Bloomberg – Analysts Are Getting Worried About the Euro “Something strange has happened to the euro in recent months,” Saravelos wrote in a client note Wednesday. “Almost all traditional drivers that usually ‘explain’ the price action have broken down.” The bank’s currency correlation model — which includes factors such as interest-rate differentials, the relative performance… Continue reading Explaining Movements In The Euro
The Wall Street Journal – Five Reasons Stock Pickers Are Off to a Fast Start: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft Many stock pickers that have beaten the market in the early months of the year have five of the best-known technology companies to thank: Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and… Continue reading Beating A Benchmark Boils Down To FAANMG
Bloomberg – Bill Gross Says Market Risk Is Highest Since Pre-2008 Crisis Bond investor says asset prices too high for risk-taking U.S. markets are at their highest risk levels since before the 2008 financial crisis because investors are paying a high price for the chances they’re taking, according to Bill Gross, manager of the $2 billion… Continue reading Bill Gross Speaks
Bloomberg – It’s Not Just Retail That’s Changing. It’s Us. Despite record highs in the markets, bad news about consumers has been relentless: malls are closing; consumers have accumulated too much debt; incomes are stagnant. None of this bodes well for future consumer spending and economic growth. This is the established narrative — fairly straightforward,… Continue reading The Death Of Brick & Mortar
Bloomberg – Libya’s Biggest Oil Field Halted by Workers’ Protest Libya’s biggest oil field shut down due to a protest by workers, stalling a revival in the politically divided country’s production of crude. Sharara closed on Wednesday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t… Continue reading Crude Oil Supply/Demand
Bloomberg – Steaks With Buffett Valued at $1 Million Early in Auction The top offer in Warren Buffett’s annual charity auction was $1 million with more than four days remaining, beating last year’s pace. The winner gets to dine with Buffett at New York’s Smith & Wollensky steakhouse, and auction proceeds help fund Glide,… Continue reading Dining With Buffett: One Expensive Dinner Date
Consensus Inc. Sentiment: The chart below tracks the percentage of bullish respondents from Consensus Inc.’s weekly survey of brokers and advisors. Since the Fed began its grand QE experiment, bullishness has been the order of the day. Consensus Inc. has conducted 429 surveys since stocks bottomed in March 2009. In 81% of those surveys, the… Continue reading Markets
Unemployment Rates In Europe: The Eurozone’s unemployment rate is currently at 9.3%, the lowest rate recorded since March 2009. Citi Surprise Index: The chart below shows the Citi Surprise Index in blue and the Bloomberg Surprise Index in red. Bloomberg uses a 6-month average of many indicators. Citi uses a 3-month average of… Continue reading Miscellaneous Charts
Presidential Approval: Trump’s approval rating, shown in grey below, has been trending sideways since the week after the inauguration. Now his rating is about to equal Ford’s, who lost in his re-election bid, and Clinton’s, who won re-election. Put another way, Trump might soon be able to claim a higher approval rating than two other… Continue reading Political Charts
OPEN Net Positions – Deciphering the Latest Moves in the Yuan Comment In our latest webinar, Peter Forbes discusses the latest moves in the yuan. As China gauges a new U.S. administration’s shifting alliances and trade policies, it has begun to embrace stronger ties with Europe. This is only logical with Europe offering the brightest… Continue reading Deciphering the Latest Moves in the Yuan
Bloomberg – China Ready to Buy More Treasuries as Yuan Stabilizes Nation cut holdings in 2016 as it sought to defend currency China is prepared to increase its holdings of U.S. Treasuries under the right circumstances, as officials judge the assets are becoming more attractive than other sovereign debt and as the yuan stabilizes, according to… Continue reading Does China’s Purchases of USTs Really Matter?