Category Archive: 4.) Marc to Market

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FX Daily, February 13: Quiet Start of Busy Week

2017-02-13

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2017-02-13

With inflation and growth reports due out this week and Federal Reserve Chair Yellen's testimony before Congress, it promises to be a busy week for investors. However, the week has begun off fairly quietly, while the recent rally in equities continues.

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New Book: Political Economy of Tomorrow

2017-02-13

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2017-02-13

My new book,Political Economy of Tomorrowhas just been published, and it is available onAmazon. The book is not so much of a sequel to my first book,Making Sense of the Dollar. There is very little about the foreign exchange market in the new book. However, it is not wholly new cloth either.

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FX Weekly Preview: Yellen’s Path Cleared by Trump’s Moderation

2017-02-13

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2017-02-13

Trump has moderated in several areas, he is being checked in others, and less impactful in others. This will underscore the focus on Yellen's testimony this week. At same time, many will be reluctant to short the dollar ahead of the tax reform plans that may be unveiled in Trump's upcoming speech to Congress.

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FX Daily, February 10: US Dollar Holding on to Week’s Gains

2017-02-10

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2017-02-10

The US dollar is about 12 hours away from gaining against all the major currencies this week. The main talking points today remain Trump-centric. The US dollar is mixed as European trading gets underway. Of note the dollar is continuing to gain on the yen. The yen is off 0.4%, which is nearly half the week's decline. The Aussie is the strongest on the day, up about 0.2% to trim the week's loss to about 0.45%.

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Cool Video: Bearish Case for Euro and Prospect of Currency Wars

2017-02-10

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2017-02-10

Still in London as this part of the business trip is winding down. I had the privilege of going over to the Bloomberg office today and spoke with Vonnie Quinn and Mark Burton about the euro's outlook and whether the US should have a strong or weak dollar.

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FX Daily, February 09: Dollar Bounce in Asia is Sold in the European Morning

2017-02-09

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2017-02-09

Winter
The US dollar is firmer against most of the major currencies in fairly quiet Asian turnover, but is seeing those gains pared in early Europe. The highlights include the RBNZ meeting that left rates on hold, as widely expected. The concern about the strength of the Kiwi saw the market reduce the perceived likelihood of a rate hike. NZD came off.

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Is a Strong or Weak Dollar Good for the US? The $16 trillion Question

2017-02-09

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2017-02-09

Еagleflag
Dollar movement helps some economic interest and hurts others. From a strategic point of view, the best thing for the US is the market-generated rate. It was an important achievement that the forex market was de-weaponized. Many observers have been crying wolf about a currency war for many years, which may have de-sensitized investors to the threat of a real one.

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Cool Video: Around the World with Katie Martin of the Financial Times

2017-02-09

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2017-02-09

Fintool - Marc Chandler
I am in London as part of a larger business trip. I had the chance today to talk to Katie Martin, who runs Fast FT and is often writing about foreign exchange. They show was live on Facebook. It is about a 22 minute interview and although foreign exchange is the key issue, to get to it we end up talking about many things, including US interest rates, Trump, and even cooking frogs.

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Great Graphic: Interesting Sterling Price Action

2017-02-08

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2017-02-08

GBP Currency, Feb 02-07
Sterling is having an interesting day. It fell in the face of the US dollar's bounce but has recovered fully. It has not yet traded above yesterday's high (~$1.2510) but it may. It does appear to be tracing out a hammer in Japanese candle stick terms.

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The Dollar: Real or Nominal Rates?

2017-02-06

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2017-02-06

US Dollar Index Currency 2011-2017
Real interest rates are nominal rates adjusted for inflation expectations.Inflation expectations are tricky to measure. The Federal Reserve identifies two broad metrics. There are surveys, like the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey, and the Fed conducts a regular survey of professional forecasters. There are also market-based measures, like the breakevens, which compare the conventional yield to the inflation-linked, or protected...

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FX Weekly Preview: Politics Not Economics is Driving the Markets

2017-02-06

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2017-02-06

The Fed is more confident this year of stable growth and rising inflation. The new US Administration's economic agenda is beginning to take shape, though it is not clear that consumer interests will be pursued. There are several considerations, including politics in Europe, that are driving European rates higher. The RBA and RBNZ meet next week. Neither is expected to change policy.

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FX Daily, February 03: US Jobs Trump Europe’s Service PMIs

2017-02-03

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2017-02-03

FX Performance, February 03 2017 Movers and Shakers
Ahead of the weekend, there are two series of economic reports. The first are Europe's service PMI reports and the second is the US employment report. Neither report is likely to alter views significantly, but the latter has greater potential to move the market.

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The Future of Globalization

2017-02-03

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2017-02-03

antiglobalization
antiglobalizationThe cross-border movement of goods, services, and capital increased markedly for the thirty years up to the Great Financial Crisis. Although the recovery has given way to a new economic expansion in the major economies, global trade and capital flows remain well below pre-crisis levels. It had given rise to a sense globalization is ending.

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FX Daily, February 02: Dollar Remains on Back Foot After ADP and FOMC

2017-02-02

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2017-02-02

FX Performance, February 02 2017 Movers and Shakers
The US dollar remains on its back foot despite the stronger than expected ADP job estimate and the FOMC that said nothing to dissuade investors that it will be gradually raising rates this year.  

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Great Graphic: French Premium over Germany Continues to Grow

2017-02-02

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2017-02-02

French Premium Over Germany Since 2014
European premiums over Germany typically increase in a rising interest rate environment. France's premium is at the most in two years. France is still set to turn back the challenge from Le Pen.

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Thoughts about the Fed’s Balance Sheet

2017-02-02

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2017-02-02

hotair balloon
Several regional Fed presidents want to begin talking about shrinking Fed's balance sheet. Leadership does not appear to have great urgency, so don't expect anything in this week's statement. First step more hikes, then refrain from reinvesting payments and maturities, but slowly.

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FX Daily, 01 February: Markets Stabilize, Investors Await Signals from US data and FOMC, and POTUS

2017-02-01

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2017-02-01

(commentary will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks during a European business trip) The US dollar is consolidating yesterday's losses that were spurred speculation that the US was abandoning the more than 20-year old strong dollar policy. The meaning of that policy was clear to global investors even if it was often parodied.

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Trade is Trump’s Centerpiece

2017-02-01

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2017-02-01

Trans-Pacific Partnership
Investors are anxiously awaiting more details on the new US Administration's economic policies and priorities. Part of the challenge is that the cabinet represents a wide range of views and it is not clear where the informal power lies, or whose call is it. In terms of economic policy, trade is being given priority. It is seen as the key to the jobs and growth objectives.

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Pressure on Greece Mounts, New Crisis Looms

2017-02-01

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2017-02-01

greece
Greece needs to implement its commitments in the next few weeks or it faces a new crisis. The more the government implements its commitments, the less public support it draws. New elections in Greece cannot be ruled out.

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FX Daily, January 31: Markets Look for Solid Footing

2017-01-31

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2017-01-31

FX Performance, January 31 2017 Movers and Shakers
The immigration imbroglio in the United States is being cited in various accounts for the price action, including yesterday's drop in the S&P 500, where the intraday loss was the largest since before the election. The drama is also being blamed for the dollar's losses yesterday, which it is consolidating today.

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