Category Archive: 4.) Marc to Market
FX Daily, January 14: Markets are Subdued Despite Impeachment and Record Chinese Trade Surplus
Overview: The capital markets are becalmed today. There does not appear to be much reaction to the news that the House of Representatives impeached President Trump an unprecedented second time with greater bipartisan support than previously (10 GOP voted with the Democratic majority).
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FX Daily, January 13: PBOC Sends Signal as Market Looks Past Impeachment Vote
The US dollar is regaining ground lost in yesterday's setback against the major currencies. Sterling is the notable exception. It was toying with the $1.37 area, perhaps helped by the Governor of the Bank of England signal that there still are hurdles to adopting negative interest rates, which the futures market is still discounting for as soon as midyear.
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FX Daily, January 12: Markets Catch Collective Breath
Overview: The capital markets were stabilizing today after dramatic moves yesterday. Equity markets are recovering, and the dollar is paring yesterday's gains. Most equity markets in the Asia Pacific region rose, though Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia were notable exceptions.
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FX Daily, January 11: Greenback Extends Recovery
Julius Ceasar is said to have "crossed the Rubicon" on January 10, 49 BCE, taking the 13th Legion into Rome, defying orders from the Senate, and precipitating the Roman Civil Wat that marked the end of the republic and the birth of the empire.
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FX Daily, January 08: Can the Dollar Find Traction Even if the Employment Data Disappoint?
The global equity rally picked up this week as it closed in 2019. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained today and is up in nine of the past 10 sessions. It has fallen only in one week since the end of October. South Korea's Kospi led today's advance with a nearly 4% rally on the back of talks that were later played down between Hyundai and Apple.
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FX Daily, January 7: Dollar Bounces after Insurrection Put Down
Overview: After the National Guard were called to put down an insurrection in Washington, DC, the dollar is having its best day in around a week. The euro's three-day rally has been halted even though German factory orders surprised on the upside.
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FX Daily, January 6: High Drama Weighs on the Greenback and Lifts Yields
Overview: One of the two Georgia Senate contests remains too close to call, but the market appears to be pricing in a Democrat sweep. The 10-year yield has punched above 1% but has offered the greenback little support. Yesterday, the dollar-bloc currencies rose to highs since early Q2 2018 and are extending those gains today.
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FX Daily, January 04: Rising Equities and Slumping Dollar Greet the New Year
Overview: The first day of the New Year, but it feels a lot like last year. The dollar is under pressure, and equities are higher. Outside of Japan and Malaysia, The MSCI Asia Pacific Index extended last week's 3.6% gain. It has not rallied for seven consecutive sessions.
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January Monthly
It might not feel like a New Year, as the pandemic continues to ravage most countries. On top of the human toll, the economic fallout will continue to depress activity in the first part of 2021. However, policymakers throughout the G7 provided more stimulus in late 2020 and extended many emergency facilities well into the New Year.
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Inflating Inflation Expectations
Rising prices feature in many economic forecasts for the US. It is seen as part of the reflation meme as the vaccines roll out. There seem to be three threads to the discussion. The first is practically mathematically certain. Economists refer to it as the base effect. As the pandemic struck and the economy shut down, prices fell. Headline CPI fell by 0.4% in March 2019, by 0.8% in April, and another 0.1% in May. The PCE deflator, which the...
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Cool Video: A Look Ahead to 2021
I joined Ben Lichtenstein, host of the morning futures program at TDAmeritrade. It is in the futures market that I began my career, and where I gained respect for local traders, who do not have a large institutional backing such as a bank or hedge fund, and are trading their own capital, and taking the risk often from those institutional participants.
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The Dollar’s Evolving Outlook
The foreign exchange market sees an average daily turnover of something on the magnitude of $6.6 trillion a day. In a week, the turnover is sufficient to more than cover world trade for a year. It is the largest of the capital markets. Trends in the currency market can last for years.
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FX Daily, December 21: Happy Holidays
No daily commentary until the New Year, but watch this space for thematic pieces over the next two weeks. Here is to a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2021. Thank you for your support.
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FX Daily, December 17: Dollar Thumped
Overview: The prospects of a UK-EU deal and US stimulus continue to underwrite risk appetites and weigh on the dollar. Equity markets are moving higher. Led by Australia and China, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose to new record highs, while Dow Jones Stoxx 600 in Europe is at its best level since February.
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FX Daily, December 16: Greenback Slides Ahead of FOMC as Optimism Underpins Risk Appetites
Overview: The S&P 500 snapped a four-day downdraft helped by optimism over the progress toward fiscal stimulus and some hope that a new trade deal can still be negotiated between the UK and EU. Europe reported better than expected PMIs. Equities are broadly higher, as are interest rates, while the dollar slumps.
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FX Daily, December 15: The Bulls are Emboldened
The S&P fell for the fourth consecutive session yesterday, the longest losing streak of the quarter, and this seemed to encourage profit-taking in the Asia Pacific region today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped for the second consecutive session, and even confirmation of the Chinese recovery failed to lift the Shanghai Composite.
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Cool Video: CNBC-Asia–Brexit, Sterling, the Euro, and Dollar
I had the privilege to join Sri Jegarajah at CNBC Asia at the start of today's Asia Pacific session. We had a broad chat about the dollar, Brexit, and the euro. He gave me the opportunity to sketch out my views:1. The dollar's entered a cyclical decline, and the "twin deficit" issue will likely frame the narrative.
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FX Daily, December 14: Brexit Deal Hopes Lift Sterling
The fact that the UK and EU negotiators are still talking is seen as a constructive development and has spurred a sharp bounce in sterling. It traded below $1.3150 before the weekend and is pushing above $1.3400 in the European morning.
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FX Daily, December 11: Brexit Fears Weigh on Sterling
Overview: The odds of a UK-EU agreement and new stimulus before year-end in the US have faded and are sapping risk appetites ahead of the weekend. Although most Asia Pacific equity markets gained, China and Australia were notable exceptions, European shares are heavy, and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is near three-week lows.
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