At the end of every quarter, the IMF publishes the most authoritative reserve data with a three-month lag. On Good Friday, the IMF published Q4 17 reserve holdings. A recent article on Bloomberg played up an economist’s forecast that euro reserves would increase by $500 bln over the next couple of years. A review of the reserve data may help us evaluate such a claim, which if true, could have important implications for...
Read More »FX Daily, April 10: XI’s Day, but Not So Good for Putin
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.25% to 1.1807 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 10(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates It did not look so good. The S&P 500 fell about 1.65% in the last couple hours of trading yesterday paring its gains. Press reports indicated that President Trump’s lawyer’s office, house and hotel were the subject of search warrants. A...
Read More »US Jobs Data Optics Disappoint, but Signal Unchanged
The US jobs growth slowed in March more than expected, but the details of the report suggest investors and policymakers will look through it. The poor weather seemed to have played a role. Construction jobs fell (15k) for the first time since last July, and the hours worked by production employees and non-supervisory worker slipped. United States The 103k net new jobs were the least since last September when storms...
Read More »FX Daily, April 09: Asian and European Equities Shrug Off US Decline
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.10% to 1.1786 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 09(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates US shares slumped before the weekend amid concern that Trump Administration was prepared to escalate the trade tensions with China. However, cooler heads are prevailing, and there is a recognition that the conflict is still in the posturing...
Read More »Great Graphic: Has the Dollar Bottomed Against the Yen?
The US dollar appears to be carving a low against the yen. After a significant fall, investor ought to be sensitive to bottoming patterns. The first tell was the key reversal on March 26. In this case, the key reversal was when the dollar made a new low for the move (~JPY104.55) and then rallied to close above the previous session high. The second tell was the divergence with the technical indicators. The divergence is...
Read More »FX Daily, April 06: Trade Trumps Jobs
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.08% to 1.1779 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 06(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Trade and equity market volatility, which are not completely separate, continue to dominate investors’ interest. Many had come around to accept that while trade tensions were running high, it was likely to be mostly posturing. This...
Read More »FX Daily, April 05: Investors Find Comfort in Brinkmanship Blinks
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.07% to 1.1787 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Global equity markets are higher, following the stunning recovery in the US yesterday, where the S&P 500 rallied 76 points or 3% from its lows to it highs, near where it finished. The outside up day is seeing following through today....
Read More »Cool Video: Bloomberg Double Feature
Many are still celebrating the Easter holiday today, but not Tom Keene and Lisa Abramowicz and the Bloomberg team. They hosted me on Bloomberg TV today. As is often the case, the discussion was broad, covering the pressing economic and financial issues. In the first clip, which runs about 2.5 minutes, I sketch out the argument for the US economy being in a late-stage expansion. I cite the 12-month moving average of...
Read More »FX Weekly Preview: The Start of Q2
The chief uncertainty has shifted from monetary policy and macroeconomics to the increase of volatility in the stock markets and the prospects of a trade war. Some of the major benchmarks, including the S&P 500, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, and Shanghai Composite held above the February lows in the retreat during the second half of March. Other bourses did not. These include the DAX,...
Read More »FX Daily, March 29: Bonds and Stocks are Firm, While the Greenback Consolidates Upticks
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.11% to 1.1758 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, March 29(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The choppy US equity session yesterday, ultimately ending with modest losses as the tech sector remained under pressure, has been shrugged off in Asia and Europe, where modest gains have been seen. The dollar is little changed after...
Read More »