Tag Archive: Russia

Yen Blues

2022-04-19

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2022-04-19

Benchmark 10-year bonds yields in the US and Europe are at new highs for the year.  The US yield is approaching 2.90%, while European rates are mostly 5-8 bp higher.  The 10-year UK Gilt yield is up nine basis points to push near 1.98%. The higher yields are seeing the yen's losing streak extend, and the greenback has jumped 1% to around JPY128.45  The dollar is trading lower against the other major currencies but the Swiss franc.

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Greenback Starts New Week on Firm Note

2022-04-18

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2022-04-18

Overview: With many financial centers, especially in Europe, closed for the long holiday weekend, risk-appetites remain in check.  Most Asia Pacific markets fell, and poor earnings from Infosys and Tata Consultancy, saw India pace the decline with a 2% drop.  US futures are also trading with a heavier bias.  Interest rates remain firm.  The US 2- and 10-year yields are up a couple of basis points to 2.47% and 2.85% respectively.  China's GDP...

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Is The Ruble Backed By Gold Now?

2022-04-16

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2022-04-16

Over the past couple of weeks, we reviewed the U.S. government confiscation of gold by Executive Order in 1933. (see “Gold Confiscation: Will History Repeat Itself?” and “The Facts of Gold Confiscation: The Saga Continues”).

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Good Friday

2022-04-15

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2022-04-15

Overview:  Most centers are closed for the holidays today.  The Asia Pacific equity markets were open and moved lower following the losses on Wall Street yesterday.  The weakness of the yen failed to underpin Japanese shares.

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Russia’s “gold peg”: Lessons for Western investors

2022-04-12

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2022-04-12

Putin
It is undeniable that the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has polarized Western societies to an extent unseen in decades in any other foreign conflict. For over a month, we have been bombarded unceasingly by all mainstream media sources with reports and stories about Russia’s invasion and this conflict has already created deep social rifts in many other nations, and EU members in particular.

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RBA Drops “patience” to Send the Aussie Higher

2022-04-05

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2022-04-05

Overview: The Reserve Bank of Australia hinted that it was getting closer to a rate hike.  The Australian dollar was bid to its best level since the middle of last year.  Australian stocks advanced in a mixed regional session while China and Hong Kong markets were closed for the local holiday.  BOJ Kuroda called the yen's recent moves "rapid."  The yen is sidelined today as the dollar weakens against other major currencies, led by the...

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BOJ Steps-Up its Efforts, US 2-10 Curve steepens, and the Dollar Softens

2022-03-30

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2022-03-30

Overview:  A pullback in US yields yesterday and the Bank of Japan's stepped-up efforts to defend the Yield Curve Control policy helped extend the yen's recovery.  This spurred profit-taking on Japanese stocks, where the Nikkei had rallied around 11% over the past two weeks. 

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Can Russia Evade Sanctions via the Gold or Bitcoin Trades?

2022-03-30

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2022-03-30

Can Russia Evade Sanctions via the Gold and Bitcoin Trades?

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Calmer Markets: Hope Springs Eternal

2022-03-29

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2022-03-29

Overview:  Interest rates continue to rise, but equities are looking through it today and the dollar is drawing less succor.  Asia Pacific equities were mostly higher.  With half of Shanghai in lockdown, Chinese equities were unable to join the regional advance.  Europe's Stoxx 600, led by energy and consumer discretionary sectors, is rising for the third consecutive sessions. US futures have a small upward bias. 

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Yields Jump, Greenback Bid

2022-03-28

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2022-03-28

Overview: Yields are surging.  Canada and Australia's two-year yields have jumped 20 bp, with the US yield up 10 bp to 2.37% ahead of the $50 bln sale later today.  The US 10-year yield has risen a more modest three basis points to 2.50%, flattening the 2-10-year yields curve.  The 5–30-year curve has inverted for the first time since 2016. 

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The Fed Has No Idea What’s Coming Next!

2022-03-18

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2022-03-18

We will let you know what we are doing once we know what we are doing was the message from the Federal Reserve statement and Chair Powell’s press conference that followed.

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FX Daily, March 17: Investors are Skeptical that the Fed can Achieve a Soft-Landing. Can the BOE do Better?

2022-03-17

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2022-03-17

EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, March 17
Overview:  The markets continue to digest the implications of yesterday's Fed move and Beijing's signals of more economic supportive efforts as the Bank of England's move awaited.  The US 5–10-year curve is straddling inversion and the 2-10 curve has flattened as the Fed moves from one horn of the dilemma (behind the inflation curve) to the other horn (recession fears).  Asia Pacific equities extended yesterday's surge.  The Hang Seng led the...

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Weekly Market Pulse: Is This A Bear Market?

2022-03-16

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2022-03-16

I don’t know the answer to the question posed in the title. No one does because the future is not predictable. I don’t know what will happen in Ukraine. I don’t know how much what has already happened there – and what might – matters to the US and global economy. I don’t know if the Fed is making a mistake by (likely) hiking interest rates by an entire 1/4 of 1% this week.

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China and Hong Kong Stocks Plummet, Yields Soar

2022-03-14

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2022-03-14

Overview: While the World Health Organization debates about downgrading Covid from a pandemic, the rise China and Hong Kong cases is striking.  A lockdown in Shenzhen and restrictions in Shanghai, coupled with a record fine by PBOC officials on Tencent drove local stocks sharply lower.  China's CSI 300 fell 3% and a measure of Chinese stocks that trade in HK plunged more than 7%. 

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Risk Assets Given a Reprieve

2022-03-09

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2022-03-09

Overview: US equities failed to sustain early gains yesterday, but risk appetites have returned today.  Asia Pacific equities had a poor start, with Chinese and Japanese indices losing ground, but the equity benchmarks in Taiwan, Australia, India, and most of the smaller markets traded higher.  Taiwan's 1.1% gain is notable as foreign investors continued to be heavy sellers. 

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Vladimir Nogoodnik Roils Markets

2022-03-07

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2022-03-07

Overview:  The economic disruption seen since the US warning of an imminent Russian attack on February 11 continue to ripple through the capital and commodity markets.  Equities are being slammed.  Most Asia Pacific bourses were off 2-3% today. Europe's Stoxx 600 gapped lower ad has approached February 2021 levels, orr about 2.6% today.  US futures are around 1.5% lower.

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SWIFT Isn’t The ‘Nuclear Option’ For Russia, Because Russia can sell the dollars elsewhere and NOT via Swift

2022-03-01

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2022-03-01

As everyone “knows”, the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency which can only leave the US government in control of it. Participation is both required and at the pleasure of American authorities. If you don’t accept their terms, you risk the death penalty: exile from the privilege of the US dollar’s essential business.From what little most people know about that essential business, it seems like it has something to do with that thing called...

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Russia’s Military Action Shakes Markets

2022-02-24

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2022-02-24

Overview: News that the separatists were calling on Moscow for military assistance began the risk-off move, and Russia hitting targets across Ukraine has rippled across the capital markets.  Equites have been upended.  Most bourses in the Asia Pacific region were off 2%-3%, while the Stoxx 600 in Europe gapped lower and is off around 3.5% in late morning dealings. 

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The Red Warning

2022-02-24

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2022-02-24

Now it’s the Russian’s fault. Belligerence surrounding Donbas and Ukraine, raw materials and energy supplies to Europe threatened by Putin’s coiled bear. Why wouldn’t markets grow worried?There’s always a reason why we shouldn’t take these things seriously, or quickly dismiss them out of hand as the temporary product of whichever political fear-of-the-day.

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Weekly Market Pulse: Are We There Yet?

2022-01-31

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2022-01-31

I’ll just get this out of the way right at the beginning. The question in the title of this post refers to the end of the ongoing stock market correction and the answer is likely no. There are no sure things in this business so it isn’t an unequivocal no, but based on history, the odds favor more weakness.

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