Dollar fundamentals continue to erode
I don't think there's anything more important to financial markets--well, assuming we don't get some kind of completely off-the-wall black swan event--over the next three months or so than the strength or weakness of the dollar. My judgment on trends in the greenback...Dollar falls as President Trump criticizes Federal Reserve policy again
For a second straight day President Donald Trump has tweeted out criticism of the Federal Reserve's policy decision to raise interest rates. In his tweets today the President wrote: "China, the European Union and others have been manipulating their currencies and...Buying the Invesco CurrencyShares Japanese Yen ETF in my Perfect 5 ETF Portfolio
Following my own recommendation in my Special Report 5 Places to Hide from a Downturn--and Still Make Some Money I'm adding "Invesco CurrencyShares Japanese Yen ETF (FXY) to my Perfect 5 ETF portfolio today. As I wrote in that Special Report, "JPMorgan Chase recently...I’m selling VEA out of my Perfect 5 ETF Portfolio today
I'm continuing to revise the holdings in my Perfect 5 ETF Portfolio in order to reduce risk from the effects of a global trade war and yet to still make some money--as I outlined in my Special Report: 5 Places to Hide from a Downturn--and Still Make Some Money. I...Asia markets in one-day bounce–but I’ll take it
News from Asian markets has been so bad lately, with China in a bear market and Japan in a correction--that even today's one-day bounce seems like extraordinarily good news. In Japan, which has been in a stock market correction, the Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.2%....Here we go again on the euro: The bad news is that Italy’s financial crisis is political
The good news is that the European Central Bank, thanks to the global financial crisis and the Greek debt crisis, has mechanisms in place to support Italian bonds, Italian banks, and the Italian financial system. The bad news is that an Italian government has to ask for that help after swearing to be fiscally responsible. At the moment there is, once again, no Italian government. A bid by the populist parties that came in ahead of the field in the latest election was rejected by Italy’s president. And these parties aren’t likely to meet the European Central Bank’s requirements for help.
Trick or trend: Safe haven, safe haven. Who’s got the safe haven
The unexpected weakness in the normally safe-haven Swiss franc indicates just how uncertain long-term market “truths” have become. What is a safe haven now?
Notes You Need for August 14: Japan economy surprise, China Daily criticism, China cuts North Korea imports, dollar firms, yen falls
To subscribe to JAM you need to fill in some details below including, ahem, some info on how you'll pay us. A subscription is $199 (although if you're subscribing with one of our special offers it will be lower) for a year for ongoing and continuing access to the...Haven assets in demand after day of heated rhetoric on North Korea and nukes
Not surprisingly haven assets such as gold and the Japanese yen are up today. So are volatility measures such as the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX.) Surprisingly, the rush to safety hasn’t been as strong as you might expect after a day when U.S.President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury and that country responded by threatening to nuke Guam.