Post Tagged with: "SNB"
A change of stance at the ECB
So, the farce in Greece continues, but there is good news in reports emerging (e.g. Wall Street Journal) that the ECB is going to give up some ground in relation to its bond holdings, although no official comment on this as yet. The issue has proven to be a key sticking point (see blog last
A Soft Chinese Landing is Still a Landing
When the world’s second largest economy slows down, this has a significant impact on currencies, no matter how rapid this slowdown is. AUD and NZD are set for a landing as well. Ilya Spivak of DailyFX discusses China, the effectiveness or ineffective of the QE operations all over the world, the high dependency of the
The problems emerging for 2012
Even though India left interest rates unchanged this morning, as broadly expected, there were hints of rate cuts to come from the central bank governor, leaving scope for rates to come down from the current 8.50% level. The pattern we have seen in the BRICs recently (Brazil, Russia, India and China) has been concerning to
Dollar dominance [Video]
Although the euro’s decline below 1.30 is attracting much of the attention in FX markets, it is actually the continuing surge in the dollar which ought to be generating just as much interest. The dollar index jumped to 80.5 yesterday, not that far from the high for the year recorded in the first few days
Lose-Lose Situation for the Euro
If the ECB continues its policy regarding bond buying, the euro is set to fall. If it launches QE, it will likely follow the path of the greenback after QE2, with one specific euro cross set to gain. Christopher Vecchio of DailyFX analyzes the current situation of the euro, the bright side for the pound in the
Markets find hope in adversity
So far it’s been a fairly strong week for markets, with the considerable expectation weighing heavy ahead of Friday’s EU summit. Stocks are pushing levels last seen early November, whilst emerging and high-beta currencies (principally the Aussie) have pushed ahead against the dollar by an average of 1%. The single currency is also performing relatively
The faintest winds of change
After Wednesday’s bloodbath, yesterday was a little more positive, with the credible Mario Monti emerging as the likely replacement for Silvio. The mood was aided by a suggestion that fresh elections may not be necessary, and confirmation that Greece’s political leaders had finally agreed on a new leader (former ECB member Papademos). US initial claims
Greece aims to shoot itself in the foot
Last week’s EU agreement was just about holding together until last night, when Greece threw in the curve-ball of announcing a referendum on the deal. Many Greeks feel that the option of full default, letting the bond-holders take the full hit is better than the restructuring currently being negotiated and the years of austerity currently
UK deficit-reduction strategy on track
The UK is a fiscal test case that many are watching closely. The economy has ground to a halt over the past nine months but the government is sticking to its plans to rein in the deficit. The borrowing numbers released on Friday show that the deficit is currently on track to meet the targets
High-profit risk positions closing out
Now that European leaders finally understand that perpetual dithering on the sovereign debt and banking crisis could spell death for their economies, it appears that hedge fund managers and traders have collectively decided to progressively close-out those incredibly profitable short risk asset positions. This theme is one we have been highlighting over the past week,