Category Archive: 4.) Marc to Market

Filter archive by: Show All Show only Articles Show only Videos

FX Daily, August 23: Dollar Rebounds

2018-08-23

by

2018-08-23

After correcting lower since the middle of last week, and pushed faster if not further by President Trump's comments, the US dollar is rebounding against most of the major and emerging market currencies today. After an initial wobble on the back of the FOMC minutes, the greenback's recovery began in earnest.

Read More »

Three Things that may Disappoint Investors

2018-08-23

by

2018-08-23

There are three areas that we suspect that many investors are vulnerable to disappointment. NAFTA, trade talks with China, and Powell speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. With problems elsewhere, the Trump Administration has been playing up the likelihood of an agreement as early as today with Mexico, which would be used, apparently to deliver a fait accompli to Canada.

Read More »

FX Daily, August 22: Markets Take US Political Developments in Stride

2018-08-22

by

2018-08-22

News that President Trump's personal lawyer claimed he was instructed by the candidate to commit a federal crime and, separately, his the former campaign manager was found guilty on eight counts is hardly impacting the global capital markets.

Read More »

Cool Video: Bloomberg TV Clip-Dollar Developments

2018-08-22

by

2018-08-22

Bloomberg Cool Video
The US dollar was sliding as I joined Vonnie Quinn and Shery Ahn on the Bloomberg Markets show. I tried making the case, as I have in recent posts, that the dollar's rally in the first half of the month had left it over-extended. Most of the major currencies were outside of their Bollinger Bands a week ago and had begun correcting since August 15.

Read More »

Great Graphic: Head and Shoulders Top in Dollar Index

2018-08-21

by

2018-08-21

This Great Graphic depicts what appears to be a head and shoulders top in the hourly bar chart of the Dollar Index. The neckline is found near 96.00 and rotating the pattern along it produces a measuring objective near 95.00. The bearish pattern was formed in the last few days, and the Dollar Index was resting near the neckline before Trump's comments gave it the push.

Read More »

FX Daily, August 21: Trump Comments Hit Dollar, Little Impact on Rates

2018-08-21

by

2018-08-21

The US dollar is broadly lower following President Trump's comments yesterday, criticising Fed policy and reiterating his previously made claim that China and the EU are manipulating their currencies. We suggested that last week's presidential tweet that identified strong capital inflows into the US may not have been written by President Trump.

Read More »

FX Daily, August 20: Greenback Consolidates Pre-Weekend Pullback in Quiet Turnover

2018-08-20

by

2018-08-20

The US dollar is slightly firmer against most of the major currencies, as the light participation and lack of fresh news see a consolidative tone emerge after the pullback at the end of last week. Although markets in Turkey are closed for a nearly week-long holiday, it has not prevented the lira from weakening. After closing a little below TRY6.02 before the weekend, the greenback has moved to TRY6.15 in the European morning.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Five Traps in the Week Ahead

2018-08-20

by

2018-08-20

Officials have taken steps to make it more difficult and more expensive to short the lira, but that did not prevent a 5% slide ahead of the weekend. There is no interest rate, within reason, that can compensate for such currency risk.

Read More »

Capital Flocks to the US

2018-08-19

by

2018-08-19

The US policy mix gets a privileged place in our understanding of what is the dollar. Tighter monetary policy and looser fiscal policy could be the closest thing to an elixir for currencies.  It is the policy mix that the US is pursuing.  

Read More »

FX Daily, August 17: Dollar Limps into the Weekend

2018-08-17

by

2018-08-17

The US dollar is trading heavily against most of the world's currencies today.  The main exceptions come from the emerging markets where the Turkish lira, Russian ruble, and Mexican peso are the chief exceptions, and their losses are modest.  This week's dollar gains are being pared in largely corrective activity and amid a light news stream.  The threat of more sanctions on Turkey if it does not release the American pastor is helping the...

Read More »

Great Graphic: Crude Approaches Year-Old Trend Line

2018-08-17

by

2018-08-17

Crude oil has been climbing a trendline for the past year. This Great Graphic depicts this trend on a weekly bar chart. Depending exactly the line is drawn, it comes in now near $65 a barrel. The technical indicators are consistent with further losses.

Read More »

FX Daily, August 16: Emerging Markets Stabilize, Dollar Eases a Little

2018-08-16

by

2018-08-16

Two developments have helped turned sentiment, or at least arrested the markets' momentum. First, the developments in Turkey, where officials have taken a few measures that will make it somewhat more difficult to access the lira.

Read More »

Great Graphic JPY Struggles at Trendline

2018-08-16

by

2018-08-16

This Great Graphic is a weekly bar chart of the dollar-yen exchange rate.  It shows a three-year downtrend line (white line).  The US dollar had popped above it last month, but this proved premature and has not closed about it for a month.  The trendline is found near JPY111.55 now.

Read More »

FX Daily, August 15: Lira Rallies on Cut in Swaps, but Fails to Dent Dollar Demand

2018-08-15

by

2018-08-15

The Turkish lira is extending yesterday's recovery today on the back of actions by officials that are aimed at limiting foreign access to the lira to short. Without introducing new capital controls, regulators halved the amount of swap transactions banks can do to 25% of shareholder equity. This is meant to make it more difficult to access lira in the offshore swaps market, which is an important channel.

Read More »

Cool Video: CNBC Discussion on Turkey

2018-08-15

by

2018-08-15

I had the opportunity to join Professor Hanke to discuss the crisis in Turkey. The professor sketched out his view expressed in a recent op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, arguing that Turkey is best served by adopting a currency board, anchoring the lira to hard currency, like the euro or dollar, or gold. 

Read More »

FX Daily, August 14: Brief Respite but Little Relief

2018-08-14

by

2018-08-14

Corrective pressures grip the capital markets today, helped by the easing of the selling pressure on Turkey, but its more a respite than a relief as no new policy initiatives are behind the lira's upticks. The implication of this is that it is unlikely to last. In fact, the dollar's low in early Europe a just above TRY6.41 after trading a little above TRY7.23 yesterday may be about the most that can reasonably be expected.

Read More »

Great Graphic: Possible Head and Shoulders Top in Euro

2018-08-14

by

2018-08-14

Euro BGN Currency
The euro appears to have carved out head and shoulder top. As this Great Graphic depicts, the euro was sold through the neckline at the end of last week and is 1% below it today. It is not unusual for the neckline to be retested. It is found near $1.15. It also dovetails with our near-term caution given that the euro is likely to close below its Bollinger Band for the second consecutive session (~$1.1440).

Read More »

FX Daily, August 13: Turkey Drives Risk-Off, but Pressure Abating

2018-08-13

by

2018-08-13

The failure of Turkey to grab the bull by the horns, so to speak, and come to grips with the situation saw the dollar soar above TRY7.23(from TRY6.43 at the end of last week) and to ZAR15.55 (from ZAR14.09). The Mexican peso, the strongest currency this year, and which has been partially protected by prospects of a new NAFTA agreement has suffered as well.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Testing the Dollar’s Breakout

2018-08-13

by

2018-08-13

The US dollar surged last week, with the Dollar Index rising 1.25%, the most since April. The dollar is being boosted by two drivers. The first is the policy mix and interest rate divergence. The other is the intensification of pressure on emerging market. Turkey has a disastrous combination of more fundamentals, large short-term foreign currency debt obligations, unorthodox policies, and the lack of credibility.

Read More »

The Yin and Yang of the US-China Relationship

2018-08-11

by

2018-08-11

Chimerica always seemed like an oversimplification of a complex and dialectic relationship between the US and China.  However, it did express an underlying truth, that China's rise over the last 40 years has been predicated on Deng Xiaoping's political and economic reforms and, importantly, the world of free-trade (a reduction in tariff barriers to trade) promoted by the United States.  

Read More »