5%, slightly higher than economists' projections. The data will quiet those who are warning about falling prices and will likely keep the boys and girls over at the FOMC on a “steady as she goes� course.
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Commodities Take Off!
The Greek talks returned to the headlines this morning. I know I said this last Friday, and I was a little too optimistic and turned out to be wrong! But… I do expect this agreement on a private-sector involvement in Greek debt to get hammered out this weekend… It seems that the opposition from eurozone policymakers is backing off, and that has me optimistic once again.
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