The reversals that the major US stock markets suffered in the first weeks of the year have largely been reversed now. The currency has fallen against the Yen and Sterling, but appreciated against Sterling over the first quarter – Sterling has slumped against all major currencies on concerns over a possible “Brexit”. The growth in…
The DFMGI features 36 members, and midday on Monday 4 April 2016 the index featured 20 members up and 4 members down. The index has a year to date return of 7.22% and a 1-year return of -3.29%. On Monday, 4 April, the index closed at 3,378.54 for a gain of 2.28% or 75.31 points…
The DFMGI features 36 members, and midday on Monday 4 April 2016 the index featured 20 members up and 4 members down. The index has a year to date return of 7.22% and a 1-year return of -3.29%. On Monday, 4 April, the index closed at 3,378.54 for a gain of 2.28% or 75.31 points…
EUR/USD The EUR/USD pair fell initially during the course of the day on Monday, but then turned right back around to form a hammer. The hammer of course is a very positive sign, and as a result it is a market that will continue to grind its way higher. The 1.14 level begins a significant…
Job growth in March posted a solid gain, inspiring a new round of upbeat comments on the outlook for U.S. payrolls and the economy generally. But newly minted numbers for two multi-factor measures of the labor market hint at a weakening trend. In contrast with the upbeat message in the latest data for payrolls, broadly defined benchmarks of the…
Janet Yellen has gone out of her way to reassure financial markets that the Fed will raise interest rates very slowly, but she would do well to lay out a schedule for rate increases. After keeping the federal funds rate—the overnight rate banks pay each other for loans—near zero for seven years, the Fed raised…
I am often critical of central banks these days, and especially the Federal Reserve. But that doesn’t mean I think the entire institution is worthless. While quite often the staff at the Fed puts out papers that use convoluted and inscrutable mathematics to “prove” something that only works because the assumptions used are garbage, there are also…
Oil prices were collapsing earlier this year, but they’ve since rebounded nearly 60% from their February lows. Is the price going to keep rising? Personally, I don’t think so. I think the price is likely to fall back down towards the recent lows, although probably not that low again. But in any case, I expect…
The services sector in the UK is growing at a faster pace in March: 53.7 points according to Markit’s PMI. This was more or less as expected and given the current market mood, there may be a sigh of relief. However, this does not really cheer GBP/USD which remains only barely above the 1.42 level. The UK services PMI…
S&P 500 The S&P 500 initially rose during the course of the day on Monday but found the 2080 handle to be a bit too resistive. However, it should be noted that the initial move higher was a gap, and that typically means an impulsive move that will get followed. With that, it’s very likely…
