The crash in Chinese stocks continued today following a respite last week. Shares on the Shanghai index plunged 8.48%, the Biggest One-Day Plunge Since February 2007. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 8.6 percent, to 3,818.73, while the Shanghai Composite Index SSEC lost 8.5 percent, to 3,725.56 points. The…
Forecasts of a strengthening UK economy were dealt a noteworthy blow on Thursday after the release of weak sales data, and forced the pound to record losses. The UK retail sales data report for June, released on Thursday by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), revealed that the volume has declined by 0.2% in relation…
Last week saw all of the major markets close lower. In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was down by 2.9%, it closed at 6579.8; the Dax ended at 11347, down by 2.8% on last week’s close; the CAC was down by 0.96% to end the session at 5075.4. The Dow ended…
As a general principle, I’ve always tended to avoid entrusting others with my money. I’ve avoided funds, as they are often based upon investments that are peaking or close to peaking. I’ve avoided pension funds, as they’re often structured in a similar manner. And whenever by law I’ve been required to be invested in such…
Seven years ago, the American homeownership “dream” was shattered when a housing bubble built on a decisively shaky foundation burst in spectacular fashion, bringing Wall Street and Main Street to their knees. In the blink of an eye, the seemingly inexorable rise in the American home-ownership rate abruptly reversed course, and by 2014, two decades…
From a technical perspective, the US dollar looked vulnerable to start the week, but the 8.5% drop in Chinese shares in Shanghai provided additional fuel. The linkage between the two is that global headwinds may intensify and keep the Fed from raising rates in September. This seems like a premature judgment, but market pricing was never…
Financial markets usually slow down in the summer. But the coming week could provide some indication of how the rest of the quarter will pan out. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision will take center stage and along with the U.S. second-quarter growth report investors should have a better idea of what the rest of…
Gold recovered slightly today, hovering around the 1100 level. Crude oil is trading slightly under $48. EURUSD is broadly higher following last week’s recovery following the negative US New home Sales data which slipped to the lowest level of 2015, which is also the main reason for the USD weakness we noticed from Friday onwards…
Amazon had an absolutely amazing end of the week last week after the company surprised Wall Street analysts with their earnings report for the second quarter. Amazon’s market cap now even exceeds the next largest retailer, Wal-Mart (WMT). Today, we’ll take a look at the earnings, what happened after the report, and discuss what I…
Following the weakness in Friday’s afternoon (China) session, tonight’s open is decidedly shaky as Shanghai Composite open down over 2% and CSI-300 (China’s S&P 500) is now down over 5%. This follows a year-over-year drop in China Industrial profits (-0.3%), the first since March as the small bounce in April and May is now done. Commodities are…
