Well… The stock jockeys used to talk about a Santa Rally… I don’t think they’ll get the chance to talk about that this year… Unless of course they are talking in the past tense! You see, the markets are really screwed up these days… Take gold, for instance… One would think that, with debt problems in the two largest economies in the world, investors would be flocking to gold… Unfortunately, though, the markets think like this… “We should flock to dollars and treasuries”… And that’s what I talked about last week when I said I finally figured out that, if investors are buying dollars, what do they need gold for?
[Read more...]Confidence in the EU Helps Rally the Markets
November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Good day… Chuck felt it was best to sit out one more day as he tries to recover from a major cold he came down with late last week. He wanted me to share a few of his thoughts with the Pfennig readers this morning, so I’ll start right off with them. Take it away Chuck…
Here are some observations from the cheap seats, where I sit on I.R.
[Read more...]Euro Rally Fizzles Out
October 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The euro (EUR) was down to its last strike on Wednesday night; but an 11th hour deal put it back on the rally tracks, and yesterday’s trading was something for the ages… When I signed off, the euro was 1.4025, and I thought that to be a nice gain! Oh, was I cutting the euro’s prospects for the day short! First 1.41 was taken out, and then the single unit traded all the way to 1.4255… Are you kidding me? The currency that was supposed to be collapsing had gained over 2 full cents in one day of trading? How could that be, even famous-named economists claimed this was the end of the euro?
[Read more...]Will the Focus Now Shift to the US Debt Problem?
October 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Front and center this morning… The Eurozone leaders gave the markets something that they liked last night. Well, at least the Asian, and now the European markets liked it. The US guys and gals are always a different story… But for now, the euro (EUR) is soaring and taking all the other currencies higher… The euro has reached 1.40 this morning, which is something given that in recent trading days when the euro was rallying it would stall out around 1.3950…
[Read more...]Euro Continues to Be Well-Bid Ahead of Summit
October 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The markets are looking for that silver lining in the Eurozone meeting that begins later this morning. The Eurozone leaders are saying all the right things, but saying and doing are two completely different things… The risk of disappointment remains hanging over the euro (EUR), folks… Don’t get all lathered up because the euro is well into the 1.39 handle… Should the Eurozone leaders disappoint this afternoon, and I truly believe they will, the euro will be taken to the woodshed, for all of this rallying in the euro has come about from optimism that the Eurozone leaders will in fact deliver the Eurozone from evil…
[Read more...]Kicking of the “Farewell Euro Tour”
October 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Today’s issue of The Daily Reckoning features the first 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...]A Look at the EFSF Pushes the Euro Higher!
October 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The euro (EUR) has bounced higher this morning after the details of the Eurozone Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) were announced. It looks like there will be more than enough to go around to help Spain and Italy… And the audit of Greece (to see if they are implementing the austerity measures) is finished, and they EU commission has recommended the next tranche of bailout funds be made to Greece. So… The “death watch” on Greece has to order out for more coffee and pastries, because they aren’t defaulting this week… The problems aren’t over for Greece, though… There are more austerity measures that have to be approved by parliament, and then implemented…
[Read more...]France and Germany Agree to Increase in EFSF
October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Front and center this morning… Spain may have seen a 2-notch credit rating drop yesterday, but it didn’t matter, as it was announced that France and Germany were ready to agree to a 2 trillion euro rescue fund… Now they’re talking about a rescue fund, and not just the 500 billion euros they had previously agreed to. And the markets went hog-wild over this announcement. The dollar rally was quickly reversed and the euro (EUR) was on its way to 1.39, where it sat this morning until a few minutes ago… The Eurozone leaders, thus raised the ante… Who’s going to call?
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Euro Rallies on Positive IFO Index and a Successful Spanish Debt Auction
The euro (EUR) sure enjoyed a better night rebounding from close to its annual low versus the US dollar. A surprisingly upbeat IFO business climate index combined with a pledge of more funds for the bailout and a positive Spanish auction to send the common currency higher. The IFO Institute’s index, based on a survey of 7,000 German business executives, rose to a three-month high of 107.2 from 106.6 in November. Economists had expected the index to drop to 106. November’s number had surprised on the upside also, so this month’s value certainly seems to confirm a trend that indicates Germany’s economy may be able to push through the credit crisis to remain on a solid growth path.
[Read more...]