UK Retail Sales Push Euro-Bloc Higher

The euro (EUR) has gotten another boost this morning from a think tank report in Germany, and what’s called the “euro bloc” of currencies is moving along with the euro this morning. The “euro bloc” consists of: euro, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, the U.K. and we could even throw in the euro-wannabes (Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic).

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Overnight Currency Rally Fades

The gyrations and volatility continue in the markets — one day up, the next day down. One day a piece of data matters; the next day it doesn’t. But we carry on in spite of these daily movements back and forth.

For instance, the euro (EUR)  is rallying this morning, which gives all the other currencies a chance to spread their wings. Spain was able to auction their target maximum amount of euro bonds this morning, and while the yield rose from the last time 10-year bonds were auctioned, the fact that the whole allotment went off without a hitch is giving the euro some breathing room this morning.

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German Business Confidence Hits Seven-Month High!

The markets seem to be pushing the euro (EUR) past 1.33, this morning. And with the euro trading in a higher handle this morning, the rest of the currencies are reacting favorably. So the dollar is being chased to the woodshed.

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Euro Is Yanked From the Slippery Slope!

Yesterday, the euro (EUR) sure looked as if it were headed for a ride on the slippery slope, but about one-third down the slide, the single unit was yanked back to the top by a newspaper (Die Welt) report that the ECB is exchanging Greek bonds for new securities, easing concern that Greece will get its second bailout. And that news was followed up by an announcement that German officials will approve the next bailout payment for Greece.

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Ireland Says It Won’t Need Additional Bailouts

The currency markets were pretty exciting yesterday with the dollar losing steam early on but slowly building some momentum on the upside throughout the day. This morning, the dollar has spiked higher as investors start to seek out the “haven” of U.S. Treasuries.

The currency markets continue to be held hostage by the Greeks. As I mentioned in the closing lines of yesterday’s Pfennig, the leaders of Greece’s coalition government reached an agreement on implementing the austerity measures demanded by the EU and the IMF in order to secure a second round of much-needed financing. As predicted, this news caused a rally in the euro (EUR), which reached a high of 1.3320. But eurozone finance ministers said they want to see the measures approved by the full Greek parliament, which is set to vote Sunday. While Greek leaders certainly feel the measures will be passed by the parliament, workers staged a strike in Athens today in order to protest these measures. The EU leaders gave the Greek leaders 15 days to institute the new austerity measures, so they could possibly delay the vote further if they see it has a risk of not passing. But I’m sure they would much rather get this over and done.

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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.

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Spain Successfully Auctions Off €4.94 Billion

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?

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Confidence in the EU Helps Rally the Markets

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.

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Euro Rally Fizzles Out

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?

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