Under Pressure: The Dollar Hopes For Retail Sales Boost - January 14, 2014 11:45

The Pound fell against all of its peers yesterday after an index showed that recent UK economic data releases are falling short of economist expectations. The report weakened demand for the currency. Today, Sterling managed to recover some lost ground against the Euro on expectations that inflation data will come in better-than-expected. US Dollar The […]

Investors Look Ahead To Tuesday’s Retail and Inflation Data - January 13, 2014 12:10

The Pound remains close to a one-year high against the Euro in a quiet news day. Sterling was little moved against the US Dollar. Investors are looking ahead to Tuesday’s retail and inflation data releases which many believe will show that retails sales rose in December and inflation quickened, if so then the Pound will […]

Economists Predict: No Interest Rate Hikes - January 9, 2014 11:47

The Pound has climbed to a two-year high against the US Dollar ahead of the release of the Bank of England’s monetary policy announcement. Economists are predicting that the Bank will maintain its bond-buying target and keep interest rates at a record low. Against the Euro, Sterling is expected to come close to its highest […]

Tedious: The Pound Won’t Go Higher - January 8, 2014 11:25

The Pound is little moved against the Euro and US Dollar as investors await the release of a report which economists expect will show that UK house prices will rise at a slower pace in December. Prices are forecast to have risen by 0.9% in December, down from the 1.1% rise seen in November. The […]

Summers Out as Fed Chair Nets Bond Buying - September 16, 2013 14:00

The news that Larry Summers has withdrawn his name from contention for being Ben Bernanke’s replacement as the Chairman of the FOMC had an immediate effect on the markets, sending equity futures rising along with bond prices.  The benchmark 10 year US Treasury Note yield dropped nearly 90 basis points and is trading at an […]

Gold Plays Possum While Yields Continue to Rise - June 18, 2013 1:46

After Friday’s Hilsen-Rumor put an exclamation point on the idea that bond yields would be turning around after a six week wild ride to the upside, lo and behold what a new week begets.  Yields held steady early in the day and a late article by the Financial Times now has the tapering of QE […]

Gold Breaks Through $1400 on Japan Volatility - May 31, 2013 3:23

The key to understanding how the Federal Reserve has been able to keep the price of gold under control for the past six months during all of this QE has been to look at the Japanese Yen.  I might be smarter than the average bear but sometimes it takes a village to figure out why […]

Bonds Routed, Stocks Up, All is Normal? - May 28, 2013 22:24

As if there was ever any doubt that the central banks would not flood the world with unlimited amounts of paper as the Bank of Japan and the ECB both reaffirmed their loose monetary policies which sent equities around the world flying higher.  It is too bad, of course, that organic growth only accounts for […]

Bond Yields Rise On QE Tapering Rumor - May 13, 2013 22:39

Long maturity bonds from a number of important governments have been rising for the past few weeks, most notably U.S. Treasuries after hitting an interim low yield of 2.812% have risen steadily since then, closing at 3.125% today and threatening April’s high yield of 3.14%.  It is looking more and more probable that we will […]