Incredibly enough, last week’s gain was the biggest weekly gain of the year. The S&P 500 (SPX) (SPY) gained 3.22% last week, and though it was mostly just fortunate timing that allowed for the big week-to-week move, the momentum is impressive nonetheless. The question is, can it last? Answer: Maybe. The rally knocked over some fairly…
12 countries, most notably the US and Japan, signed in principle on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, that is expected to enhance trade within a region where 40% of world trade already takes place. While we don’t officially know what is inside this secret agreement, it certainly has political impact for Japan. But this may go…
Last week saw all of the major markets making good gains. In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up, rising by 4.7%, it closed at 6416.2; the Dax ended at 10097, up by 5.7% on last week’s close; the CAC was up by 5.4% to end the session at 4701.4. The…
After a troublesome August and most of September, risk appetites were rekindled beginning in late September. It has been aided by ideas that the period of extremely accommodative monetary policy by the major central banks will persist longer than previously anticipated.This has weighed on the dollar, lifted equities and commodities. The volatility that had emanated…
EUR/JPY: The cross may remain biased to the upside following its recent strength but it was seen backing off ahead of its key overhead resistance zone at the at 137.44/04 region during the Monday trading session. If this price action continues it could see EUR/JPY targeting further downside pressure towards its psycho level at 136.00…
Just when you thought the M&A boom is over after a surge in bond yields that Goldman has repeatedly dubbed as “recessionary”, and which will make the debt cost of any funding so high that there is barely any room for execution error, moments ago as had been extensively leaked previously, private Dell announced it…
In the early 2000’s, there were those economists and investors who believed that the U.S. was headed for an economic fall – that the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 would allow the financial institutions to enter into widespread reckless loan practices that would lead to a housing crash. And that that crash would…
According to Japanese retailers, consumer spending is alive and well. Statistics, however, give a different picture. Officials have cut earnings forecasts and are now warning of weak consumer spending, a key growth engine for Japan at a time when exports and factory output have been hedging. Household spending in August was up 2.9 per cent,…
As the calendar turns to October and the 4th quarter begins investors have a number of themes that will play out that will drive the capital markets. Central bank activity could play a large role as divergent paths for the Fed, ECB, BOJ and PBOC begin to materialize. For the Fed, they have signaled that…
Stocks in emerging markets posted their best weekly gain in nearly four years last week. Analysts are divided over whether this is a dead-cat bounce or the start of an enduring mean-reversion trade in the wake of nearly non-stop declines since last-April. From the perspective of the week just passed, however, there’s no doubt that…
