Dollar Crumbles During a Volatile Week
The week began with a market swoon after S&P announced that it was placing the US on negative watch. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Inc. cut its outlook on the U.S. to negative, increasing the likelihood of a potential downgrade from its triple-A rating, as the path from large budget deficits and rising government debt [...]
“Risk On” Gains Steam Throughout the Week
The currency markets experienced a movement away from safe haven currencies during the weak as the Yen declined hitting its lowest level in the past 6 months against the dollar. The Euro remained range bound between 1.4250 and 1.4000 as issues related to Ireland and Portugal continue to put pressure on European peripheral yields. During [...]
Portugal Downgrade Shows S&P Behind the Curve
S&P cut Portugal one notch from BBB to BBB-, and comes just five days after it cut the rating from A- to BBB. Things have not changed that much in the last five days, which just proves the point that S&P is possibly behind the curve. The euro has remained firm, despite continued issues related [...]
Risk Returns to the Capital Markets
Riskier assets gained traction and were able to perform well during the majority of the past week. Equity markets, along with commodities lead the charge higher and pushed commodity oriented currencies higher as well. Commodity prices on precious metals also made new all time highs, specifically in Gold and Silver. The Euro and the Australian [...]
Consumer Prices Increase More than Expected
CPI last month increased by 0.5% from January, according to the Labor Department. That followed increases of 0.4% the previous two months. Over the last 12 months, prices were up 2.1% in February. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.5% in February and the core consumer price index to gain 0.1%.
Nikkei Crumbles After Another Explosion
In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average closed down nearly 11% lower, sparking broad declines in Asian, European markets and US markets. The selloff came after two more explosions occurred Tuesday at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant, releasing large amounts of nuclear material directly into the atmosphere. Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned of “substantial” radiation leaks.
The Euro Breaks to the Upside
The main event in the currency markets this week was the statement issued by the ECB, alerting markets participants that inflation was moving up at an unacceptable rate, and the ECB was not going to sit on the sidelines waiting for growth to gain traction before it began to fight inflation. European Central Bank President [...]
Silver Shines Brightest
The dollar remains bid The Yen consolidated after rallying for most of last week, after as expected GDP growth in Japan was offset by a favorable US interest rate differential. Japans economy contracted in the fourth quarter by .3%. The reduction in growth was largely due to a sharp fall in household spending -0.7% in [...]
Political Unrest Drives Markets
Political contagion hit the Egyptian market as riots and fight continued to spread across the capital. The Egypt equity markets have collapsed and are closed after erasing approximately 12 billion dollars within the last 2 trading days of the week. For the fourth consecutive day of street protests, as police used tear gas, bullets and [...]
Euro Break Out!
Europe is Moving in Different Directions The euro made new high this week, the highest since late November. Ten year yields have fallen 10-25 basis points in Greece, Portugal and Spain. The rally in the periphery is generating some positive momentum for the Euro. It seems that Germany is balking at boosting the size of [...]
Loading ...
