Market News

I noticed the Chinese stock market fell 5% last night–at least that’s what’s been reported by Bloomberg and others; I actually didn’t notice it really.

Risk aversion popped its head back in the market yesterday when the US consumer confidence report came out worse than expected. Will riskier assets continue to lose ground today or will investors see this a chance to buy them up again?

Global rebalancing is happening, like it or not. The question is: how will the global economy react when China becomes unhinged? That’s exactly what Jeremy Grantham is calling for; and he expects it could really take market players by surprise.

Higher yielding currencies like the AUD, EUR, and GBP continued its rise over the JPY and the USD for the most part of yesterday. Investors, however, banked in their profits during the US session which capped the currencies’ ascend. Will we see another run-up in prices in today’s trading?

Emerging markets continue to fly. Many for good reason I suspect. The iShares MSCI Emerging Stock Index has rebounded 50% from its low back in November last year.

With most currency pairs itching for a breakout since last week, what are the potential scenarios expected based on upcoming economic reports?

The Bank of Canada believes that the recession is ending. Spot-on assessment or wishful thinking?

As Jack mentioned on Tuesday, we’re in Vancouver speaking at an investment conference. A popular question here, as the case with most conferences and seminars we attend, is:

Risk aversion or risk appetite? Traders appear tentative and are unsure on what is prevailing as many pairs enter consolidation. What reports could spark a one-way move?

Do stocks and currencies lead commodities? We think stocks are the best discounting mechanism we have. We think sooner or later the fundamentals of supply and demand are factored into prices.

Side wards was the theme of the day yesterday as most major currency pairs just drifted within relatively tight ranges. What’s in store for us in today’s economic cupboard? Check it out!

When the clock struck 2:00 pm GMT yesterday, all eyes were fixed on one man – the Almighty Big Ben Bernanke. Speaking for the Federal Reserve, Big B (as I call him sometimes) took center stage as he aimed to educate the public on the country’s economic health.

There’s one important chart I wanted to show you today. I’ll get to that in a minute. News wise, though, there’s nothing too exciting to talk about this morning; prices are little changed from where they finished yesterday … and the day before that.

Several top tier events in the UK, Canada, and US are scheduled today. How will they affect the currency market?

If we have learned one thing over the many years following markets it is this: If you are paying attention, there are always many more questions than answers. And if you are highly confident about future price action, you have either never traded real money or you haven’t a clue.

Risk aversion took the backseat again yesterday, marking its seventh straight day of absence in the currency market. Check out today’s economic roundup to find out if risk appetite is here to stay…

USD bears took a break last Friday after beating the dollar down last week. Have they had enough and will they go back into hibernation? Or will economic reports have an appetizing smell to lure them back to the markets?

Given that Australia has effectively become a satellite country of China–a country we are told is “booming” with growth–does the news item from Bloomberg this morning strike anyone else as a bit odd?

Third day of corporate earnings and it seems like traders are now full of risk! So, what will dominate the market today as traders close their books for the weekend?

At the last G8 party, we heard some central bankers quietly hum the lyrics to the song “Exit Strategies.” Some of the groovy dancers, most notably the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, are getting nervous that they might miss a