Tag Archives: newsletter

The main driver of the investment climate is not so much the incremental economic data as the capital markets themselves. The market turmoil contributed to the tightening of financial conditions, which in turn heightened risks, which monetary officials are committed to resisting.    Financial markets stabilized last week, but the tone remains fragile.  The damage to the technical condition and sentiment requires further consolidation to rebuild investor confidence.  The price action...

The CFTC Commitment of Traders reporting week ending February 16 was short due to the US holiday.  This may have contributed to the small adjustments to speculative positioning in the currency futures.  It also may reflect the lack of conviction that a dollar recovery was at hand.   On a net basis, speculators had switched to a long yen position six weeks ago.  In the latest period, speculators swung to a net long Australian dollar position for the first time since last May.  The 2.8k...

The CFTC Commitment of Traders reporting week ending February 16 was short due to the US holiday.  This may have contributed to the small adjustments to speculative positioning in the currency futures.  It also may reflect the lack of conviction that a dollar recovery was at hand.   On a net basis, speculators had switched to a long yen position six weeks ago.  In the latest period, speculators swung to a net long Australian dollar position for the first time since last May.  The 2.8k...

After a terrible first several weeks of the year, global capital markets stabilized in the past week.  Chinese markets re-opened after the extended Lunar New Year holiday and proved not to be disruptive.   Chinese equities did not decline to catch-up to the performance of global markets in its absence and instead gained 3% on the week. The offshore yuan appreciated during the holiday, and the onshore yuan strengthened to converge with it.  It traded in a narrow range after the markup. ...

After a terrible first several weeks of the year, global capital markets stabilized in the past week.  Chinese markets re-opened after the extended Lunar New Year holiday and proved not to be disruptive.   Chinese equities did not decline to catch-up to the performance of global markets in its absence and instead gained 3% on the week. The offshore yuan appreciated during the holiday, and the onshore yuan strengthened to converge with it.  It traded in a narrow range after the markup. ...

Please bear with a brief quote from a favorite author of mine. I promise it relates to gold. Having fought in World War I, and seen senseless loss of life, J.R.R. Tolkien had an extraordinary insight into the nature of evil. His iconic character, Gandalf the wizard, said this to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: ‘Ever since Bilbo left I have been deeply concerned about you…. It would be a grievous blow to the world, if the Dark Power overcame the Shire; if all your kind [hobbits] … became...

Please bear with a brief quote from a favorite author of mine. I promise it relates to gold. Having fought in World War I, and seen senseless loss of life, J.R.R. Tolkien had an extraordinary insight into the nature of evil. His iconic character, Gandalf the wizard, said this to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: ‘Ever since Bilbo left I have been deeply concerned about you…. It would be a grievous blow to the world, if the Dark Power overcame the Shire; if all your kind [hobbits] … became...

As we predicted over a year ago, in a world in which QE has failed, and in which the ice-cold grip of NIRP has to be global in order to achieve its intended purpose of forcing savers around the world to spend the taxed product of their labor, one thing has to be abolished: cash. This explains the recent flurry of articles in outlets such as BBG and the FT, and op-eds by such "established" economists as Larry Summers, all advocating the death of cash, a process which would begin by...

As we predicted over a year ago, in a world in which QE has failed, and in which the ice-cold grip of NIRP has to be global in order to achieve its intended purpose of forcing savers around the world to spend the taxed product of their labor, one thing has to be abolished: cash. This explains the recent flurry of articles in outlets such as BBG and the FT, and op-eds by such "established" economists as Larry Summers, all advocating the death of cash, a process which would begin by...

Dear Investors! Because the stock market is currently strongly correlated to the energy sector, Friday’s rally responded in kind on the news of a surge of 12.3% in the NYMEX WTI sweet crude market after a report had suggested that OPEC may finally agree to cut its production to reduce the world glut. The news instantly oiled the S&P 500’s rise of 1.95%. However despite the strong daily gain, oil prices still ended the week down in spite of being the best one-day gain since February...