Market News

Jim, thank you for that most insightful view that is taking place in the real world, out of the reaches of most economists who seem to spend their days toiling in “theory land.”

Just recently, we saw China overtake Japan as the number two biggest economy in the world. The change in the world rankings was more than just result of China’s robust economic growth as Japan’s poor performance made them surrender their spot over to the Chinese. I have come up with, not one, not two… but FOUR main reasons why the Japanese economy is in trouble.

Thanks to risk aversion, the dollar was able to reign supreme in yesterday’s trading session. With the Fed’s interest rate decision coming up, the currencies could be in for a wild ride today!

Last week when I touched upon the US dollar’s technical pattern, and the near-term potential for it to roll over a bit, I made mention of the lingering debt problem in the US. Especially when it comes to the US dollar, US debts are a growing concern that keep many analysts US dollar-bearish.

Even though big brother RBA has been raising rates month after month, don’t expect the RBNZ to follow suit just yet! Let me tell you why!

Volatility ahead! Several high impact economic reports are scheduled today in Japan, euro zone, the UK, and the US. Brace yourselves and see what’s up on our daily economic roundup!

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to speak at an excellent conference in Vancouver, British Columbia–The World Outlook Conference. It was a great venue and there were many nice people who attended.

My, how time flies! Just 4 years ago, we were all introduced to a certain Ben Bernanke who would be the new head of the Federal Reserve. Now, with his term coming to an end, what will happen when the confirmation clock strikes midnight for Big Ben?

If you think the Brangelina split is the hottest news lately, wait ’til you read my daily economic roundup. I’ve got more exciting headlines than that!

As an encore to the week prior when they increased the interest rate on one-year bills and upped the required reserve ratio on banks, they ratcheted up the rate on one-year bills again.

US President Barack Obama did quite a number on the markets yesterday when he called for an overhaul of the banking industry. Wait, let me reword that. Obama, in his speech yesterday, declared a full-on war on commercial banks.

Looks like risk aversion is back in style! With it being a Friday, could we see some profit taking take place?

The Heritage Foundation convened again and published their most recent annual report that ranks the economic freedom of 183 countries around the globe. As mentioned in the Key News section above, Hong Kong claimed the top spot … followed by Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Switzerland.

Remember last week when I told you that China is the world’s third largest economy? Well, scratch that. A report just released today showed that China grew 10.7% during the final quarter of 2009, overtaking Japan as the second largest economy on the planet.

Looks like risk aversion is back in play as China has decided to cut back in lending. Will the USD and JPY continue to benefit as traders run for safety?

Let’s look at what the euro has done against the US dollar compared to what the Chinese currency has done since the last dollar bear market began. Below is a percent change chart with the starting date June 1, 2002.

By now, I guess you’re probably tired of hearing me talk about the UK as the only major economy stuck in recession. So let’s take a look at the possibility of stagflation, another problem that’s lurking around the corner for the British economy.

Good day Forex friends! Several top tier economic events are happening today. See what’s up on our daily economic roundup!

With all the controversy surrounding Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and mama bird NBC … perhaps China would like to slip in and host a show, regardless of whether they get pushed back by half an hour.

A year ago, the ECB’s concern was simple: economic recovery. The year 2009 proved to be relatively good, as the euro zone was able to finally climb out of recession and post some optimistic economic data here and there. All good, right?