The SPD members voted by a two-thirds majority for their party’s entry into a renewed grand coalition. The acting Social Democrats (SPD) party leader Olaf Scholz came out and said: “We now have clarity: The SPD will enter the next federal government.” The SPD had no choice. The polls showed if they returned and put it to […]

Mainland China market stood out again today but only because it did not fall as much as other core indices. Shanghai saw its days low just after the opening bell and even looked to trade positive at one stage just ahead of lunch. However, ahead of Italian elections, BREXIT discussions and President Trump’s tariff announcement […]

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I followed your advice and opened an account in the United States. I live in Britain and my daughter lives there in the States so I used her local address. To my shock, it was very easy. You said the USA has become the new tax haven. So the USA is not […]

The German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen was being touted as a possible successor to Merkel. She has spoken at the Munich Security Conference stating that there must be “the common will to actually use the military weight when circumstances require it.” Leyen has come out saying that Germany should no longer hide behind […]

Draghi has realized that he has singlehandedly destroyed the European bond market. Besides the fact that it is illegal to short government bonds, he has come face to face with the stark reality that IF the ECB stops buying government bonds, there will be NO BID at these price levels. Interest rates will skyrocket dramatically. On […]

  Not such a convincing day today for Asia as Shanghai and Hang Seng returned yesterday gains, whilst the Nikkei and ASX added to the move. Both the mainland and HSI attempted gains but were quickly rejected soon after the open. These moves have reversed only some of the recent gains but probably expected ahead […]

We are beginning to observe institutional investors withdrawing from bonds issued by companies whose credit ratings are in question. Many are also selling off other classes of bonds in anticipation of higher rates. The trend toward investing in high yielding debt mainly by pension funds has begun to reverse albeit gradually. Because of the low yields, […]

Yesterdays enthusiasm could not be sustained in such thin volume and so it was with HSBC’s earnings miss that returns the fear! The Nikkei took much of the steam and consequently returned 1% of its recent gains. The finance sector was heavy probably responding to HSBC’s worries as most of Asia watched their shares decline […]

  Most of Asia are closed due to holidays and so it was left to Japan to reflect Wall Streets strength. The Nikkei closed with a positive return of 1.2% for the day. The news that BOJ Governor Kuroda, is to sit for another term was taken as positive news as he supports continued easing. […]

Ahead of a short week for China holidays and the release of US CPI data, it was no surprise we saw a mixed session in Asia. The Nikkei continued its bearish move with a decline today of -0.45%, briefly flirting with the 200 day MA but bouncing by the close of play. The Yen remains […]