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Iceland Melts Down...

* RBA cuts rates 100 BPS! * Iceland to peg the krona... * High Yielders get whacked! * Gold rallies in the face of a strong dollar! ** Iceland Melts Down... Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Well... Folks... The wheels, what was left of them, are really coming off this economy. It's a sad sight to see, but it's happening nonetheless, and there's no bailout, stimulus check, mortgage bill, truck loads of money supply, or whatever, that's going to stop this recession bus.. Memo to Paulson and Bernanke... Don't throw yourself under this recession bus... Well... The dollar continued to push the envelope against a handful of currencies yesterday. Up front and center, the high yielders got beaten about the head and shoulders by the dollar. Aussie, kiwi, real, rand, all took major hits from the dollar. It was one of the worst days I can remember seeing for these currencies. This huge sell off showed two things going against the high yielders... 1. Commodities (other than Gold) are getting whacked, and 2. The Carry Trade is Dead......

Published Tue, Oct 10 2008 9:20 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Silver, Gold, Ben Bernanke, Yen, Japan, Carry Trade, Icelandic Krona, FOMC, Renminbi, Henry Paulson

The Deed Is Done...

* Adding $700 Billion to our debt... * U.S. loses 159K jobs in September! * Dollar rallies to 13-month high VS euro * Ding Dong the Carry Trade is Dead... ** The Deed Is Done... Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! The deed is done... The House, which had previously voted down the Bailout Package, decided to go ahead and put the country in debt by another $700 Billion... Yes, I know it the payouts will be in installments, but in my mind it was in one swoop that $700 Billion was added to our debt... And guess what? The dollar rallied on the news! More on the Bailout Package in a minute... The other thing happened on Friday was the awful Job Jamboree in which 159K jobs were reported lost by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) during September. The job losses were all over the place led by job losses in Manufacturing. And guess what? The dollar rallied on the news!...

Published Mon, Oct 10 2008 9:44 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Dollar, Bailout, Euro, Yen, Bank of England, Carry Trade, Jobs, FOMC, Renminbi, Credit Crisis

Congratulations to Chuck...

* Great news from Chuck... * FOMC could lower rates... * TIC flows to slow... * Yen and SFR continue to rally... ** Congratulations to Chuck... Good day... I want to start this mornings Pfennig off with a note Chuck sent the trade desk last night: "The doctor called, and I'm CLEAN! My scans were clean, and, I'm officially off the Sutent, and considered a "Cancer Survivor" now! YIPPEE!" I know the markets are in a state of turmoil, but that great news from Chuck took precedence over anything I could write about the currencies. It looks like Chuck's positive attitude along with all of our prayers have beaten back the cancer (I guess his doctors and the new medicines deserve some of the credit also). Congratulations to Chuck, can't wait to shake his hand when he returns from the first week of the FXU tour. But now lets move on to the markets. I was so focused on the Wall Street turmoil yesterday that I failed to mention the FOMC will be meeting today. Just a few weeks ago, the markets were calling for an interest rate increase by the Fed to tackle inflation. But the events of this past weekend, along with a dramatic drop in the price of oil, has many calling for another interest rate cut. The Central Bank has already injected billions of money into the markets to try and calm them after the bankruptcy of Lehman. The Federal Reserve yesterday added $70 billion in reserves, the most since the September 2001 terrorist attacks. The funds were needed as banks and financial firms tightened up their lending in reaction to the financial turmoil....

Published Tue, Sep 09 2008 9:19 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Brazilian Real, Gold, Swiss franc, The Fed, FOMC, TIC Flow, T-Bills, Peso, Financial Crisis

Currencies Rally On Bad U.S. Data...

* Dollar rally is stopped! * FOMC meeting minutes... * Housing data you won't see on TV! * Sweden to sell Gold... ** Currencies Rally On Bad U.S. Data... Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! I'm back. I just couldn't answer the bell yesterday morning, as the night before was simply rough on your old Pfennig writer. I'm in my last week of treatment and it has been a tough row to hoe, and I feel bad that I was not able to stiffen the back and make it through the day. But, no biggie, I've got great people here to take care of things when I'm gone... When I finally dragged myself out of bed yesterday, I saw that the dollar was taking liberties with the euro and other currencies once again. It was another game of "your economy is worse than mine", as German Business Confidence took a ride on the slippery slope down. You should have seen the "bandwagon jumpers" falling all over themselves to write about how cool it was to own the dollar. I chuckled, no big laugh as that might upset my stomach! But, their claim to be cool, was quickly squashed like a bug, when the housing numbers printed, and then later in the day, with the latest FOMC meeting minutes... More on this in a minute.......

Published Wed, Aug 08 2008 9:02 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Currencies, Dollar, Gold, Home Sales, Euro, European Central Bank, Sweden, FOMC

Dollar range bound...

* Dollar range bound... * German confidence falls... * Aussie and NZD continue to slide... * US to maintain pressure on Chinese... ** Dollar range bound... Good day... Chuck had a rough night, so he decided to stay home and try to get some rest. The Pfennig will be pretty short this morning, as I want to try and get it out as close to the regular time as possible. The currency markets were fairly calm yesterday, with the dollar staying in a pretty tight range before rallying some in early trading this morning. The Euro has lost some ground in European trading as German business and consumer confidence fell more than economists forecast. The Ifo institute's business climate index dropped to a three year low in July and consumer sentiment slumped to the lowest level in five years. Some currency traders pointed to these latest reports as further proof Europe is slipping into recession and that the ECB will need to cut rates before year end. It is obvious by now that the economies of Europe are weakening, and growth will not be able to match last years numbers. But I still believe Trichet and the other voting members of the ECB will continue their hawkish bias, and I don't expect any interest rate moves until sometime next year. This should keep the Euro from falling dramatically away from these current levels....

Published Tue, Aug 08 2008 9:36 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Dollar, China, Home Sales, New Zealand, Germany, FOMC

ECB to change dollar's direction?...

* ECB to change dollar's direction?... * BOE leaves rates unchanged... * The worst is not over in US housing... * Japan's government signals expansion is over.. ** ECB to change dollar's direction?... Good day...The dollar continued its assault on the world's currencies yesterday as the dollar index moved above the 74 handle. I pulled a chart off the Bloomberg on my way out the door last night, and it showed the only major currency which was up vs. the US$ yesterday was the Swedish krona, which managed a .07% increase. This dollar rally has legs, but I still question the fundamentals behind the dollars surge. Today may be the day we see the dollar finally make a turn, as the ECB will be announcing their rate decision. It is not that I expect Trichet to raise rates, but I do expect him to sound hawkish and refocus the markets attention on Eurozone inflation and away from worries about growth. Two reports out of Germany this morning will bolster Trichet's hawkish stance. German exports rose more than economists expected in June, defying a stronger euro and pushing the trade surplus to a record. Exports increased 4.2% from may, the most since September 2006. German industrial production also increased for the first time in four months with output rising 1.7% from a year earlier. The IMF last month rose its forecast for German economic growth this year and said the global slowdown linked to the US financial crisis was less severe than it expected....

Published Thu, Aug 08 2008 10:00 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Euro, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Japan, FOMC, Home Prices

Fed not as hawkish as expected...

* Fed not as hawkish as expected... * Markets now turn to ECB and BOE... * Canadian dollar slides... * Aussie hit by 1-2 punch.. ** Fed not as hawkish as expected... Good day...I want to start off today's Pfennig by apologizing for those of you who were waiting to receive their Pfennig yesterday. I sent it off at the normal time, but we had some problems with the program which sends it out, so it was delayed in getting delivered. You can always view the current Pfennig at www.dailypfennig.com where we post it first thing in the morning. That website also has archived versions of past pfennigs for your reading pleasure! They tell me the problem has been fixed, so you should get this pfennig right on time. The dollar drifted higher throughout most of the day yesterday as the markets prepared for the FOMC rate announcement. The sentiment driving the dollar higher was that the Fed would sound much more hawkish in order to keep an overall consensus among the FOMC members. Dollar bulls were expecting a signal from Bernanke that an increase in interest rates would be just around the corner. These higher interest rate expectations encouraged traders to take the dollar index back up to just under 74, a level we haven't seen in almost two months....

Published Wed, Aug 08 2008 10:12 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Oil, Inflation, Commodities, Gold, European Central Bank, Canada, Bank of England, Interest Rates, The Fed, FOMC

Dollar swings a mighty hammer...

* Dollar swings a mighty hammer... * FOMC expected to sound more hawkish... * Euro Opportunity currencies rally... * RAB leaves rates unchanged, but AUD$ falls... ** Dollar swings a mighty hammer... Good day...The dollar rallied again yesterday, and shot up even more overnight as the markets prepare for the rate announcement from the Fed. Falling oil prices helped propel the greenback higher, as oil fell below $120 a barrel for the first time since May. This latest move puts the dollar index close to 74, the point at which the last dollar correction ended back in mid June. The technical guys are all waiting to see if the index can break through 74.31, a sign that further strength is possible. But I don't pretend to be a technical analyst and would much rather look at the economic fundamentals to figure the direction of the dollar....

Published Tue, Aug 08 2008 9:17 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Dollar, Euro, Swiss franc, Interest Rates, FOMC, Consumer Debt, Credit Crisis

FOMC Meeting Day!

* What will the Fed do? * Going into the fryer? * Trichet tries to cool the jets... * India raises rates 50 BPS! ** FOMC Day! Good day... And a what should be "Wild" Wednesday to you! This is the day the Fed's "true" colors come through in my opinion. The markets were all fired up a couple of weeks ago, and the air in their balloon has been slowly let out up to now. But today, we'll see if their balloon get re-inflated or goes "pop"! You see, today is the day the Fed's FOMC meeting adjourns and a rate announcement along with a new bias will be the order of business at the end of the meeting. The Fed Heads normally eat their lunch, which was probably packed in brown bag consisting of a baloney sandwich (since that's what they normally spew is baloney!), some chips and ho-ho's... HAHAHAHAHA!...

Published Wed, Jun 06 2008 9:14 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Currencies, Inflation, Consumer Confidence, Interest Rates, Trichet, The Fed, FOMC, India

German Business Confidence Falls...

* The euro gives back 1-cent... * The Economist agrees with Chuck! * RBNZ takes a shot at kiwi... * FOMC week! ** German Business Confidence Falls... Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! Friday turned out to be Fantastico, as I hoped it would, and it ended with a nice surprise retirement party for long colleague, John Kaupisch. I couldn't talk about it Friday, because it was a surprise... But it was real nice, and John was surprised... His last day is July 3... First guy to retire here... I'll probably be the next, but with a 13-year old, I doubt that happens any time in the near future! The currencies held steady Eddie on Friday, with the euro popping up to 1.5660 at one point, only to end the day around 1.5620. Still, a nice day given all the negativity the euro had been receiving because of the Fed's rhetoric, and other minor stuff in the Eurozone... Overnight though, the euro has gotten treated like a red headed step child (OK no nasty comments, it's just a saying). The German Business Confidence as measured by the think tank, IFO, fell to the lowest level in more than two years this month... Business leaders are feeling the pinch of record Oil prices and the threat of higher interest rates....

Published Mon, Jun 06 2008 9:13 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Euro, Ben Bernanke, Carry Trade, GDP, Germany, FOMC, Reserve Bank of New Zealand

Removing Fed Rate Hike Bets...

* The euro rallies 1-cent! * U.S Data continues to be a drag... * Canada's Carney underpins the loonie... * RBS issues a warning! **Removing Fed Rate Hike Bets... Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! Looks like it could be a Fantastico Friday as traders are Finally coming around to Chuck's way of thinking regarding Fed rate hikes... And as traders remove their bets for aggressive Fed rate hikes, the luster begins to fade on the dollar rally. The meetings are over for this week (they start up again next week!), YAHOO! I get to spend the day on the trading desk... I've missed everyone! OK... Front and Center this morning, we have the euro trading 1-cent higher, knock, knock knocking on Heaven's Door, I mean, the 1.56 handle. As I said in the intro, it appears that traders don't have the stomach to hold on to their bets that the Fed will aggressively raise interest rates this year. Recall, the other day, I told you that the bets were ratcheting up and had reached 75 BPS of rate hikes this year... I doubt we have any... In fact, as I told you the other day too, I believe that when the dust settles on the fact that the Fed isn't going to raise rates, things will have gotten so bad here that the Fed will be entertaining thoughts of cutting rates again!...

Published Fri, Jun 06 2008 9:20 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Brazilian Real, Oil, China, Euro, Carry Trade, FOMC, Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland

Paulson Speaks With A "Double Tongue"

* The U.S. economy in a wreck! * More problems to come... * Funky accounting at the Fed... * SNB leaves rates unchanged... **Paulson Speaks With A "Double Tongue" - Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! I was alone last night, and decided to write... Oh Boy! Are you, dear reader, in trouble when I begin writing at night for the next morning! My Cardinals were losing again, so my attention turned to putting down all these thoughts that keep coming into my head... Like Michael Keaton in Night Shift (what a great movie!) I need a recorder to put all these thoughts down... Like... Feed the mayo to the tuna! OK... Front and Center this morning, the euro's rally that went on all day yesterday and into the early Asian session (all the way to 1.5580) ended this morning... Someone, somewhere decided that the U.S. will be able to squeeze by this slowdown... Unfortunately, I don't agree! I see the U.S. being involved with the multi-car accident on the highway... But as Pfennig readers you already know that... However, instead of just hearing from me all the time about this meltdown of the U.S. economy, let's hear from an organization that tracks these things......

Published Thu, Jun 06 2008 9:38 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Euro, Ben Bernanke, The Fed, Economy, FOMC, Henry Paulson, Swiss National Bank

Questioning The Fed's Rhetoric...

* More dollar strength... * Retail Sales surprise... * SARB raises rates! * Gold on the slippery slope... **Questioning The Fed's Rhetoric... Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! It will be a Fantastico Friday (Hopefully) for the boys and girls in the St. Louis office, as we head to Busch Stadium tonight for a Cardinals baseball game... We even have a special guest that will be with us, so party on Wayne... Party on Garth! Well... Things went a little crazy on the desk while I was away yesterday... When I returned home last night, I had a ton of emails from the Big Boss, Frank Trotter, and that's usually a sign that things didn't go well! Frank plays hockey on Friday mornings, and said he will call me to bring me up to date on his way to hockey......

Published Fri, Jun 06 2008 9:10 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Gold, The Fed, Citigroup, Retail Sales, FOMC

FOMC Minutes Point To Problems...

* Questioning the Fed's moves... * Euros slow down... * Aussie hits 25-year high... * Oil hits $135!...

Published Thu, May 05 2008 11:45 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Employment, Oil, Gold, Euro, The Fed, Economy, FOMC

IFO Send Euros Soaring Higher!

* The euro rallies again! * Talking about Cross trades... * Kohn sings Ray Stevens... * FOMC minutes today......

Published Wed, May 05 2008 9:30 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Bonds, Oil, Gold, Euro, European Central Bank, The Fed, FOMC

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