Category: Financial Markets 2009
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Friday, June 12, 2009
Stocks Almost Back In Black / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
The AC/DC-like comeback since March 9th was almost complete, as the Dow Jones climbed 140 points early on yesterday on the back of better than expected retail sales numbers, a fall in jobless claims (though continuing claims climbed ever higher), a successful 30 year Treasury bond auction and a bullish cross in the 200 and 30 day moving averages. But Boeing lowering it’s 20 year forecast for the commercial plane market for the first time in a decade, oil topping $73 barrel (on an IEA report predicting rising demand) and tech and consumer discretionary stock weakness dragged the major indices back down, resulting in the Dow only registering a 32 point gain. I preferred Bon Scott anyway.
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Stocks Take Solace In the Fed Economic Beige Book / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Déjà vu, as there was a late rally yesterday evening spurred by the Fed’s Beige book which noted that 5 of the 12 districts saw “that the downward trend is showing signs of moderating”. The market had earlier dipped on news of a very stodgy 10 year US Treasury Bond Auction (where investors demanded 3.99%, the highest yield since August 2008, to buy the government securities) and worries about inflation and higher gasoline pump prices. Note also that figures yesterday showed new mortgage applications at a four month low. Hardly surprising given a 30 year mortgage now costs 5.57% from 4.61% in March.
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Financial Markets Analysis - Debt, Inflation and the Bilderberg Group / News_Letter / Financial Markets 2009
June 6th, 2009 Issue #42 Vol. 3Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Stocks Snooze While The Great Economic Recovery Debate Rumbles / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
A light volume yawn day saw equities crawl over the finish line to finish marginally higher. The bigger winners were the semiconductors stocks (up 4%) on the back of the bullish news from Texas Instruments Monday night. VIX (volatility) was down 5% which was odd given the tiny margin moves in the equity indices. Crude oil closed over $71 barrel (a high since Oct 2008) on seasonal demand and spec bets on the reflation trade. The Greenback was again looking soggy losing 1% though the three year Treasury Bond auction went well. Indeed fear of Fed rate hikes by the autumn appear way overdone.
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Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Suspicious Late Day Spike Pushes Stocks Flat / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Some very strange price (and some would say suspicious) action around 20.15 last night saw the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones spike sharply to close flat having been under water to the tune of 130+ points earlier in the session. Despite sluggish sales from McDonalds and news that Apple was cutting the price of its iPhones, traders cited “programme buying” from JP Morgan and UBS for the late rally. After the bell Texas Instruments increased their 2nd quarter forecasts while self appointed Mr Know ALL Nobel prize winner (and boy has it gone to his head) Paul Krugman opined that the Great Recession with end for the U.S. by September.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Bull and Bear Market Moves / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
With Oversized Deficits Almost Certain to Persist, an Investment In America's Future is One Very Tough Sell - Peter Schiff writes: Just last week, Team Obama took its financial-crisis dog-and-pony show on the road. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner went to China. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke visited Capitol Hill. And President Barack Obama, himself, embarked on a Mideast tour that started in Saudi Arabia.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Stock Markets End Week Higher Despite U.S. Unemployment Data / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
While the U.S. unemployment rated jumper to 9.4% (a high since August 1983), the markets chose to focus on the welcome fall in the numbers actually losing their jobs (-345k versus consensus -520k). They concluded that despite the negative revisions to previous numbers that the pace of decline may be slowing and that elusive bottom may be in sight. As a result stocks finished higher for the third straight week.
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
Financial Markets React to Growing Signs of Economic Recovery / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Ups and downs on financial markets were plentiful during the past week, but investor sentiment, on balance, brightened on the back of constructive financial and economic data - capped by a better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
“It appears that the global economy has finally found the ripcord,” said Rebecca Wilder (News N Economics) in her weekly review of global economic reports.
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
Financial Markets Schizophrenia and Madness / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Martin Weiss writes: While stocks have been rising, bonds have been plunging.
Rarely in my lifetime have I seen these suffer from a more extreme case of schizophrenia!
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Saturday, June 06, 2009
U.S. Employment Downtrend Continues, Recession Not Over Yet / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 345,000 in May, about half the average monthly decline for the prior 6 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The unemployment rate continued to rise, increasing from 8.9 to 9.4 percent. Steep job losses continued in manufacturing, while declines moderated in construction and several service-providing industries.
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Stock and Bond Market Update / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Last week we compared bonds and thought that T Notes were a good sell. They have fallen further - are they still a good sell? Some doubts have arisen…
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Stocks Modest Boost Ahead of US Jobs Data / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Stocks got a modest boost from a upward revision to Q1 US productivity data (which was corrected to double the initial estimate) and a stabilization in continuing jobless claims. The number of people who have been claiming social security for a number of weeks which fell for the first time since early January.
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
Stock and Commodity Trends Impact of a Weak U.S. Dollar / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Comments as of Wednesday's close: Risk assets have been benefiting from a weakening U.S. dollar. On Wednesday, the dollar strengthened on concerns about the economy (acting as a safe haven). From a technical perspective the dollar index has some support near 79.05 and 78.98 (today’s low was 78.33 – we are at 79.53 now). Last time these areas came into play, a three week countertrend rally followed, which is one reason we have been taking relatively small positions in recent weeks. A multi-week dollar counter-trend move is a possibility - we just need to be aware of it.
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
Taking Profits On The China Stock Market Growth Trade / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Stocks pared losses as the Dow finishes down 64 points yesterday having dipped to minus 142 points earlier as investors and traders took profits on the “China growth play” i.e. there was notable selling of commodity, metals, oil, & mining shares.
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
What’s the Market Trend? Where’s the Price? / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
It is important to have situational awareness in battle; and investing is certainly a battle these days. From situational awareness, you can attempt adaptive response, which in battle and in this market may be a key to survival.
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Stocks Consolidate But Watch Finanicals / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
A day of consolidation for stocks, while pending homes sales data, was a shade better than the lowly expectations (as record highs in affordability lured buyers) and the autos sales numbers were tad less awful than the markets were bracing for. The disappointment was again from the unwillingness of financials to partake in the up move after stock offerings to repay the TARP.
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Strengthening Chinese Economy And Commodities Cheer Stock Markets / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
So, the old cliché that “what is good for GM is good for the USA” is yesteryear’s story. Risk appetite is back. Impressive Chinese PMI data lit the initial spark and the Far Eastern induced rally didn’t stop until the closing bell rang in New York. Oil & tech stocks were in the vanguard of the surge higher with semi conductors up 5%.
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Monday, June 01, 2009
Why May’s Stock Market and Commodities Gains Can Continue / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
The book is closed on May, and what a great month it was for commodities, precious metals and emerging markets. And there are several good reasons to believe that the strong performance will continue in June and beyond.
The price of oil rose nearly 30 percent in May to close above $66 a barrel. This was oil’s biggest monthly gain since March 1999, when it climbed more than 36 percent. Natural gas picked up 14 percent, reversing its negative trend so far in 2009.
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Sunday, May 31, 2009
Stock Market Shrugs off GM Bankruptcy / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Main Street takes a hit in GM bankruptcy - The loser in a General Motors Corp. bankruptcy would be Main Street, not Wall Street, said a lawyer who represented Chrysler LLC’s dissident lenders and is trying to organize bondholders who hold up to $7 billion in GM’s debt. What’s being offered is the U.S.-backed plan to give the American and Canadian governments as much as 69 percent of the equity and a 17.5 percent trust for unions, while bondholders only get 10%. GM plans to file for bankruptcy on June 1, people familiar with the matter said.
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Great Bond Market Massacre Spills Over into Stocks / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
As I’ve written in this column before, the Fed was always playing a dangerous game of chicken with the market, with its half hearted attempts at Quantitative Easing. To date Quantitative Easing has failed miserably and the rise up in 10 year bond yields to 3.72% from 2.5% in March, sending mortgage rates soaring has completely neutered the Fed.
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