The World Economic Forum is underway in Davos. The global capital markets are off to one of their worst years ever, the threat of terrorism hangs over us, like the Sword of Damocles, GDP growth, except...
The knock-on effects of the meltdown in Chinese shares and the tension among major Middle East rivals are dominating the re-opening of the global capital markets after the New Year holiday. The US dollar has...
Many observers conclude OPEC is dead. Oh, its demise has been claimed before, but after the oil cartel failed to provide a quota (output goal) in last week’s statement, the claim has been given new...
There are 195 sovereign states, according to the United Nations, and two “observer states” (Vatican and Palestine). The high income countries in North America, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific account for about 15% of the sovereign...
There are three, and arguably interrelated, known unknowns that are seemingly on everyone’s mind. First is the decline in global equity markets. Is this simply a long overdue correction? Wasn’t August 24 some sort of...
From a technical perspective, the US dollar looked vulnerable to start the week, but the 8.5% drop in Chinese shares in Shanghai provided additional fuel. The linkage between the two is that global headwinds may...
The country is insisting that its creditors take a 40% haircut, or it threatens to declare a unilateral moratorium. Important but self-imposed deadlines are approaching. The country is not Greece but Ukraine. The IMF initially...
The US dollar remains bid as liquidity begins to slip away from the foreign exchange market, not to return until April 7. The inability of the euro, and especially sterling to trade higher despite favorable...
The US dollar is mixed as the market continues to search for a new range post-FOMC. The relentless rise of the dollar has been broken with the help of a softer US rate environment. The...
The Federal Reserve meeting is the highlight of the week. The most pressing issue is the continued evolution of its forward guidance that will maximize the room to maneuver. Until now officials have indicated that...
It is precisely because the euro’s decline in over-determined that the slide has accelerated. It is not just that the ECB is buying sovereign bonds. It is not just that the strength of the US...
A ceasefire in Ukraine appears to have been reached, and despite some confusion late yesterday, no compromise has been struck over the new Greek government’s demand that it is recognized that the previous agreements are...