Tag Archives: Featured

Last week, we said that the consensus is that gold must go down (as measured in terms of the unstable dollar) and then will rocket higher. We suggested that if everyone expects an outcome in the market, the outcome is likely not to turn out that way. We also said that this time, there is likely less leverage employed to buy gold and that gold is less leveraged as well. And this, combined with a contrarian perspective on...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.03% at 1.1439. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 27(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Last week’s dollar losses were initially extended in Asia before it came back bid. The euro briefly poked through $1.1650 for the first time in three weeks. However, the gains were sold into, and the euro finished the Asian session near $1.16,...

The force that had pushed the US 10-year Treasury yield to 3% and the dollar above JPY113 at the start of the month, and the euro to $1.13 a couple of weeks ago has dissipated. The 10-year yield is near 2.80%. The dollar was near two-month lows against the yen a week ago, and the euro was back toward the middle of its previous $1.15-$1.18 trading range. Even the Australian dollar, the worst performing of the major...

Stock Markets EM FX was whipsawed last week but ended on a firm note. We look past the noise and believe that the true signals for EM remain higher US interest rates and continued trade tensions, both of which are negative. Turkish markets reopen after a week off. Nothing fundamentally has changed there, and so it still poses some spillover risk to wider EM. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, August 22 - Click to...

SPR - Click to enlarge US Department of Energy announced yesterday offered for delivery between October 1 and November 30, 11 mln barrels of sour crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. The move has nothing to do with operationalizing President Trump’s complaint that oil prices were too high. Instead, the sales are part of the fiscal compromise in 2015 budget legislation and the health care act of 2016. The...

A referendum calling for four weeks of paternity leave is currently working it’s way through the system. ©-Aleandr-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge This week, a government commission gave its verdict on the vote, recommending two weeks of paternity leave instead of the four set out in the referendum’s text. Their commission’s main concerns are centred on the impact on companies and the cost of funding it. A recent...

Willingness to relocate has declined worldwide, according to the Boston Consulting company. (Keystone) Switzerland has lost some of its appeal for foreign labour, according to a survey by an American multinational management consulting firm. Compared with 2014, Switzerland finished in eighth place – down three positions. The authors of the Decoding Global Talent reportexternal link say the drop is due to a loss of...

Angela Merkel - Click to enlarge Merkel has again shown herself to be more wily than most. While pundits, investors, and politicians anticipated she would push hard for a German to replace Draghi as ECB President when his term ends next October. After all, it is German’s turn at the helm, and its interests were ridden roughshod over by the extraordinary and prolonged monetary policy. However, when one steps back and...

At this particular juncture eight months into 2018, the only thing that will help is abrupt and serious acceleration. On this side of May 29, it is way past time for it to get real. The global economy either synchronizes in a major, unambiguous breakout or markets retrench even more. That’s been the basis of this thing from Day 1; or, more accurately, Day 3.01. Reflation #3 wasn’t really any different in type from...

We see little evidence of a rebound in business taking shape, reinforcing our revised 2018 GDP growth forecast. Although euro area flash PMI indices were roughly in line with expectations in August, some details were less positive than the headline numbers, suggesting that downside risks have not yet disappeared. True, at face value, the small rise in the euro area composite PMI index, from 54.3 in July to 54.4 in...