I had to laugh yesterday when the New York traders came in and didn’t sell the currencies right away… I said to myself, “Self, maybe the ‘big boys’ read the Pfennig and now know that I’ve uncovered their ‘game,’ so they have to lay low for a while!” HA! Whatever the case, the currencies held their gains most of the day, and even added on in some cases.
[Read more...]Commodities Take Off!
January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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.
[Read more...]China to Show More Manufacturing Weakness?
January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What looked like a workable situation for Greece and private creditors has taken a turn that has the euro (EUR) vulnerable again this morning. It’s not as if the situation is unworkable. It’s just that they are struggling to come to an agreement, and since it’s not as smooth as Jiffy, then the Chicken Littles come out of the crowds… But then, quite frankly, I have been surprised by the strength the euro has displayed this week. The euro has always shown resiliency, but as I’ve said a couple of times now this year… I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fall to 1.18 and then rebound to 1.40… But we have 49 more weeks to go in 2012. There’s a lot of give and take here, so buckle up, yes, that’s right: Click it or ticket…
[Read more...]Eurozone Data Continues to Print Weak
January 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
There’s a lot to get to this morning… but front and center is the Jobs Jamboree Friday… The first one of 2012, although it is December’s job creation report. The ADP jobs report yesterday, which was supposed to be the “indicator” for the Jobs Jamboree, but never really materialized as such, reported that 325,000 jobs were created in December… Now, that would be something to crow about… It will be interesting to see what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) comes up with… As I told you earlier this week, this is also the month were the “adjustments” to previous BLS reports are made… However, those won’t get a spotlight, and mass media coverage… They are done under the dark of night, sort of like the bill that was signed on New Year’s Eve by the President… If you’re not aware of that one, you should be… Your personal freedoms could very well hang in the balance…
[Read more...]Gold Drops Through 200-day Moving Average
December 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
First of all, the euro (EUR) fell through the 1.30 level yesterday, and although it attempts to recover the handle, it just doesn’t have the legs to sustain a rally… There’s been no news from the Eurozone as the week has gone on, and the ratings agencies have been quiet, so the old saying that no news is good news applies here, I think… The only news we had this week was the good auction in Spain (followed by the sloppy one in Italy)…
[Read more...]US Retail Sales Disappoint
December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It’s all about the dollar, right now… And of course, in September I told you that the perfect storm was building for dollar strength, so this comes as no surprise… What does surprise me, though, is the myopic view of debt that the markets’ participants have taken… It’s as if all the debt in the world belongs to the Eurozone, and the US has a picture-perfect balance sheet…
[Read more...]Brazil Quietly Scraps its Tax on Foreign Investment
December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Today is our country’s first day of infamy… Pearl Harbor Day… I hope to visit Pearl Harbor some day, and pay my respects to those American soldiers and sailors who were attacked when we weren’t even at war with the Japanese… A day for us all to stop and think about what happened that day.
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RBA Sounds Upbeat About Global Economic Growth
Good day… And a Tom Terrific Tuesday to you! Well… Yesterday, I realized that I couldn’t eat all day on Sunday, and expect to want to eat on Monday! But I’m ready to do so today! HA! I also realized yesterday just what a Donnie Downer I’ve been lately, with my insistence that there’s something going on to pull the wool over our eyes… That may be, but I’ve got to be more upbeat, eh?
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