The head of the national conservative Polish ruling party PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has called on Germany to be fair and cooperative with its neighbors. He has said that while all Europe speaks of a German leadership within the EU, he said that Germany is not the United States and “does not come close to the former […]

Other than individual bank stocks, Friday’s EBA report had little overall effect on core markets as we heard nothing that we were not already familiar with. The Nikkei opened around 1% lower and then spent the rest of the day trying to recoup opening losses, which was pretty similar to the Hang Seng. Shanghai, on […]

The arrogance of those in power is typically beyond belief. Those in the International Monetary Fund have been so biased that their own refusal to review what is going on within Europe has been a great contributor to the demise of the Eurozone. It has now been acknowledged that the IMF’s top staff misled their own board based […]

All eyes were on the BOJ, and even though they disappointed many, after a turbulent trading session the Nikkei index closed higher. No easing, no additions to the money base, no further purchases of JGB’s, commercial paper or REIT’s but they did almost double the ETF purchase programme from JPY 3.3tln to 6tln. Stocks did not know what […]

As we enter the BOJ meeting, messages are very mixed. Many are hoping the package exceeds expectation JPY 28tln ($266bn) whilst others, anxious the BOJ may shoot too soon, possibly more easing at a time when they feel it will not work; so Asia could be interesting tomorrow. Today the Nikkei lost some of yesterday’s […]

  With terrorism raging in Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary came out and publicly stated that the anti-terrorism proposals of Donald Trump make him the better option for Europe and Hungary. More and more people I talk to in Europe are silently in Trump’s corner. The more intense the attacks, the stronger their […]

QUESTION: Marty, the Republican platform supports the return of Glass-Steagall. Is Trump for that? Thanks for all you do PL ANSWER: Yes. If there was anyone who would actually do that, it would be Trump. However, keep in mind the act would still have to get through Congress and the bankers would buy every vote […]

We saw a bit of a wobble today in Asian cash markets after BOJ governor Kuroda dismissed the idea of helicopter money and following a weak US session resulting in 1% declines for the Nikkei, Shanghai, and a small loss (-0.2%) in the Hang Seng. Oil didn’t help sentiment having lost 2% yesterday and no sign of recovery today as we head […]

After months of controversy over the labor market reform that was designed to end excessive socialism in France, the French Government has bypassed the final vote in Parliament altogether. Given the resistance in his own camp, Hollande and the Prime Minister Manuel Valls in the National Assembly are using a special rule that allows them […]

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced it will decide in the coming months whether monetary policy should be eased any further. Clearly, Draghi is completely losing control for he cannot entertain the remote possibility that negative interest rates will only cause hoarding and capital flight, and not stimulation. People only borrow when they see an […]