Yesterdays strong US close encouraged a positive performance for Asia with even Asian dealers questioning whether the DOW is close 2016 over the psychological 20k level. This positive momentum certainly helped sentiment in todays market with the Shanghai index closing up 1.15%. Currency is having a large impact on equity markets as the US Dollar […]

This week will all be about the Federal Reserve and the outlook for rates into next. The strip is pricing in additional moves already but it is the long end that is having a worrying impact on many dealers. Obviously, the recent curve movement is music for the (US) banks and insurance companies but will […]

The lobbying is off and running is super-high gear to stop the Fed from raising rates once again. Governments all over the world have a very myopic view and focused only on the next quarter, or the next election. The Reserve Bank of India also fears that the US Fed’s impending interest rise would affect the external […]

We tend to assume that the freedom of movement is confined solely to migration and travel. There are four aspects to the freedom of movement, and migration or travel is only one. Yes, we warned that the Schengen Agreement would come to an end and the European refugee crisis has enabled that decline. We warned that this agreement, […]

It was not until late in the European session did we start to see much movement and even that was in oil. In Asia we saw yet another quiet with the JPY continuing with its strengthening theme and the Nikkei reacting accordingly. The PBOC set the Yuan at 6.8915 whilst the off-shore plays well into […]

This is the boldest move by any government in recent times. Both the old 500 Rs and 1000 Rs notes have been “probabilistically devalued” meaning that anyone holding large number of notes, the value just has been significantly lowered by approximately 10 to 20% overnight. If you now try to deposit the cash, the money […]

That was interesting! Obviously well trodden ground now but the DOW futures were around 800 points lower at the time the Asian cash markets closed. The Nikkei was down over 5% on the day and as result of market bouncing in early US trading the futures are up over 900 points (5.75%). The Yen traded […]

Well, the election that seemed to never end is finally coming to an end, but will it end today? This is very interesting to watch how biased the press has become and clearly they have lost all credibility. This election is the most dramatic I have ever seen in my lifetime. Normally, there is really […]

Strong economic data in China (PMI released at 52.4) supported an encouraging rally for the Shanghai after recent regional losses. The index ,managed a 0.85% rally just as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng large cap’s took a hit (-0.6%). The Nikkei was closed today for Culture Day national holidays. The Yen, however, was trading and continued […]

As we continue to digest news that Trump may well be leading in some polls, the nervousness surrounding markets is apparent. However, that is the case for international markets where Asia saw the Nikkei and Hang Seng lower by around 1.5%, whilst the Shanghai lost just 0.6%. We even saw a rally in gold of […]