By Chris Becker The volatility is ramping up as the Asian FX flash crash and the fallout from the Apple guidance cut was exarcebated by an unexpected drop in the US ISM manufacturing print. US stocks tumbled, with the NASDAQ losing a little over 3% with Treasury yields falling sharply as the yield curve braces
Macro/Markets Investors Are Betting That the Fed Hits Pause on Rate Hikes Wall Street Journal Yanis Varoufakis | The Euro Has Never Been More Problematic YouTube The World Is Getting Quietly, Relentlessly Better Wall Street Journal Asset Management’s Squeezed Middle Faces a Bleak 2019 Wall Street Journal Apple warns on Q1 results CNBC Americas Trump-loving economist caught red-handed ’making up
Wow what a day to be a FX trader! Bigly volatility on the Yen and crosses, with the Aussie dollar losing nearly 3 cents within a few minutes! Most currencies are nearly back to where they started, but this has had a big impact on equity markets with the catalyst being Apple’s late earnings revision
Cross posted from The Conversation: by Davina Jackson Honorary Academic, School of Architecture, University of Kent Today’s smart cities rely on networks: squillions of semiconductor devices that constantly pulse electromagnetic waves (light and radio frequencies) through telecommunications satellites. Data Cities, by the author. Lund Humphries (2018), Author provided Another genre of satellites, equipped especially for Earth
For anyone paying attention, one of the H&H’s excellent calls a few months ago was to get long Australian bonds as the RBA’s fantasy of future growth ran into the nasty reality of a housing and China bust. To wit, today we see bond returns jumping: Damien Boey of Credit Suisse is another bond bull
by Chris Becker You can’t keep a good economic Liberal down. Here’s the latest attempt to shore up the multi-trillion property market with the Treasurer calling for the banks to get cracking on those government subsidised printing presses. From Skynews: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is demanding banks stimulate ‘affordable and timely’ lending after revelations Australian house
by Chris Becker Looks like we’re reliving the GFC all over again with interconnectedness so high that global currency and stock markets are going to crash because some single Chinese youths are not buying as many iPhones as they should. Apple announced a near 10% reduction in its forward guidance, releasing this report: While we
by Chris Becker Some epic volatility in the FX market at the moment with Yen moving both Aussie and USD around: This is very troubling indeed, with the lack of liquidity as key levels are taken out really showing how volatile and dangerous the FX world really is – and why most traders don’t hold
by Chris Becker Here’s the first post-NY update to the iron ore complex, with prices as of yesterday: Texture from Reuters: Shanghai steel futures turned lower on the first day of trading for 2019 on Wednesday after disappointing data from China stoked investor worries about global economic growth. Prices of steelmaking raw materials also ended
By Chris Becker A volatile start to the New Year on overseas markets with large gaps down on equities filled but not with confidence as bond markets and safe haven currencies remain the place to dump cash. Recapping Asia’s session yesterday first where the Hang Seng Index gapped 2% down on the open and has
by Chris Becker Those crazy Norwegians! Saving money from a sovereign wealth fund and then investing in their future with huge incentives to electrify the transportation grid. It’s not like they spend over $42 billion a year importing oil to power their cars like Australia – which has less than two weeks of strategic reserve
by Chris Becker It should be a no-brainer on both sides of politics that objective facts and statistics are required to make policy decisions. But the Australian Bureau of Statistics remains under significant funding pressure to provide such data. More from The Age: Pressed by the Labor Party about the next census in 2021, following
Macro/Markets Chinese Investors Back Away From Global Property Markets Wall Street Journal Mainstream Economics Has Become a Celebration of the Wealthy Rentier Class Evonomics Private-Equity Firms Create Funds That Are Built to Last Wall Street Journal China got on the bandwagon to provide global satellite internet QZ Americas Jerry Falwell Jr. can’t imagine Trump ‘doing
Not a good start to the New Year here in Asia today, with stocks down across the region, and the Australian dollar falling as a proxy as an unexpected slate of data from China, coupled with unease over the US trade talks – let alone the stupid Trump (but I repeat myself) shutdown – adding
Cross posted from The Conversation by Frank Bongiorno Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University On the morning of Monday, March 4 1996, the young treasurer in the Howard government, Peter Costello, and his press secretary, Tony Smith – now the speaker of the House of Representatives – took
by Chris Becker It hasn’t taken long for the red button to be pushed with force by traders across the region, despite a holiday in Japan, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index gapping down 2% at the open: This takes it straight back to the Xmas lows and threatens the December lows too. The
by Chris Becker The Australian dollar is just hanging on above the 70 handle against USD in early trade post NY celebrations: Terminal support at the red-line level just above 70 cents relates to the 2015 yearly lows which if it breaks, spells a very sharp downward trajectory. Other undollar currencies are doing a lot
by Chris Becker From Commsec’s latest report: Crude oil’s sharp fall since October is helping to put some extra coin in consumers’ pockets, in the form of falling unleaded petrol prices. Aussie motorists on the East Coast are enjoying the lowest pump prices in 15 months as the discounting cycle continues. According to MotorMouth and
by Chris Becker CoreLogic are out with their first results of the new year and it’s not rosy if you’re a speculator, with a near 9% year on year fall in Sydney, and nearly 5% overall across the nation. Here’s some highlights: Housing market conditions ended the 2018 calendar year on a weak note, with
by Chris Becker As adult supervision returns to Congress (but not the Senate) on January 3rd, the US Government shutdown rolls on with news this morning that President Trump has invited the new Congressional leadership to the White House. From The Hill: Trump will host the leader and whip of each party from both chambers,
Macro/Markets U.S. companies repatriate over half a trillion dollars in 2018, but… Reuters Corporate Profit Crunch Looms as Stocks Slide – Wall Street Journal Mutual Fund Managers Try a New Role: Activist Investor Wall Street Journal Corporate Debt Is Reaching Record Levels – Wall Street Journal Time to base currencies on a unit of energy
Macro/Markets: Trump pulled out of a massive trade deal. Now 11 countries are going ahead without the US – CNN Inside Xi Jinping’s Plan to Dominate the World – Bloomberg Americas: Cyberattack from outside the U.S. hits newspapers across the country, preventing distribution, source says LA Times Trump’s New Jersey golf club accused of
Macro and Markets Extreme weather events linked to climate change cost thousands of lives and caused billions in damage throughout the world in 2018 | A new report has identified ten events that cost more than $1bn each, with four costing more than $7bn each – BBC Best and worst hedge funds in 2018 –
Macro and Markets Russia has released multiple videos of a recent test of its nuclear-capable Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, offering the best imagery publicly available so far of the complete weapon system. – The Drive If forced to take sides, most countries would pick the US over China – CNBC Dow rallies 1,000 points,
No surprise that Asian markets would react to the overnight selloff as the US shutdown, Mattis’ resignation and the usual end of year positioning add to the dour mood. The Shanghai Composite is down over 1% going into the close, currently at 2501 points as the selloff gains momentum. The Hang Seng Index is treading water,
By Chris Becker Trump’s continued mishandling of well, everything, including the latest shutdown attempt is sending markets into a spin going into Christmas, with US stocks falling nearly 2% overnight. This takes the current correction into possible bear market territory, a great gift for all those who bought up big during Trump’s promised tax cuts
With the steep falls on Wall Street overnight in reaction to a not-dovish-enough Fed, Asian markets have suffered a similar fate with Japanese stocks bearing the brunt of the carnage as the BOJ meeting also passes without any easing measures. The Shanghai Composite is probably the best performer, only down 0.4% or more to 2538 points
By Chris Becker It was all about the Fed last night and oh boy did markets react to that tiny rate rise, with US stocks falling off the proverbial confidence cliff as USD soared against everything including gold. Treasuries were near motionless however. The calendar is packed today with Australian unemployment and the BOJ interest
A sea of red across Asian bourses, but it’s a shallow sea with only minor losses outside China as traders await tonight’s FOMC meeting. Curreny markets were very quiet obviously, while gold crossed above $1250USD per ounce. The Shanghai Composite closed down 1% or more to 2549 points in a steep selloff as previous support level at
By Chris Becker A modest rebound overnight on Wall Street turned into a scratch session as oil prices stumbled, with the USD and Treasury yields still falling as markets grapple a near certain rate rise by the Federal Reserve tonight amid continued chaos in the White House. Recapping Asia’s session yesterday where the Shanghai Composite closing over
