It was only the Hang Seng that saw a positive close today (+0.6%) as most digest the Trump email release and await central bank comments. As part of the safety return the JPY gained almost 1% and was last seen playing around the 113 figure. The Nikkei close lower (-0.5%) as we watched a broad […]

We start the week with mixed session from Asia as Chinese reserve data showed small increase and the general trend of acceptance for Chinese 5% growth. The Japanese yen continued its decline breaching 114 and even in late US trading had was last seen around the 114.25 level. The Nikkei edged better but a small […]

China’s Industrial Data release marginally above expectation but Investments let them down and tended to quell afternoon anticipation and we closed only small positive. It may also have been the weakness of other core markets that also had an impact as both Hang Seng and ASX closed over 1.2% down the pair. It was energy yet […]

Despite better than expected data from domestic China (Retail Sales 11% and Industrial Production +6.5%) it was not sufficient to support a positive close. Shanghai finished the day -0.75% as talk that Private Investment growth slowed suggesting a lack of demand for small and medium sized companies; Private Investment is the bulk of the buying […]

Volumes are always low when many markets are closed and that is what we saw in todays trading. Under those conditions the Nikkei returned a positive performance as the Yen continued Fridays heavy theme having spent much of the day in the high 111’s. This is not a huge move but a weaker currency will […]

One of the greatest monetary experiments in financial history has been the global central bank buying of government debt. This has been touted as a form of “money printing” that was supposed to produce hyperinflation, which never materialized as predicted by the perpetual pessimists. Nevertheless, the total amount of Quantitative Easing (QE) adding up the […]

Nervous markets again with US military positioning headlines for most of the session and that led to safety moves back into the JPY. Having broken the 111 handle early, next target was the 110 handle. Many did not expect the US trading hours to take it as far as it did (109.65 -1.1% last) levels […]

Asia saw a mixed session today with almost everyone discussing the rising geopolitical tensions in the region. The initial move into safe-haven trades appeared to be short-lived and so we saw yen trade back into the mid 111 range having rejected the 110’s. The DXY closed strong on Friday and continues to trade strong. Exporters […]

The European Central Bank (ECB) is coming under fresh pressure to increase interest rates, not merely from the standpoint that the Federal Reserve has been doing since the turn in our Economic Confidence Model 2015.75, when the first-rate hike took place in December 2015. While there was little immediate reaction to the Fed’s decision to […]

Another quiet session for Asia with closes small mixed. Toshiba was again a talking point after it lost 12% in todays trading with the added possibility that it may delisted. China’s President, Xi Jinping, commented recently concerns surrounding President Trump and his views surrounding US trade partners; guess this will be hotly debated come the […]