Yesterday when summarizing the Fed's action we said that in its latest dovish announcement which has sent the USD to a five month low, the Fed clearly sided with China which desperately wants a weaker dollar to which it is pegged (reflected promptly in the Yuan's stronger fixing overnight) at the expense of Europe and Japan, both of which want the USD much stronger. ECB, BOJ don't want a weak dollar; China does not want a strong dollarFed sides with China for now — zerohedge (@zerohedge)...
Read More »Financial markets looking for a second wind
Published: 17th March 2016 Download issue: Financial markets search for a second wind Equity markets in developed economies rebounded in February, after spending December and January in an attitude of crisis. We think that this is just a tactical rebound, rather than a return to the bull market that prevailed on equity markets from 2009 to 2014. The fundamentals that limit the upside for equities have not changed; meanwhile, the limits of central bank policy are becoming increasingly...
Read More »BoJ Adopts Negative Interest Rates, Fails To Increase QE
Well that did not last long. After initial exuberance over The BoJ's wishy-washy decision to adopt a 3-tiered rate policy including NIRP, markets have realized that without further asset purchases (which were maintained at the current pace), there is no ammo to lift stocks. An almost 200 point surge in Dow futures has been erased and Nikkei 225 has dropped 1000 points from its post BOJ highs... Dow futures have plunged... What a mess... And Nikkei has crashed over 1000 points... And...
Read More »MLPs: Challenged, but Cheap
Energy master limited partnerships, most of which are in the business of storing and transporting oil and natural gas, have had a rough time of it since energy prices started falling in mid-2014. The Alerian MLP index has fallen 38 percent since its August 2014 peak and is down 27 percent year to date. The 22 percent loss in the third quarter is the worst quarterly decline since the index’s inception in 1998. In September, the asset class was down 15 percent, though it regained all of that...
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