Around the globe, we are approaching a monumental awakening as municipal governments see their borrowing costs rise dramatically with rising interest rates. This is unfolding in Europe, the USA, Canada, South America, Middle East, and Asia. In fact, S&P is predicting the first-ever default by a Chinese local government financing vehicle this year as LGFV borrowing costs […]

The sell-off continued in some of the Asian markets, with the Nikkei, in particular, losing an additional -0.85% today. Commodities heavily influenced values today, after we saw manufacturing and miners weigh on sentiment. Although the index has fallen 4.55 this month, it remains narrowly positive for the year. The weakness cam in the final hours of trading, after […]

As you would expect, given how the last minutes in the US trading influences Asia – we opened lower. The Nikkei did attempt a small recovery just after the opening, but this was not to last and in-fact the selling pressure increased as the day wore-on. Interesting that although the Nikkei finished 1.45% weaker, the […]

Most core Asian markets turned negative but only towards the end of the trading session. The Nikkei appeared happy playing in positive territory but tended to drift as we approached the close of the day. There was talk of different reports hindering sentiment but it was the unknown and the speed of the decline that […]

The ECB’s was forced to suspend its new stricter credit rules indefinitely concerning bad loans. The banks were screaming “you idiot”  for it would have pushed way too many banks over the edge, particularly in Italy. With the Italian elections coming in March, the new rules would have been a major issue why Italy should also […]

Following President Trump’s correction of Steve Mnuchin’s currency comments the currency markets experienced wild swings just ahead of the Asian trading session. The ASX opened weaker, hitting the days lows in early trading and then spent the rest of the day trying to make-up lost ground. Nikkei and Hang Seng opened better but on the […]

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; You have repeatedly said that the USA wants a lower dollar while Europe thinks a strong currency is better. You said the dollar would decline first into 2018. That seems to be spot on. After Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin statement that a weaker dollar is best for USA, the dollar sold off. Why […]

It certainly felt as though Asia was keen to hear what the ECB has in store before making its next move. With most core markets closing weaker many were hoping the ECB would result in their relief. The Nikkei closed down over 1% but then the Yen did appreciate 0.5% in Tokyo trading. As expected, […]

Asian markets responded better than US cash did upon the news of settlement between the US House of Representatives and the Senate. The BOJ keeps rates unchanged certainly eased some concerns, but even that news did not spur too much reaction with the Yen/USD exchange rate. The Nikkei closed over the 24k level and is […]

QUESTION: I am most interested in your revisionist view of QTM. You debunk QTM frequently within broader topic discussions, but I’d love for you to address QTM by itself in a historical context. Perhaps starting with the Austrian darling, Henry Thornton, and his “An enquiry into the nature and effects of the paper credit of Great […]