Monthly Archives: April 2011
The Largest Commodity Trading Desk, Glencore, files for a $12 Billion IPO
A Truck With Bomb Materials Crashes into a Shop Where Obama is to Visit Shortly
Pound Sterling Rises Against the Greenback as Consumer Confidences Bounces
seems like a whole bunch of currencies have been rising against the dollar…usually currency markets are the first to hint at potential trouble. In this case it is expectation of interest rate hikes.
“The pound strengthened against the dollar as a report showed U.K. consumer confidence rose in March from a record low, adding fuel to the argument that there’s scope for the central bank to increase interest rates.”
Comments »Foreclosure Filings Fall 27% to its Lowest Level in 3 Years
“A total of 681,153 U.S. properties received default, auction or repossession notices in the three months through March, down 15 percent from the fourth quarter and 27 percent from a year earlier, the Irvine, California-based data seller said today in a report. Delays from the documentation scandal accounted for the low tally, the smallest since the first quarter of 2008, RealtyTrac said.
“It may take another quarter to work itself out,” Rick Sharga, the company’s senior vice president, said in a telephone interview. The extended crisis means “a longer period of high foreclosures, and that portends a longer downturn in housing,” which may not end until 2015, he said.”
Comments »G-7 Expected To Stockpile Currency Reserves To Quell Currency Volatility
“Group of Seven governments are boosting their currency reserves as strategists at UBS AG (UBSN) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) detect the potential for more intervention to quell exchange-rate swings in coming years.
G-7 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Washington tonight for the first time since uniting to sell yen on March 18, after avoiding such action for more than a decade.”
Comments »Central Bank of Russia to Hold Rates Steady Until the 4th Q
“Before they do anything as dramatic as raising rates they’ll want to be sure the loans market has recovered,” Moos said yesterday in an interview in Moscow. “I’d say we’ll come back from summer and in the fourth quarter they could raise rates.”
Comments »European Markets Solidly in the Red
Asian Markets Flip Flop From Red to Black
Singapore’s Growth Doubled Analysts Expectations; Central Bank to Allow Currency to Float Higher
Now this is growth: “The Singapore dollar jumped to a record after a trade ministry report showed gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 23.5 percent last quarter from the previous three months. That’s up from 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter, and compares with the 11.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 14 economists. The central bank said separately it will allow the Singapore dollar to appreciate more.”
Comments »Oil Down, But Gold and Silver Trade Higher on Inflation and Geo-Political Woes
“Oil slipped to trade near its lowest in two weeks in New York on speculation that price gains from the biggest drop in U.S. gasoline supplies in 12 years may have been excessive…..On April 12 the International Energy Agency reported signs of a “slowdown” in oil demand. The previous day the International Monetary Fund lowered its growth projections for the U.S., the largest consumer of crude.”
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Gold may gain for a second day in London as a weakening dollar and concern about inflation boost demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Silver rose to within 1.4 percent of a 31-year high.
The dollar today touched a 16-month low against six major currencies on speculation theFederal Reserve will lag behind the European Central Bank in raising interest rates. Data this week may show European and Chinese inflation quickened last month. Concerns about Japan’s nuclear disaster, fighting in Libya and European debt helped gold reach a record $1,478.18 an ounce on April 11. Gold typically moves inversely to the dollar.”
Comments »Collusion Still Being Investigated on Big Banks and LIBOR
Perhaps collusion should also be investigated for the entire housing crisis that took place….just a thought
Comments »BRIC Countries Flex Their Muscles
“…the recent financial crisis had exposed the inadequacies and deficiencies of the current monetary order, which has the dollar as its linchpin….The BRICS are worried about the long-term fate of the dollar because of America’s large trade and budget deficits. They also begrudge the privileges that come with being the leading reserve currency – hence the call for a revamped system that is more stable.”
Comments »IMF States The World’s Banks Must Deal With $3.6 Trillion in Maturing Debt
“Overall, the IMF said global financial stability has improved over the past six months.
The most pressing challenges in the coming months will be funding of banks and sovereigns, particularly in vulnerable euro area countries, it said.”
Comments »China May Tighten Again as FX Reserves and Money Supply Grew Enormously
1 in 1,400 Chinese are Millionaires
There are now 960,000 millionaires in China, up 9.7% from 2009. No word on how many got rich off of fraudulent reverse merger listings in the US.
Comments »Dollar Losses Outstripping S&P Gains
Over the past 3 months, the S&P is up 3.11%. However, the dollar is down a staggering 7.41% over the same time frame, which is especially punitive for foreign investors indexing in the US.
Comments »Update on Bulk Dry Index
It has plunged in recent weeks due to Japan, pushing its 6 month loss to -52%.
Comments »Inside the Doomsday Machine with the Outsider who Predicted and Profited from America’s Financial Armageddon
Burry, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine alumnus profiled in author Michael Lewis’ bestselling book The Big Short, is best-known as the first financial analyst to predict America’s financial crisis.
In an op-ed he wrote for the New York Times in 2010, Burry says that he began worrying about the housing marketing in 2003 when “lenders first resurrected interest-only mortgages, loosening their credit standards to generate a greater volume of loans.” By 2005, he was convinced that the housing market would melt down causing “substantial damage to the economy.”
Our leaders in Washington either willfully or ignorantly aided and abetted the bubble“Our leaders in Washington either willfully or ignorantly aided and abetted the bubble,” wrote Burry. “It did not have to be this way.”
Burry was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome as an adult, which he credits with helping him bring a unique perspective to the economy and financial markets. Lewis agrees, saying, “He has a great ability to concentrate in just raw data.”
Read the rest here.
Comments »Arcos Dorados Prices IPO Above Expectations
Big demand for Latin America’s largest Mcdonalds franchisee.
They will price 73.5 million shares for its IPO at $17/share.
The initial range was expected to between $13 and $15. The ticker symbol will be ARCO.
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