Category Archive: 4.) Marc to Market

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Tech Sell-Off Continues

2021-11-23

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2021-11-23

Overview:  The markets are unsettled.  Bond yields have jumped, tech stocks are leading an equity slump, and yesterday's crude oil bounce reversed.  Gold, which peaked last week near $1877, has been dumped to around $1793.  The tech sell-off in the US carried into the Asia Pacific session, and Hong Kong led most markets lower.  The local holiday let Japanese markets off unscathed, though the Nikkei futures are off about 0.4%.  Australia and India...

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Market Shrugs Off Chinese Signals and Keeps the Yuan Bid

2021-11-22

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2021-11-22

Overview:  The US dollar has come back bid from the weekend against most currencies following the talk by a couple of Fed governors about the possibility of accelerating the tapering at next month's FOMC meeting.  The weekend also saw protests against the social restrictions being imposed by several European countries in the face of a surge in Covid cases.  The Swedish krona, yen, and sterling are the weakest, while the dollar-bloc currencies are...

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Covid Surge Compounds Monetary Divergence to give the Euro its Biggest Weekly Loss in Five Months

2021-11-21

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2021-11-21

Strong US consumption and production figures kept the greenback well supported last week on the heels of the jump in CPI to 6.2%.  Meanwhile, the surge of Covid cases in Europe underscores the divergences with the US, sending the euro to new lows for the year.  

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Flash PMIs Play Second Fiddle to US PCE Deflator and Accelerating Inflation

2021-11-20

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2021-11-20

The flash November PMIs would be the main focus in the week ahead if it were more normal times.  But these are not normal times, and growth prospects are not the key driver of the investment climate.  This quarters' growth is largely baked into the cake.  The world's three largest economies, the US, China, and Japan, are likely to accelerate for different reasons in Q4 from Q3.  Europe is the weak sibling, and growth in the eurozone and UK may slow...

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Covid Wave Knocks Euro Down and to new 6-year Lows Against the Swiss Franc

2021-11-19

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2021-11-19

Overview:  Concerns about the virus surge in Europe cut short the euro's bounce and sent it back below $1.1300 and are also weighing on central European currencies, including the Hungarian forint, despite yesterday's aggressive hike of the one-week deposit rate.  Austria has reintroduced a hard 20-day lockdown.  Germany's health minister warned that the situation deteriorated and vaccines were not enough to break the wave.  He was explicit that a...

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Euro Bounces Back, but the Turkish Lira Remains Unloved

2021-11-18

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2021-11-18

Overview:  The US dollar's sharp upside momentum stalled yesterday near JPY115 and after the euro met (and surpassed) a key retracement level slightly below $1.1300.  Led by the Antipodean currencies today, the greenback is mostly trading with a heavier bias.  Among the majors, helped by a steadying of US yields, the yen is soft.  In the emerging market space, the Turkish lira continues its headlong plunge while the yuan softened and the Mexican...

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European Gas Jumps, while the Euro and Yen Slump

2021-11-17

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2021-11-17

Overview: The prospects that the 6.2% CPI will prompt the Fed to move quicker continue to underpin the dollar.  The euro fell to about $1.1265, its lowest level since last September, and the Japanese yen slumped to a fresh four-year low.  The JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index tumbled 1% yesterday, the largest decline since February.  A more stable tone is evident in Europe, as the euro has recovered above $1.13, and the JP Morgan Index is...

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Biden-Xi “Summit” Leaves Markets Unmolested, While Bailey Continues to Blame Investors for Misunderstanding Him

2021-11-16

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2021-11-16

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Overview: The much-heralded Biden-Xi meeting left little impression on the capital markets.  Equities in the region were mixed, and China's main markets fell, alongside Australia, South Korea, and India.  European equities continue their upward market, with the Stoxx 600 gaining for a fifth consecutive session. US futures are softer.  The bond market is quiet, with the US 10-year yield softer slightly below...

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The Greenback Slips to Start the New Week

2021-11-15

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2021-11-15

Overview:  While the Belarus-Poland border remains an intense standoff, there have been a couple other diplomatic developments that may be exciting risk appetites today.  First, Biden and Xi will talk by phone later today.  Second, reports suggest the UK has toned down its rhetoric making progress on talks on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

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CPI Shocker Lifted the Greenback, which now needs to Take a Breath

2021-11-14

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2021-11-14

The jump in US headline CPI above 6% crossed some Rubicon and injected dynamic into the process.  The dollar rallied, and new highs for the year were recorded against the euro and sterling.

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US Retail Sales and Industrial Output to Accelerate; China not so Much

2021-11-13

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2021-11-13

At the halfway point of Q4, the markets' focus is on three things:  inflation, growth, and central banks' response. With US and Chinese October inflation readings behind us, the focus shifts to the real economy's performance, the world's two largest economies reporting retail sales and industrial production figures.   Helped by stronger auto sales, the first increase in six months, US retail sales likely turned in another solid showing of around...

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Euro and Sterling Record New Lows for the Year

2021-11-12

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2021-11-12

Overview: The capital markets remain unsettled.  The US CPI with a 6%-handle has lifted bond market volatility, disrupted rallies in stocks, and extended the dollar's rally.   Small gains in the US S&P 500 and NASDAQ yesterday and a better news stream from China helped lift Asia Pacific equities today.  Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, and India rose more than 1%.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is struggling as energy, health care, and utilities are...

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Half a Dozen Things You Should Know about FX

2021-11-11

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2021-11-11

1.  The market is still digesting the implications of Wednesday's CPI shock.  The dollar has strengthened, yields have risen, the stock market wobbled after a long advancing streak, and in any event, stabilized in light trading during the US and Canadian holidays. However, given the low year-ago reading, there is a significant risk that inflation (including the core rate) will accelerate over the next few months. As a result, the Federal Reserve...

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China’s CPI Accelerated to 1.5%, US CPI to Approach 6%

2021-11-10

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2021-11-10

Overview: As bond yields slumped yesterday, stocks snapped their advancing streak.  The Stoxx 600 fell for the first time in nine sessions yesterday and is lower today.  The S&P 500 ended a nine-session advance, and the NASDAQ snapped a 12-session rally.  Futures on the indices point to a lower open.  Bonds are paring yesterday's gain, which saw the US 10-year yield fall below its 200-day moving average (~1.45%) and may explain the soft auction...

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FX Daily, November 9: Falling Yields Give the Yen a Boost

2021-11-09

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2021-11-09

Overview: Reports that the Fed's Brainard was interviewed for the Chair helped soften yields a bit, not that they needed extra pressure, on ideas she is more dovish than Powell.  In turn, the lower yields saw the yen rise to its best level in nearly a month and led the major currencies higher against the dollar. 

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Markets Await Fresh Developments

2021-11-08

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2021-11-08

Overview: Last week's bond market rally has stalled.  Benchmark 10-year yields are up 1-3 bp in Europe, and the three bp increase in the US puts the yield slightly below 1.50%.  Equities were mixed in the Asia Pacific region. 

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Profit-Taking on Dollar Longs after Better than Expected Jobs Report Sets Stage Until CPI

2021-11-07

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2021-11-07

The US dollar turned in a solid week's performance, rising against most currencies and recording a marginal new high for the year against the euro.  Sterling and the Australian dollar competed for the worst performer.  Both central banks pushed against market expectations for aggressive near-term tightening. The central banks triggered a short squeeze in the bond market, where 10-year benchmark yields from 10 bp in the US to 34 bp in Italy.  UK...

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US and China’s October Inflation Featured in the Week Ahead

2021-11-07

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2021-11-07

The cycle of the major central bank meetings has passed.  The Anglo-American central banks and Norway are ahead among the high-income countries in the adjustment of monetary policy. Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to scar, and flare-ups are extending the economic and social disruption in some large countries, including China and Russia.  Parts of Europe are experiencing another wave, including Ireland, the UK, and Germany. From the RBA and ECB to...

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Profit-Taking on Dollar Longs after Better than Expected Jobs Report Sets Stage Until CPI

2021-11-07

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2021-11-07

The US dollar turned in a solid week's performance, rising against most currencies and recording a marginal new high for the year against the euro.  Sterling and the Australian dollar competed for the worst performer. 

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Isn’t the Labor Shortage Transitory?

2021-11-05

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2021-11-05

Overview:  The major central banks have successfully pushed back against the aggressive tightening the market had discounted.  The Bank of England's decision not to raise rates after key officials seemed to suggest one was imminent. On the heels of what we argued was a dovish tapering announcement by the Fed, it spurred a dramatic decline in short and long-term interest rates. The drop in UK rates--21 bp in the 2-year and nearly 14 bp in the...

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