Archive for December, 2011

The Aussie was one of a handful of commodity-oriented currencies that found the going tougher than usual last week. Behind their difficulties was a re-emergence of concerns for global economic growth. Economists are becoming steadily more certain that the Eurozone economy will go into reverse. Growth in China appears to be slowing too. Whilst...
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It was an eventful week for the euro, one which it was lucky to survive with its hide intact. But survive it did; not in grand style (it lost ground to all but the New Zealand dollar and the rand), but at least it avoided placing last. The euro’s two big challenges were the European...
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The FTSE 100 spreads fell 2% on Wednesday as investors avoided risky asset classes such as financial and mining stocks after continued fears over rising sovereign bond yields and nerves over potential ratings downgrades for France convinced them to cut back. There has been speculation and concern over the fragility of top notch credit ratings...
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Last month we looked ahead to the Cannes summit, and the likelihood of a plan to deal with the crisis in Europe. We also looked at the possibility of a rate cut from the ECB, which did come to pass, as well as the likelihood of a failure to agree in the US on...
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The FTSE 100 lost around 1.5% in trading on Monday as stocks reversed Friday’s gains after the EU Summit relief rally fully waned. Investors have refocused their gaze on the fact that there remain deep concerns over the ability of the EU to address near term pressures on sovereign bond yields, whilst a profit warning...
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European markets have struggled for direction today ahead of tomorrow’s EU summit. Investors who were hoping for a more decisive steer from the European Central Bank were left disappointed despite a rate cut of 25bps. The refusal of the ECB to commit to buying unlimited sovereign bonds, as well as closing the door to...
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A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde day today, after opening with a fairly positive bias, European markets slid back in the afternoon session, as policymaker statements started to down-play expectations ahead of this week’s EU summit. Talk that a bigger financial bazooka was being prepared gave markets an early boost, however comments from...
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Financial stocks such as banks and insurers led a 0.3% rally in the FTSE 100 as investors eyed a potentially pivotal week for the future of the Eurozone. It’s been a positive start to an important week in the life of the Eurozone with Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy agreeing joint proposals to bring...
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If the Euroland ship under Captain Merkel can be said to be rudderless, the captain of the American equivalent has apparently gone AWOL. Not that the lack of command and control is doing the US dollar spreads any harm. The dollar has been the best performer in the last seven days, despite the failure...
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The Aussie moved ahead of sterling on the week, adding about a cent; not a significant achievement. See also GBP/AUD spread trading. Inexplicably it kept close company with a motley group including the Canadian dollar, the Swiss franc and the yen – currencies which more usually find themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum. Two...
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