After reaching a high of nearly $106 on Wednesday, the price of oil has hit the slippery slope (yay!) all the way down to $101.27 this morning. While it will take a while before this ride on the slippery slope is seen at the gas pump, if ever, the psychological feeling it has for consumers is good. It won’t play well with the petrol currencies, like Norway, Canada, Russia, etc.
[Read more...]Yen Repatriation is Over
April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Good day. A tricky but successful first day on our brand-spanking-new computer system was had yesterday. Still some things to work out, but as our first IT guy used to say, “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.” It still rings true! So onto day two, and let’s see what’s in store for us today!
[Read more...]Why US Job Creation Heats Up in Cold Weather
February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We used to like traveling. Now, it’s a drag.
“No, we don’t want to go through your new x-ray machine,” we told the TSA guard.
“Whassa matter? It’s safe…” she replied.
“How do you know that?”
“The government said it was safe.”
“Do you believe everything the government tells you?”
[Read more...]Euro Reverses Slide in Short Squeeze
January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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...]Papandreou Calls Off Referendum!
November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Eurozone leaders have a long way to go before they get past this debt crisis… And along the way there will be some potholes big enough to swallow a Mac-Truck. But knowing what I know about the resiliency of the region, they will pull themselves out of the pothole, and attempt to move further along the way toward solving the crisis.
[Read more...]The Shifting Focus of US Consumer Spending
October 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The feds released a jobs report on Friday. It said that things weren’t as bad as everyone thought. The US economy actually added 103,000 new jobs in September.
But wait. That is not a lot of jobs. There are about 150 million people who make up the labor force. This number increases — by immigration and population growth — by about 1.2 million per year. So, 100,000 new jobs doesn’t do much to restore full employment.
[Read more...]US Dollar Reverses Losses After Jobs Report
July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Well… Friday was quite interesting with the Jobs Jamboree falling flat on its face, and watching the dollar get sold…and then bought again as the day went on… The dollar holds the hammer again this morning, as now the media and market observers are going after Italy… So the offset to the dollar, the euro (EUR), is slip-sliding away… Slip-sliding away, the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip-sliding away…
[Read more...]
Euro Held Hostage By Elections
After reaching a high of nearly $106 on Wednesday, the price of oil has hit the slippery slope (yay!) all the way down to $101.27 this morning. While it will take a while before this ride on the slippery slope is seen at the gas pump, if ever, the psychological feeling it has for consumers is good. It won’t play well with the petrol currencies, like Norway, Canada, Russia, etc.
[Read more...]