Category Archive: Finance
Euro, Commodity Dollars May Suffer As Yen Gains On France Election
Worries about the nearing first round of the French presidential election may preoccupy investors as European markets return after the Easter Monday holiday. The leading four candidates are clustered near the 20 percent support mark, making it unusually difficult to divine who might move on to the second round after an initial poll in April 23. The […]
Assessing China’s Economic Risks
First quarter GDP in China rose 6.9%, better than expected and above the government’s target (6.5%) for 2017. It stands to reason, however, that if Communist officials thought they could get 6.9% to last for the whole year they would have made it their target, especially since 6.5% would be less than the GDP growth […]
Dollar Strength A Good Thing? Mnuchin Pulled The Easter Bunny
The US dollar had an Easter Monday slump, mostly against the yen on geopolitical worries. However, things turned around when US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin contradicted his boss’s words about the US dollar. The recently minted Secretary gave an interview to the Financial Times and said (emphasis mine): As the world’s currency, the primary reserve currency, I think that […]
Dear Hedge Funds: This Is Who Is Responsible For Your Deplorable Returns
Over the past several years we have repeatedly stated that despite protests to the contrary, the single biggest factor explaining the underperformance of the active community in general, and hedge funds in particular, has been the ubiquitous influence of the Fed and other central banks over the capital markets. Specifically, back in October 2015, we wrote […]
ETF Watchlist: Week Of April 17
After rallying impressively since the election, the markets may finally be starting to show signs of fatigue. For the first time since November, the S&P 500 has closed below its 50 day moving average. Volatility has begun to move back up, albeit modestly, and geopolitical events could begin putting real downward pressure on stocks. The […]
GBP/USD Final Pieces Of Contracting Triangle Built Around 1.25
GBP/USD 4 hour The GBP/USD bearish bounce at resistance (brown) confirmed wave W (orange) and price has retraced back to the 38.2% Fibonacci support level of wave W vs X (orange). Price is moving between support (blue) and resistance (brown) and could be close to completing a chart triangle indicated by wave E (green). 1 […]
Fed Likely To Raise Interest Rates 3-4 Times Over The Next 12 Months – Here’s Why
…We don’t believe the March jobs report takes the Fed off its tightening path. We still see the central bank raising interest rates three to four times over the next year. Written by Rick Rieder (BlackRockBlog.com) The top-line March payroll number surprised to the downside, but last month’s jobs report overall was solid, reinforcing that […]
EUR: Range-Trading Into French Elections; GBP: Sell Rallies – Citi
Markets are back from the Easter holidays and it’s time to rumble. Or is it? The euro could get stuck ahead of the French elections. Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: CitiFX Research argues that as French elections are looming, investors may be reluctant to take positions. “This is likely to see range trade in […]
Dollar Drops To Monthly Lows On Weak Inflation Data Aftermath
Video length: 00:21:14 Regardless of the market you trade, chances are it has been severely affected by the wild ride in the US 10Yr. Treasury Yield in recent weeks. The positive correlation in the UST 10Yr Yield is rather significant whether you look at USD/JPY, Crude Oil, or major equity indices like the German Dax. The inverse correlation, meaning a move lower in the 10yr […]
Bill Ackman’s Stock Portfolio: Every Holding Analyzed
Stock screeners allow investors to filter for nearly any quantitative metric. Dividend yields, price-to-earnings ratios, and payout ratios are easily found using the plethora of financial tools available today. But how do investors filter for qualitative metrics, like business quality? A great way to find high-quality businesses is by looking in the portfolios of famous investors with […]
