Upbeat Economy, Beaten Down Markets
Equity markets on Friday provided no indication that the April jobs report exhibited the best growth in payrolls since January of 2012, or second best since the US escaped recession in mid-2009.
read moreWhat Happened to the American Dream?
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.” – Winston Churchill
read moreFour Years On
Greece’s return to the bond market was extremely well welcomed, but for the investment opportunity in an environment that will continue to see downward pressure in European interest rates.
read moreWhat the Markets are telling us about the Economy
Friday’s US payroll numbers revealed a key milestone for the US labour market. Private employer payrolls surged to 116.09 million positions, a level not surpassed since January of 2008.
read moreYellen’s Task
The Federal Reserve used their policy announcement and the press conference following the announcement to alter their method of forward guidance.
read more“Putin is Playing Chess, Obama is Playing Marbles”
Financial markets are at the whim of how events will unfold in Ukraine. It is geopolitical tensions that are keeping the markets at bay.
read moreManipulation in the Markets
Bloomberg reported on a study this past week that points to decades of manipulation in the gold market. Whether there is credence to this study is something that is yet to be proven.
read moreA Diminishing Reach
There is a stark difference in the financial world today than a few year’s prior. Unsettling news in foreign counties does not seem to have the same effect as it once did.
read moreA Dollar Tug of War
A rift if being created as no consideration is yet to be given from the western world. A dollar tug of war is creating a global imbalance.
read moreA Bumpy Road Forward
“The experience of the market place of this past week will be indicative of this entire year; I think we are going to be in a world of much greater volatility. That doesn’t mean we end up in a bad place. . . but there will be quite a bit of disruption”
-Blackrock CEO Larry Fink speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
read morePricing the Taper
The monetary efforts employed by the US Fed were experimental policies that have previously never been experienced. It’s very difficult to price something into the markets that we have never seen before.
read morePremium for Excellence
To suggest that the Canadian Federal Government is pushing a weak dollar policy must then imply that in years past they too were opting for a stronger Canadian dollar. At the least the price of the Canadian dollar would suggest that, but unfortunately its nonsense.
read moreThe Biggest Question for 2014
The biggest question for 2014 is not whether the US stock market will be able to perform a repeat of the exuberant gains achieved in 2013. It does, however, relate to whether stocks will be able to repeat their exuberant gains.
read moreThe Inevitable Taper Part II
It might have gone against the conventional wisdom to see the markets trade higher on the basis that the US Federal Reserve will begin, come January, to be less accommodative to the US economy.
read moreLooking at the Loonie
It’s hard to avoid the topic of the beleaguered Canadian dollar given the swift move down we have seen against its US counterpart over the last six weeks.
read moreWhy it’s Okay to still be Bullish on Gold: The Difference between Short and Long term
Given the fact that commodities became the easiest pick for investors over the latest decade, we really shouldn’t be that perplexed with the idea of how quickly it has now been shunned by the masses
read moreWhy the Taper Will Come
It is not the Fed’s goal is to be less accommodative by tapering, but change the medium in which policy is delivered.
read moreDefining the Yellen Put
For this economic recovery to continue central bankers are still needed more desperately than ever.
read moreThe Future Fiscal Drain of Obamacare
The current debate on Obamacare is not over whether the US needs a system of universal healthcare. That debate has passed, successfully.
read moreTriple Top
Dennis Gartman on CNBC earlier in the week said this would be the most boring FOMC statement from the Federal Reserve this year. He was correct.
read moreA Little Further Down the Road
The most overused expression that has come about since governments in Europe and the US have been unable to compromise on budget negotiations is “kicking-the-can down the road.”
read moreThe Almighty US Dollar
The Triffin Dilemma, named after economist Robert Triffin, speaks to the balancing act required on the part of the government that stands behind the world’s reserve currency.
read moreShowdown to Shutdown
What is going on in Washington is more of a political charade than real budget negotiations; albeit, it is a distraction from the real structural problems created from a two decade period of credit-fuelled surges in consumption.
read moreGold: An Insurance against Illiquidity
The renowned commodities investor Donald Coxe wrote in the Globe and Mail this week on what seems to be an original and profound thesis for gold….
read moreThe Imminent Taper
Although there are many uncertainties, one thing is clear; despite the Fed’s increased transparency and despite their efforts to provide forward guidance—against all efforts to the contrary they still have the ability to send financial markets for a tailspin.
read moreGold and Geopolitics
These last few weeks have acted as a nice reminder that the fundamentals of the gold trade can span beyond the idea of Quantitative Easing and the US Federal Reserve.
read moreJobs and Syria
The market quietly awaited the August jobs report Friday with premarket trading and futures markets remaining little unchanged ahead of the reading.
read more39 Years Ago Today
The date was August 9th, 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned the Office of the President of the United States.
read moreAhead of Friday’s Job Numbers
Six years after a recession that rocked the global financial system, there is no shortage of excitement, especially during a season that is known as the “doldrums of summer.”
read moreOne Year Later, the Euro’s still hear and the Zone Lives as One
“Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough.”
‒ Mario Draghi
read moreA Farewell to Congress
“The economic recovery has continued at a moderate pace in recent quarters despite the strong headwinds created by federal fiscal policy,” was Ben Bernanke’s opening line when delivering what is expected to be his final testimony before the often unpredictable US congress on Wednesday.
read moreThe Bernanke Put Lives On
Investors who have been salivating for reassurance regarding the outlook for more monetary stimulus from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke got their wish this last week.
read moreHere We Go Again
One thing has been consistent with the selloff in gold. There’s always a really good story to explain why the market reacted the way it did.
read moreIt’s All About Inflation
The biggest rumour or perception though that QE created was that it would lead to rampant inflation. Such expansive monetary policy would lead to the demise of the US dollar, and one of few assets able to hold value was gold.
read moreThe Fed Plays On
It’s hard to avoid the topic of how the emerging market funds have been absolutely hammered in the last month over the premature fear of interest rates starting to creep higher in the United States.
read moreThe Ultimate Shift
The US economic recovery is really at a crossroads in terms of which direction it will head next.
read moreOECD and the Euro
This week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revised down their forecast for global economic growth.
read moreThe Rising Greenback
The movement witnessed in all asset classes on Wednesday more than adequately exemplifies the US Federal Reserve’s influence on financial markets.
read moreLoonie Under Attack
If the downward pressure on the loonie from the selloff in commodity prices wasn’t convincing enough to send it below 98 cents, the flat inflation numbers reported Friday morning was definitely the icing on the cake.
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