Last Wednesday, Watchdog pointed out that the move through US$1.3000/EUR would set up euro gains towards US$1.3800/EUR. At US$1.3400/EUR, I wrote on www.businessmonitor.com that US$1.4900/EUR was a realistic possibility, as the dollar would come under renewed pressure due to Fed easing, in both conventional monetary policy and quantitative terms.

In fact the dollar has depreciated against [Read more...]

Despite the daily barrage of ever worsening macroeconomic data emanating from all developed countries, equity markets have failed to breach the October lows, and have in fact shown a large degree of stability in recent weeks. As has become clear for a little while now, the fact that markets are not reacting negatively to the [Read more...]

As 2008 comes to a close, the much-hyped BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies are looking increasingly troubled. The only question is: which will fare best? (In the 2009-10 timeframe, not by 2050.)

Perhaps ‘best’ is the wrong term. Chances are, for example, that China and India will grow faster than Brazil, but not without experiencing [Read more...]

The big rally in gold over the past few market sessions has caught my eye. It has happened at a time of dollar stability, of increasingly deflationary news, including October’s negative month-on-month CPI reading from the US, and as other commodities have failed to gain traction. Thus, the near-20% move we have seen in bullion, [Read more...]

Having spent a week in South Africa, it was very refreshing to escape the European economic doom and gloom and visit a country with stunning natural beauty and fantastic culinary experiences. With the British pound having appreciated by more than 10.4% against the rand year-to-date (ytd), South Africa’s world famous beef steaks tasted even juicier. [Read more...]

The US government’s ability to shock has apparently gone out the window. Yesterday, Hammerin’ Hank Paulson recanted on the central purpose of the Troubled Asset Recovery Plan (TARP): using $700bn (actually, up to an unlimited amount of money in theory, since the plan calls for $700bn to be held at any one time) to buy, [Read more...]

As I write this, investors are increasingly hopeful that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will deliver a 25 basis point interest rate cut on Friday, taking policy rates back down to 0.25%. Mere speculation on this front is buoying global financial markets. However, if the BoJ does deliver tomorrow, this begs the question, will Japan [Read more...]