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...]EU Pushes for a More Perfect Fiscal Union
November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The news wires are all about Europe again this morning. The euro (EUR) has picked up some of the ground it lost versus the US dollar last week on speculation European leaders will be able to agree to take some additional steps to stem the region’s debt crisis. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble pushed for changes to the EU treaty which will tighten fiscal requirements. I really don’t think the EU will need to make any changes to the treaty, but should simply push countries to adhere to the fiscal standards required in the existing EU treaty.
[Read more...]US National Debt Passes $15 Trillion!
November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Good day… No contact from James Bullard, so I guess he doesn’t read the Pfennig… HA! I was hoping he would read yesterday’s letter, and answer my questions in writing, since I was unable to ask him in person the other day. But I guess that was like wishing, and hoping, and thinking, and praying that someone at the Fed would answer those questions, because… I know that someone at the Fed does read the Pfennig… Wink, wink…
[Read more...]Italy Successfully Auctions Bills
November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mike told you yesterday about how the euro (EUR) had lost over 2-cents in the overnight markets, on fears that Italy, which is a much larger economy than Greece, is the next to visit the bailout doctor. The euro went up, when it was announced that the budget vote had passed, and it went down when it was announced that Berlusconi no longer had a majority government, and then it went right back up when it was announced that Berlusconi had stepped down. But that “relief rally” didn’t last long, as everyone began to imagine what it would cost to bailout Italy…
[Read more...]Greek and Italian Turmoil Negatively Affect the Euro
November 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Right off the bat, this is going to be super short and sweet this morning as Chuck was feeling under the weather last night and asked me to step in with some of the market headlines from this morning and last night. The market moving headlines yesterday and through today so far have been primarily European in nature, as Italy is beginning to steal the spotlight away from Greece in the debt crisis du jour. Since Italy is a bigger fish in the Eurozone than Greece, the levels of concern have been on the rise.
[Read more...]A Final Stop on the Farewell Euro Tour
November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Today’s issue of The Daily Reckoning features the third and final installment of the “Farewell Euro Tour” — a collection of on-the-street conversations with ordinary folks in Europe about the Greek crisis, and about what this crisis portends for the euro zone. The tour began in the Netherlands, then moved south to Switzerland and then to Italy.
[Read more...]Greek PM Begins to Sell the Grand Plan
November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! I’m bailing on the trading desk today… Remember when I told you last week about too fast, can’t last with the currencies? Well… I think that was me and coming back to the office… Nevertheless, I’m here to give you the latest news on the currencies, metals, economies, and Chuckisms!
[Read more...]The Farewell Euro Tour, Part II
October 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A couple weeks back, a film crew from The Daily Reckoning flew to Europe to record a “Farewell Euro Tour.” We conducted man/woman-on-the-street interviews with ordinary Europeans to get their take on the euro crisis…and what it may portend for the future of the euro zone.
We conducted the first part of the tour in Amsterdam and filed that report in the October 20, 2011 edition of The Daily Reckoning. Today, we present part II: The Farewell Euro Tour — Switzerland. We think it’s even better than our critically acclaimed Part I. Please check it out for yourself:
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France Has a Successful Bond Auction
Front and center this morning, the euro (EUR) has plunged overnight, and now sits 2-cents below where it was yesterday when I was writing the Pfennig. France auctioned bonds this morning, and had to ratchet up the yield, as many buyers are afraid of the rumors that France’s AAA rating is about to be slashed. But this is old news, and shouldn’t have caused the move in the euro that we’ve seen since yesterday.
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