Cyprus Risk-Off Trade Pulls Equities Lower - March 18, 2013 22:21

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials both closed off slightly today as this was a risk-off kind of day in most every way.  Following up Friday’s weakness into the close with today’s drop is creating a pause in equities as fresh fears over the stability of the European banking system have been raised […]

Italian Elections and The “Throw the Bums Out” Vote - March 5, 2013 1:19

I didn’t give the initial election returns from Italy much significance because so little of the political game is actually not completely staged for our benefit.  But the more I read about Beppi Grillo and his Five Star Movement the more I’m paying attention to what’s going on.  Specifically that his: goal was to do […]

E.C.B. Holds Rates, Sends Gold, Commodities Higher - January 11, 2013 3:04

The E.C.B.’s latest policy meeting ended with the central bank not bowing to pressure from choking banks to lower interest rates and held the benchmark lending rate at 0.75% for the time being.  This lifted the cloud that had been hanging over the Euro for the past few weeks while capital in the major U.S. […]

Commodities Firm on Oil Data - January 10, 2013 0:00

The commodity complex was firm again today after the latest U.S. oil inventories were released.  While this data is more important for the price of West Texas Intermediate it still has an effect on marginal demand.  Brent Crude refused to back down below $111 after challenging the recent channel highs above $112 yesterday.  If this […]

Gold Ends Week Down on FOMC Minutes, Fund Re-Balancing - January 5, 2013 7:35

The minutes from the December FOMC meeting sent major shock waves reverberating through the capital markets this week.  Not only was the Euro thrashed back to re-test the $1.30 level, Gold was taken to the woodshed and beaten back to $1626 before rebounding sharply intra-day to close the week at $1655.85 per ounce.   In the […]

Fiscal Cliff Avoided, Can Kicked, Risk On - January 2, 2013 17:51

Hey sometimes this market commentary thing is really easy.  I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and we can get back to the very serious business of kicking the financial burden farther down the road until my daughter’s grandchildren are indebted.  As a first post for the New Year I want to get a few things […]

The Euro and Cattle Futures Follow Through – Signalling Inflation Incoming - December 27, 2012 1:27

Last week’s close in both the EURUSD pair, $1.319, and Cattle Futures, $133.64 per hundredweight, marked breakouts for both markets.  The Euro broke through a quadruple top at $1.317 on the weekly chart pushing past $1.32 last week but couldn’t hold it.  During this, the last week of the year, the EURUSD pair pushed again […]

US Posts Budget Surplus for the First Time Since 2008 - May 11, 2012 23:56

The US government has posted its monthly budget surplus for the first time since September 2008. The US Treasury Department on its report on Thursday disclosed that the tax receipts gained while spending on education, Medicare and defense programs reduced in April. The US government reported the budget surplus figure of $59 billion for the […]

China Reports Surprise Decline its Trade Data - May 11, 2012 23:53

China recently published its report in trade activity which came in less than expectations creating uncertainty in the markets. Investors were now looking at slower global demand in reaction to lower Chinese trade data. Exports by China increased by 4.9 percent in the Month of April which imports showed the gain of only 0.3 percent […]