Plunge In Australia’s Trade Balance Could Mean Weaker Dollar Ahead

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 2, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) I was just getting accustomed to the idea that iron ore prices could plunge without impacting the Australian dollar (FXA). Now comes a surprisingly large plunge in Australia’s trade balance. On … Read more

Glenn Stevens Takes Direct Aim At Market Complacency On the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Governor Glenn Stevens of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finally returned to jawboning as a method for cajoling currency traders to sell the Australian dollar (FXA). On July 3rd, … Read more

Australia’s Central Bank Is Not Overly Concerned With Having One of the Most Expensive Housing Markets In the World

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The IMF recently established an informative web site called “Global Housing Watch” that promises to provide quarterly updates on housing conditions around the world. The update for Q4 of 2013 shows … Read more

Monetary Policy On Cruise Control in Australia

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Reserve Bank of Australia seems to have abandoned efforts to push the Australian dollar (FXA) around. The latest monetary decision contained no surprises and looked like a near carbon copy … Read more

Increasing Unemployment, Decreasing Commodity Prices Portend Jawboning By the Reserve Bank of Australia

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 13, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) So much for a trough in unemployment in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) produced another poor employment report. In January, Australia lost another 3,700 jobs, and the number of … Read more