The British Pound And Euro Surge Despite Higher U.S. Rates

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 30, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Friday, the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield hit 3.0%, matching a high for the year. Rate are rising again across the yield curve. Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve This steady … Read more

A One-Chart Reminder Of the Market’s Obsession With Fed Tapering and Tightening

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 12, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Last Thursday (December 12, 2013), U.S. initial jobless claims came in at 368,000. This number was above “expectations” and above the on-going declining trend in the 4-week moving average. {snip} Source: … Read more

Canadian Dollar Extends Weakness As the Bank of Canada Sounds Fresh Alarms

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 3, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com The Bank of Canada was consistent with the change of tone from late October’s downgrade of the Canadian economy. In particular, inflation retreated further away from target: {snip} … Read more

Australian Dollar Left Hanging for the Year, But What About Foreign Debt?

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 3, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com After Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Glenn Stevens reminded the market that currency intervention remains in the toolkit for currency devaluation, I half-expected some semantic fireworks in … Read more

British Pound Breaks Out As GDP Further Confirms Momentum of UK Recovery

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 26, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Third quarter GDP for the United Kingdom grew 1.5% year-over-year and 0.8% quarter-over-quarter. These numbers met economist “expectations,” yet the British pound soared in response anyway. This rally is important as … Read more

The Coming Upward Pressure On Mortgage Rates In 2014

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 26, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Monday (November 25, 2013) the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a fifth straight month of declining pending home sales. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun projects that 2013 will end … Read more

Canadian GDP Surprise Not Likely to Change Outlook

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 4, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Last week, Statistics Canada reported year-over-year GDP growth of 2.0% for August, 2013 which beat analyst expectations of 1.7%. This growth translated into a 0.3% month-over-month increase. July delivered 0.6% growth … Read more

The Canadian Dollar Prices In A Weaker Economic Outlook

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 28, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Canadian monetary policy may have experienced an important change-up. With last week’s announcement on monetary policy, the Bank of Canada became a little more dovish. The sharp response in the Canadian … Read more

The Euro’s Resilience Is the Dollar’s Weakness

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 24, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) When I saw the Wednesday (October 23, 2013) headlines screaming that European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi indicated he had no hesitation about failing banks in upcoming, comprehensive stress tests, … Read more

Failed Breakouts Provide Buying Opportunity in the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 25, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Ever since news of Chinese banks making massive write-offs and a parallel spike in China money rates stoked renewed fears over the Chinese financial system, the Australian dollar (FXA) has pared … Read more