The Financial Times – Confusion over interest rate impact of eurozone QE If the European Central Bank launched “quantitative easing” and bought government bonds, would benchmark eurozone yields rise or fall? A QE programme is unlikely to be announced at Thursday’s ECB council meeting in Frankfurt, but market expectations are high of action early in… Continue reading QE In Europe
The Wall Street Journal – Central Bank Moves Rattle Currency Markets Japan, Europe Diverge From Fed, Fueling Forex Volatility as Growth Slows and Commodities Fall Foreign exchange trading platforms are reporting their busiest days in years with bets on the U.S. dollar at record highs and currency trading funds’ returns moving into positive territory. “Because… Continue reading Volatility In The Currency Markets
The Financial Times – Manmohan Singh: How QE can jam the financial plumbing Central bank asset purchases absorb ‘good’ collateral like Treasury bonds Alayman may not differentiate between central bank actions like quantitative easing, as undertaken by the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan, and the long-term refinancing operations, or LTROs, used… Continue reading How QE Absorbs “Good” Collateral
Bloomberg View – Barry Ritholtz: The Gold Fairy Tale Fails Again Will they never learn? Yesterday, oil rallied 4.3 percent and gold gained 3.6 percent as commodities had an up day after a long and painful fall. The fascinating aspect of the trading wasn’t the $45 pop in gold, nor the even greater percentage rally… Continue reading Gold
source: Bloomberg
The Wall Street Journal – Dollar Longs: Join The Club “[Euro-dollar] positioning is one of the most important points that clients bring out in conversations. CFTC data point to very stretched positioning on the euro, but we disagree. With the euro stuck around 1.25 people have written off the ECB as a catalyst for euro… Continue reading Silicon Traders Continue To Capitulate In Fixed Income
Zero Hedge – The Imploding Energy Sector Is Responsible For A Third Of S&P 500 Capex per Deutsche Bank: US private investment spending is usually ~15% of US GDP or $2.8trn now. This investment consists of $1.6trn spent annually on equipment and software, $700bn on non-residential construction and a bit over $500bn on residential. Equipment… Continue reading Capex By Sector
ETF Daily News – U.S. Treasury Bonds Are Outperforming S&P 500 It was a sure thing. With the Fed cutting back its massive QE bond-buying program this year bonds would plunge. Instead, they began rallying sharply in January, precisely when the Fed began tapering back QE. It seems that economists expecting bonds to plunge failed… Continue reading 30-Year U.S. Treasury Bonds Continue To Rally
<Click on chart larger image> The Financial Times – Rouble suffers worst fall since 1998 crisis The rouble suffered its worst intraday fall since Russia’s 1998 financial crisis amid renewed fears over the impact of tumbling oil prices on the country’s economy. At one point the rouble hit a record low of 53.86 per dollar… Continue reading As Crude Prices Fall, The Russian Ruble Continues To Suffer
Bloomberg.com – Venezuela Bonds Tumble to Five-Year Low After Crude Oil Drop Venezuelan bonds fell to a five-year low as traders projected higher chances of default after OPEC’s decision to maintain oil output pushed crude lower. The South American nation’s benchmark notes due in 2027 fell 5.5 cents on the dollar to 51 cents at… Continue reading Venezuela’s Bonds Also Lower With The Price Of Crude Oil Dropping
Reuters – October oil shale permits drop: is the slowdown here? U.S. oil producers have been racing full-speed ahead to drill new shale wells in recent years, even in the face of lower oil prices. But new data suggests that the much-anticipated slowdown in shale country may have finally arrived. Permits for new wells dropped… Continue reading Crude Oil Production