Tag Archive: newslettersent

Trump Is Set To Label China A “Currency Manipulator”: What Happens Then?

2017-01-11

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2017-01-11

China - BoP
While China has been banging the nationalist drums in its government-owned tabloids, warning daily of the adverse consequences to the US from either a trade war, or from Trump's violating the "One China" policy, a more tangible concern for deteriorating relations between China and the US is that Trump could, and most likely will, brand China a currency manipulator shortly after taking over the the Oval Office.

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Great Graphic: Real Rates in US are Elevated

2017-01-11

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2017-01-11

The US 10-year yield fell briefly below 1.32% last July. The yield slowly rose to reach 1.80% in mid-October. The day after the election, the yield initially slipped to almost 1.71%. This was a bit of a miscue, and the yield rose sharply to hit almost 2.64% the day after the FOMC hiked rates for the second time in the cycle on December 14. The yield backed off to hit 2.33% at the end of last week.

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Switzerland Unemployment December 2016: Rise from 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent, seasonally adjusted unchanged at 3.3 percent

2017-01-10

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2017-01-10

Switzerland Unemployment Rate Not Seasonally Adjusted
Registered unemployment in December 2016 – According to the SECO surveys, 159,372 unemployed were registered at the Regional Employment Centers (RAV) at the end of December 2016, 10,144 more than in the previous month. The unemployment rate thus rose from 3.3% in November 2016 to 3.5% in the reporting month. Compared to the previous month, unemployment rose by 743 persons (+ 0.5%).

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FX Daily, January 10: Positioning more than Fundamentals Give Traders Pause

2017-01-10

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2017-01-10

FX Performance, January 10 2017 Movers and Shakers
After strong moves to start the year, the capital markets continue to consolidate. Many observers are suggesting a fundamental narrative behind the loss of momentum, but in discussions with clients and other market participants, it seems as if the main source of caution is coming from an understanding of market positioning rather than a reevaluation of the macro drivers.

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The Better Way: Backing into Smoot-Hawley and Repeating the Flaws of PPP

2017-01-10

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2017-01-10

Part of the US Republican tax reforms call for a border adjustment. It will tax imports fully and not exports. This will likely be challenged at the WTO. Many economists say the dollar will automatically appreciate by 20%. WE are bullish the dollar but skeptical of the logic here.

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Gold Price In GBP Up 4 percent On Brexit and UK Risks

2017-01-10

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2017-01-10

Gold Price in GBP
Gold Price In GBP Rises 4% On Brexit and UK Economy Risks. Pound fell 2% against gold yesterday after Theresa May created Brexit concerns. May's 'Hard Brexit' denial does not calm markets growing fears. Investors concerned about lack of government strategy and uncertainty. UK Prime Minister bizarrely blames media and "those who print things" for sterling depreciation. GBP gold builds on 31% gain in 2016 with 4% gain so far in 2017.

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Swiss Franc exchange rates receive double boost from UK uncertainty

2017-01-10

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2017-01-10

GBP/CHF - British Pound Swiss Franc, January 10
The Pound has had its worst day in two months yesterday, with exchange rates against most of its major currencies now reaching a two month low, and Swiss Franc exchange rates reaching down to the much dearer end of the 1.20’s once more.

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SNB announces 24 bn CHF profit for 2016 thanks to rising stock markets.

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

2016 Profit and Loss Swiss National SNB, US Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, British Pound, FX rates for USD, JPY, EUR, GBP in 2016 with base currency CHF
The Swiss National Bank has announced 24 bn profits from 2016. Profits came from the dollar, yen and Canadian dollar, while the pound retreated by 15%. The EUR/CHF is only slightly weaker, mostly because the SNB actively supported the euro.

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Swiss Retail Sales, November 2016: +0.2 percent Nominal and +0.4 percent Real

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

Switzerland Retail Sales YoY, December 2016
Turnover in the retail sector rose by 0.2% in nominal terms in November 2016 compared with the previous year. This is the first increase since December 2014. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 0.4% compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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FX Daily, January 09: Sterling Pounded by May’s Hard Brexit

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

Thor
Sterling has stolen the US dollar's spotlight. The issue facing market participants was if the rise in hourly earnings reported as part of the pre-weekend release of US December jobs data was sufficient to end the dollar's downside correction. Instead, May's comments over the weekend indicating not just a desire but strategic thrust to abandon the single market in exchange for regaining control over immigration and not being subject to the...

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Why Don’t the U.S. Dollar and Bitcoin Drop to Their Tangible Value, i.e. Zero?

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

Bitcoin January 2016 - January 2017
I have covered the many reasons why the U.S. dollar (USD) has strengthened in dozens of posts over the past 5 years, (Could the U.S. Dollar Rise 50%?, January 12, 2011), and I described the positive dynamics of bitcoin last summer in An Everyman's Guide to Understanding Cryptocurrencies (June 13, 2016), back when bitcoin was under $600.

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Weekly Sight Deposits and Speculative Positions: SNB Intervenes, Speculators Short CHF again

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

Euro/Swiss Franc FX Cross Rate, January 09
EUR/CHF at the "in-official minimum band" of 1.0680 to 1.07. SNB intervenes for 0.7 bn CHF to keep the euro slightly over 1.07. Speculators are net short CHF with 13K contracts against USD, 3K more than last week. This is still far from the post financial crisis record of 26 K contracts. Moreover the net short GBP are increasing again.

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Weekly Speculative Positions: CHF and GBP net shorts are slowly rising again

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

Speculative Positions Commitments of traders Swiss Franc - 09.01
Speculators are net short CHF with 13K contracts against USD, 3K more than last week. This is still far from the post financial crisis record of 26 K contracts. Moreover the net short GBP are increasing again.

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FX Weekly Preview: Macro Forces Underpin Dollar, Equities and Yields

2017-01-09

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2017-01-09

Rushmore
Odds of a March Fed hike edged up last week, and Q4 GDP figures were revised higher. Many continue to expect the new US Administration to pursue pro-growth tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending. Although many other high income countries are growing, near trend divergence of monetary policy continues.

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Risk Reward Analysis for Financial Markets

2017-01-08

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2017-01-08

Stock Market Crash 1929
We focus this video regarding the potential upside for stocks versus the considerable downside risk for investors. All Technical Analysis is flawed and backward looking, it is a Critical Thinking flaw to extrapolate the future from the most recent past. I want to know the next market move, and not still be stuck on the most recent market move. And the most important fact of all is valuations, stocks are in a bubble right now due to Central Banks...

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Basic Income Arrives: Finland To Hand Out Guaranteed Income Of €560 To Lucky Citizens

2017-01-08

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2017-01-08

income inequality
Just over a year ago, we reported that in what was set to be a pilot experiment in "universal basic income", Finland would become the first nation to hand out "helicopter money" in the form of cash directly to a select group of citizens.

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FX Weekly Review, January 02 – 07: Is the corrective phase of the dollar over?

2017-01-08

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2017-01-08

US Dollar/Swiss Franc FX Spot Rate, December 30
The lack of full participation and the resulting choppy conditions may have obscured the signal from the capital markets. That signal we think was one of correction since shortly after the Fed's rate hike in id-December. The question now, after the US employment data showed continued labor market strength and that earnings improvement remains intact, is whether the corrective phase is over.

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Why Profits Are Faltering

2017-01-08

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2017-01-08

National Income: Corporate Profits
Profits are faltering for structural reasons that are not easily resolved. The bedrock assumption of the Bull market is that corporate profits will keep rising indefinitely. Hiccups are allowed, but current stock market valuations are implicitly based on profits expanding.

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A Trade Deal Trump Cannot Improve

2017-01-08

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2017-01-08

Alice Meets Red Queen
BALTIMORE – People can believe whatever they want. But sooner or later, real life intervenes. We just like to see the looks on their faces when it does. By that measure, 2017 may be our best year ever. Rarely have so many people believed so many impossible things.

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US Jobs Details Better than the Headline

2017-01-07

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2017-01-07

The dollar and US yields are recouping more of yesterday’s decline. A break of $1.0480-$1.05 would suggest the euro’s upside bounce is exhausted. A dollar move above JPY116.80-JPY117.25 would also hint that the greenback was going to make an other run toward JPY118.30-JPY118.60. Sterling support is seen in the $1.2285-$1.2310 area.

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