The Jobs Jamboree on Friday proved to be a real boost for the economy and the dollar, which rallied on a “strong jobs number” for the first time in a month of Sundays. I highlight “strong jobs number” because, this is what this has come to… 200,000 jobs were created, so says the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in December, which is the strongest number of jobs created in another month of Sundays… The jobs reports have been so weak for so long now, that the media, and markets are all lathered up and calling this a “strong jobs number”… It’s stronger than previous ones, yes…
[Read more...]China’s Manufacturing Index Rebounds
January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Good day… And a Tom Terrific Tuesday to you, and… HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here’s hoping that 2012 brings us a correction to the 1 in 5 Americans out of work, and that it is a healthy, prosperous, and peaceful year! Hey… Stranger things have happened, right? But, we have some HUGE hurdles to clear this year, folks… So, keep your fingers crossed!
[Read more...]Weekly Jobs Data is Positive, Pushing the Dollar Lower
December 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As mentioned in yesterday’s Pfennig, we had a long list of data released yesterday, and most of the numbers indicated that the US economy may be picking up a bit of steam. Producer prices came in right where they were expected, increasing 0.3% MOM and 5.7% YOY. The ‘core’ figure, (ex food and energy) is the one the Feds monitor and both showed modest increases over last month. The biggest surprise came in the form of the Empire Manufacturing number which came in at 9.53 on December versus 3.00 last month. This number reflects manufacturing activity in the NY region, but has a history of being very volatile and therefore an unreliable indicator of future manufacturing growth.
[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...]Did the Jobless Rate Really Fall?
December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I’ll probably be all alone when I make this statement, but, then I don’t follow the trumpeter anyway… What a crock the Jobs report was last week! When will the major media figure this all out? Probably never, because they don’t have real investigative reporters any longer… But here’s what I’m talking about, folks… The Jobs Jamboree reported that 120,000 jobs were created in November… (The previous month was revised upward from 80,000 to 100,000) So… On the outside, things looked OK… But remember, it takes far more than 120,000 jobs each month to support a strong economy.
[Read more...]Gold and Silver Rally Again!
July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The markets are waiting this morning for the European Central Bank (ECB) to come out of their meeting, with another rate hike in the hands of ECB President, Trichet. I told you yesterday, as a follow up of previous mentions, that I truly believed the ECB would hike rates at this meeting, which would move the Eurozone internal rates further ahead of those that can be found in the US and Japan.
[Read more...]What the IMF Chief’s Arrest Means for the European Debt Crisis
May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The big news over the weekend was the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn who is the managing director of the IMF and had his sights on the French Presidency. Strauss-Kahn was arrested while sitting on a plane bound for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the European sovereign debt crisis. His arrest will undoubtedly complicate the negotiations underway today in Europe.
[Read more...]The World’s Next Reserve Currency
May 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It was another “risk off” day yesterday as investors moved out of higher yielding currencies and back into the safe haven of Swiss francs (CHF), which was the best performer. The Japanese yen (JPY) also ticked up a bit versus the US dollar yesterday with the Australian (AUD) and New Zealand (NZD) dollars both dropping. The US dollar pushed higher throughout the trading day, but reversed course and began to drift lower in overnight trading. As I turn the trading screens back on this morning I see the dollar has given back most of its gains from yesterday, and is back around 73.
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Currency Rally Fades in Overnight Trading
The currency/risk on rally was quite strong yesterday, all day long! However, in the overnight markets, we’ve seen some profit taking, and reassessing of what they were doing, like pushing the euro to above 1.30. I say that because there’s still no agreement with Greece and the private creditors… I keep hearing and reading analysts, talking about how the Greece problem is unsolvable… OK… maybe it is… but if that’s true, then what about Illinois? Or California?
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