The world was slow to wake up to the new reality in which China is now the de facto IMF sovereign backstop, as Zero Hedge described two weeks ago in “China Prepares To Bailout Russia” when we noted that a PBOC swap-line was meant to reduce the role of the US dollar if China and Russia need…
from the Boston Fed The swift rise in the stock of student loan debt in recent years – even during the Great Recession when other types of consumer debt contracted – has received much attention among researchers, politicians, and the media. Indeed, student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt to become the second…
OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS March E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 +0.14%) this morning are up +0.14%, although European stock markets remained closed for the Christmas holiday and the U.K. markets are shut for Boxing Day. The Russian ruble posted a 3-week high against the dollar before falling back on speculation the government is ordering exporters to sell foreign…
The USD/CAD pair initially fell during the session on Wednesday, but as you can see fell support at the 1.16 region to turn things back around and form a hammer. The Tuesday candle was of course a shooting star, which of course runs directly counter to what we saw during the Wednesday session. Normally, that means that…
Today, by yet another Obama executive order, overworked Federal workers get a day off. “All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Friday, December 26, 2014, the day after Christmas Day,” the order says. Exceptions may be made “for reasons of national security, defense,…
In thin trading conditions, the major currencies are little changed. The euro is straddling the $1.22 area. It has held above the low seen earlier this week near $1.2165. Since the low was seen, the reaction high has been limited to the $1.2250 area. For the third consecutive session, the dollar held above the JPY120 level….
Chinese stocks rose and the yen headed for a second weekly decline against the dollar on speculation governments will step up stimulus to bolster their economies. Precious metals advanced with oil. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.2 percent to 3,110.77 at 12:41 p.m. in Tokyo, after surging the most in three weeks yesterday. Standard & Poor’s…
I can see why Lei Jun doesn’t want to be called the Steve Jobs of China. If you look at his history, he’s more like a quasi-Bill Gates with a hint of Jeff Bezos, with Marc Andreesen tendencies, and only a soupçon of Steve Jobs. Look at his history: 1992 to 2007: he joined as…
In his last email of the Year Michael Pettis takes stock of the current state of China’s rebalancing. It’s an 18 page PDF, with no online link. Taking Stock of China’s Transition by Michael Pettis Special points to highlight in this issue: While policymakers almost certainly understand that the interest rate cuts announced by…
The EUR/USD pair rose during the course of the day on Wednesday, but as you can see struggled above the 1.22 handle, and ended up falling to form a shooting star. The shooting star of course suggests that the sellers are going to come back in and push this market lower. The Euro has been struggling for…
