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