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  • 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!...
  • Wooden Arrows?

    * A euro revelation! * House to vote on Bailout... * Yen remains strong... * Jobs Jamboree Friday! ** Wooden Arrows? Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! A Fantastic Friday, I hope! As the blind man said, as he spit into the wind... It's all coming back to me now... And so it was yesterday morning after I had hit the send button for the Pfennig, a trader friend called to give me some insight, and... After talking to him, it all came back to me now... What the heck is he talking about now? I hear you asking... Well, recall how I and probably all of you too, have been scratching my head and wondering just how in the world the dollar could be rallying in the face of all that's going on, and the bad data to boot. Well, here it is folks, sit back and take a sip of coffee......
  • Financial storms claim two more...

    * Financial storms claim two more victims... * Yen and Swiss Francs move back up... * Euro approaches 1.45 before reversing course... * Oil below $100... ** Financial storms claim two more... Good day... The financial storm claimed another victim this weekend as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy after being unable to find a buyer. Bank of America, who was rumored to be bidding on Lehman ended up buying Merrill Lynch & Co and AIG Inc. is asking the fed for an emergency loan. All of this financial turmoil has sent the dollar lower vs. most of the major currencies as investors are beginning to realize the situation in the US markets is worse than the rest of the world. Over the past three months, currency traders have rallied the dollar on the basis that the US was in better shape than Europe. They will now need to rethink their strategies, as the past few weekends show just how bad the US financial sector is ailing. And unfortunately, their will likely be more to come. Risk aversion is a popular theme in the markets again, and the purchase of US treasuries actually helped to keep the US$ from falling further....
  • Falling In And Out Of Love...

    * Euro sinks to 1-year low... * RBNZ cuts rates 25 BPS... * Carry Trades continue to unwind... * Fannie and Freddie cause problems for banks... ** Falling In And Out Of Love... Good day... And a Thunderin' Thursday to you! Today we mark 7 years since the "monsters" attacked our great nation and thousands of lives were lost needlessly. My blood still boils at the thought of what happened on Sept 11, 2001, and the thoughts of the twin towers coming down still flashes in my mind. 7 years ago today, we witnessed the horrific scenes from terrorists in our country. I recall trying to come up with words the next day, and just couldn't, so I stuck to currencies, in attempt to keep things as normal as they could be. I hope everyone flies their flag today in remembrance of this day 7 years ago. OK... We're seeing a complete meltdown in the currencies this morning, folks.. The euro has fallen to the low 1.39 handle, and all is looking quite bleak for the single unit right now. Our metals trader, Kristin, sent me this note that she came across regarding the euro......
  • An Attitude Change...

    * Dollar rallies Big! * Commodities in a free fall... * Yen remains untouched... * Data risk this week... ** An Attitude Change... Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Welcome to September! I hope you had a Wonderful Holiday Weekend. I sure did! It was the end of 4 weeks of treatments. We have beautiful weather. I enjoyed a day of football on Saturday, with my little buddy Alex, playing Saturday morning, and my beloved Missouri Tigers playing Saturday night. Sunday was fantabulous, as I hung around the backyard, and neighbors and friends all stopped by to spend the day... Just great! I had to rest up my leg yesterday, as it was swelling a bit from all the walking and standing, but back to normal today, so, it's all good! Not so for the euro and other currencies this morning. Front and Center this morning, the euro has fallen further, all the way through the 1.45 handle! Seems that Hurricane Gustav didn't disrupt the Oil production as many had feared, and the price of Oil has fallen $115, after trading as high as $119 on Friday, ahead of the storm. Gold too has taken on gallons of dollar water, and has diluted the price of the shiny metal to $805, after traded near $845 last Thursday. And Commodities? That's not a pretty sight, the free fall of commodities... And thus the Commodity Currencies of Aussie and Kiwi, and even the Canadian dollar have all seen the trap door opened up underneath them by this dollar move....
  • Don't be fooled by the US GDP...

    * Don't be fooled by the US GDP... * Canada, Mexico, and Brazil rally... * Aussie dollar falls... * Japanese to keep rates unchanged... ** Don't be fooled by the US GDP... Good day...And welcome to the last day of July. The dollar held its ground through most of the trading day but started to sell off as the day wound down. The currency markets seem to be stuck in a summer doldrums, with few dramatic moves. With many of the head traders enjoying a summer break (ours included), currency desks are reluctant to take on large positions. And who can blame them as the recent global economic data has left investors wondering where to turn. As I have explained to several recent callers, the global economy is experiencing a slowdown as the high commodity prices and a slumping US economy has hurt growth. The economic releases have shown an overall slowdown in growth, and rising global inflation. But the overall slowdown will have differing effects on the currencies. Asia is slowing, but a slowdown from double digit growth in China and India is much different than a slowdown in the US where growth is around 2%. Also, the Asian countries have kept interest rates low to try and keep their currencies from appreciating too quickly. These countries are therefore in a much better position to combat inflation, and can allow currency appreciation to help combat rising prices....
  • Oil Price Slides!

    * Big Ben in a predicament! * The euro retreats after new high... * Retail Sales disappoint! * Yen and francs on the menus again! ** Oil Price Slides! Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! 3 straight days without rain here in St. Louis! WOW! It did however, rain on the currencies' parade yesterday. About mid-morning, the brakes were applied to the run on the dollar, and the car was put into reverse. Retail Sales disappointed, and PPI is not anything to laugh about... All that and more, as we head into the day after a 15-inning All-Star Game! Front and Center though is the good cop, bad cop thing that played out with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke (bad cop) and SEC Chairman Cox (good cop)... Big Ben sent the dollar packing in the morning with his statement that highlighted the Fed's predicament... Big Ben noted the parts of financial markets remained seriously disrupted (which screams, no rate hike), but that dollar weakness had helped cause inflation to rise (Here he goes again trying to blame everyone else for the Fed's creation and feeding of inflation... Oh well, this statement screams, no rate cut!). The currencies all took turns taking a swing at the piñata (dollar)... And... It looked like the volcano was about to blow... Oh, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know where I'm a going to go when the volcano blows! (Ahhh, a little Jimmy Buffett on a Wonderful Wednesday!)...
  • BIS Disses The Dollar!

    * Euro & Aussie on the rise... * Yen continues to rise on stock sell off... * Another depressing warning... * Gold takes off! **BIS Disses The Dollar! Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! June the 30th... I had a fabulous weekend, with a Cardinals' win Saturday night to top it off! I'm waiting for news from the blood doctor on my latest ultra sound on my leg. And my goofy car is acting up again! UGH! But... Not even that kind of stuff could ruin my weekend! OK... Front and Center this morning, we have the euro climbing above 1.58, and the Aussie dollar hitting a 25-year high! The dollar is getting sold again, as the negativity toward the dollar grows strong again. We also have The Bank for International Settlement (BIS) talking about how a disorderly decline in the dollar can't be ruled out completely, while U.S. Treasury Sec. Paulson is talking about how a strong dollar is a good thing for the U.S....
  • The Yen Is Back!

    * The dollar stumbles... * BOE & ECB leave rates unchanged... * Trade Deficit to "narrow"? * Another record level for oil!...
  • The Dollar Swings A Mighty Hammer!

    * Hoenig's big fat cat! * Renminbi stalls... * Going out on the limb again... * Stocks get sold on oil price... ...
  • Record day in the currency markets...

    * Several currencies go through record levels... * Bank of England cuts rates... * Yen and Singapore dollars move up... * Renminbi trades under 7......
  • Jobs Fall 80,000!

    * Labor picture looks awful... * Does this look like a recession now? * Aussie Trade Deficit widens... * China about to trade with a 6!...
  • This Is Not A Trend Reversal!

    * German Retail Sales crumble...* UBS takes a big loss! * An Iceland note... * RBA leaves rates unchanged......
  • Dollar Reversal this Morning...

    * Home sales surprise... * Consumer confidence today... * Carry trade again... * Iceland hikes rates......
  • The Fed's Quiver Is Getting Empty...

    * A Technical correction... * Leading Indicators to fall a 5th month? * Paul Volcker chimes in... * A new Carry Trade currency?...