QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; At the WEC you said the Fed would allow its balance sheet to eventually shrink, it was trapped and could not sell off its holdings. Yellen seems to have come out and said the same thing. Is this advice you have given in Washington? XM ANSWER: What Yellen has said is that the […]

The constructive comments provided by Fed Chair Janette Yellen last evening certainly helped Asian equities today. The Hang Seng performed best recording a 1.4% gain on the day whilst the main China Index managed just 0.1% gain which was a relief having spent the majority of the day in negative territory. The Nikkei saw a […]

All the Asian indices performed well today and mainly off the back of the rumors that China -Shares are to be included in the MSCI soon. These were only rumors but we did see a 3.3% rally on the beck of the story. Also, on the back of a better than expected Japan Industrial Output […]

Asian market were mixed on a very quiet start to what could be a busy week. As the USD extended its recent gains against the JPY resulting in the Nikkei rebounding, closing up 1.4%. Shanghai and HSI also closed better but only with marginal moves. Japanese government announced over the weekend that any rise in […]

Asian markets followed the mixed US session with a calm steady reply resulting in gains for the Hang Seng (+0.9%) and the Nikkei edging better (+0.4%) whilst the Shanghai closed small lower. G7 leaders stated that a vote for the UK to leave the European Union it would be a serious global concern. Ahead of […]

QUESTION: Marty, you know which bank I am at. You also know the Fed has been going around warning banks that their models are wrong and they will not see a flight to quality being the 30 year bonds. Yet Yellen seems to also say she does not believe in inevitable cycles. They are saying […]

QUESTION: Dear Marty, No one EVER asks about the consequences of emerging market debt in the global economy. Ms. Yellen stated today they are aware of out interconnectedness and are taking measures to control the fall out. Really? Can they? When will we start to see the bond market implosion in Europe? Your thoughts about this? […]

COMMENT: If the Fed is so smart and understands the problem with low/negative interest rates, then why didn’t it hike rates in September?  Better yet, why didn’t they raise rates YEARS ago?  The Fed has kept rates near zero for seven years but now suddenly realizes that this is a problem? I am surprised that you […]

  U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve suggested a less aggressive timeline for raising interest rates even as it opened the door for the first hike in almost a decade. The Fed has come under lobbying from other countries not to raise rates. The Fed will comply for now, but when the […]