Starwood Hotels (HOT) announced that its board, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, determined that a revised, non-binding proposal from a consortium consisting of Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd., J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Limited is reasonably likely to lead to a “Superior Proposal” as defined in Starwood’s merger agreement with…
The one catalyst most responsible for sending the price of oil from its 13 year lows hit in early February some 50% higher in the following month, has been the recurring rumor about an “imminent” OPEC production freeze meeting which was initially supposed to take place in early March, then on March 20, and now…
The first thing I do when I get up every morning is to curse the oil companies as blood sucking scourges of modern civilization. I then fall down on my knees and thank God that we have the oil companies. This is why petroleum engineers are getting $100,000 straight out of college, while English and…
EUR/JPY The EUR/JPY pair initially fell during the course of the week, but found enough support underneath the 125 level to turn things back around and form a hammer. The hammer of course is a very bullish sign, so I feel that this market is going to continue to grind higher during the course of…
Most markets are closed today. For some reason, the US takes Good Friday off and not Monday, which is better, because then you get to come back to a short week, which feels like another vacation. Anyway, this is going to be a wild week as we have 5 scheduled Fed speakers and the Fed…
US personal income and spending ticked higher in February, but the year-over-year growth trend slowed on both counts, the Bureau of Economic Analysisreports. There’s still a positive trend in the numbers—enough to keep the economy expanding for the near-term future, but today’s numbers leave little room for arguing that growth is set to accelerate after what’s…
Generally speaking, rising prices tend to temper demand, but when it comes to gold in China, the recent price rally has created the opposite effect. As the Wall Street Journal put it, “Chinese investors see a golden opportunity.” Demand for gold has surged in China over the last several weeks, during a period generally considered out of…
The Fed can remain in no rush to raise rates: its favorite inflation measure is not going anywhere fast: only 0.1% m/m. The upside is that y/y, the figure remains unchanged at 1.7%. This is still below the 2% target but not too terrible. Personal income rises 0.2%, slightly better than expected, and personal spending…
Brexit impact on value of British pound sterling: With a potential “Brexit” approaching, Goldman Sachs says regardless of the outcome the British pound sterling will be a “fashionable” and “actionable” currency in 2016. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and a price pattern has emerged over time, with such a “fashionable” event occurring five times since the 2008 financial…
The dollar edged up against the euro and yen on Monday continuing its rebound last week following hints from U.S. Federal Reserve officials that an interest rate hike could be introduced sooner than anticipated. The coming week should provide investors with a series of indicators that will help gauge whether the U.S. economy is robust…
