July 2010 - Daily Pfennig

In This Issue..

* Currencies rally
* German unemployment drops...
* RBNZ hikes rates 25 BPS...
* CBO & the inconvenient debt...

Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! They figured it out! Finally! And in time I might add, given we hook our camper up to my vehicle on Sunday! In the end... The guy at the auto shop said, 'if we would have only listened to what you were telling us'... I said, 'yes, eventually, everyone realizes that!' HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

OK... Front and Center this morning, I have to tell you that we've had a HUGE currency rally overnight, and the rally still has legs through the European session, for, I've seen the euro inch higher as I booted up my computer! What's got the currencies, led by the Big Dog, euro, so wound up this morning? Ahhh grasshopper... Come, sit, and let me tell you the story of an ancient warrior, no wait, let me tell you about the rally!...

In This Issue..

* New Home Sales ignite risk
* Currencies rally...
* Oil rises to $79, pushing loonies higher...
* Deutsche Bank has minimal exposure to GIIPS...

Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! A very long day back in the saddle yesterday for your Pfennig writer. So, I'm dragging the line a bit today... Plus getting in and out of a regular car, for someone with my handicap is not something you'd want see or do! It's a pain! But... My car is in the shop... I certainly hope they get it fixed soon, as that's the vehicle we use to pull our camper to Table Rock Lake! And... We 'were' going to leave on Sunday!

Well... Yesterday morning, I told you the currencies, for the most part, were flat... That didn't last too much longer... The U.S. printed, what the media and markets thought was a fabulous New Home Sales report, and the rally in risk assets was 'on'! With stocks and currencies in rally mode, Gold and Silver backed off... I'll talk about that trading theme we've seen lately in a minute, but first... Let's talk about the Housing data......

In This Issue..

* Judgment day for European banks...
* US data beats estimates, but is still bad...
* South Africa leaves rates unchanged...
* Fannie and Freddie still in limbo.

Good day. And welcome to what hopefully will be a fabulous Friday for everyone. I know it will be a good one for me, as I am heading out the door as soon as I get this written. My son is playing in the Show Me Tournament this weekend which is Missouri's little league state championship. Should be a fun weekend of baseball, but a bit hot as temperatures are expected to stay right around the triple digits...

In This Issue..

* Canada boosts rates...
* BOE called out for quantitative easing...
* Indian Rupee to shine...
* China loosens grip on Hong Kong deposits...

Good day. We had some pretty unsettled weather come through the area yesterday and last night, with the lightening and thunder producing quite a show. The currency markets, on the other hand, were quite stable. The biggest gainer was the Yen, and the largest loser the Euro; but neither moved more than .65% vs. the US$. Tight ranges across the board for the currency markets....

In This Issue..

* Euro stays on the move...
* Soros calls for more stimulus spending...
* Commodity currencies suffer...
* Cards sweep the Dodgers...

Good day... And welcome to another week. Chuck is on his way to Vancouver this morning to speak at the big Agora Finanacial Investment Symposium later this week; so I will have the honor of bringing you the Pfennig over the next few days. But fans of Chuck shouldn't get too upset, as he always sends me Pfennig Pfodder from the road. The euro has certainly been on the move lately, and Chuck left me the following before signing off last week:

Well... Mid-morning last Friday, we saw the rug pulled from under the euro, after the single unit had recovered to 1.30. Yes, the euro traded at 1.30 on Friday morning, but that was before a Consumer Confidence report printed in the U.S. and showed a HUGE drop!...

In This Issue..

* Currencies have strong rally VS the dollar...
* Gold returns to $1,210...
* Rosengren talks deflation...
* Aussie Confidence soars!

Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! WOW! The National League won for the first time since the Wizard of OZ (Ozzie Smith) played in 1996! Being a National League guy, I grew up watching the National League win these games every year, but that changed and it's been an American League affair for some time. But not this year! YAHOO!

Another Big WOW! Goes to the currencies and metals yesterday! What a rally! The currencies, led by the Big Dog euro, left the porch and chased the dollar dog down the street all day! The euro returned to the 1.27 handle, moving through the 1.26 handle like a hot knife goes through butter! By the time I made it into the office from the doctor's office yesterday morning, the damage to the dollar was a done deal... Last night, before I went to bed, I checked the currencies just to see if there had been profit taking in Asia... And what to my surprise did I see? But no profit taking, what glee!

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In This Issue..

* Currencies soften VS the dollar...
* Another look at Canadian job data...
* China has Super month of exports!
* Yen gets rocked by Upper House election...

Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! Congratulations to Spain... The fiesta is on in Spain, as their football (soccer to us) team won the World Cup yesterday. Personally, I think Holland, got the bad end of the stick on two calls that would have turned that game their way. But, it was not to be, and Spain hoisted the cup!

OK... Well, thanks to Chris for taking over the Pfennig on Friday. I was busy with other things for the day. I sent a note to Chris Friday morning about the Canadian Job report, and he replied that he had already written about it! WOW! Quick on the draw! He beat me to the punch... But, the report was so good it's worth talking about some more! Canadian employment skyrocketed again in June rising by 93,200, almost four times the amount expected by forecasters (+20,000). Add this to the 133,000 jobs created in April/May And you've got the ingredients for a strong quarter of job creation! The unemployment rate fell back to 7.9%, lower than forecasts for an 8.1% print.

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In This Issue..

* A Risk Off day...
* Currencies rally on Tuesday...
* Chinese bank has strong IPO...
* Kicking the can down the street...

Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! It was a Terrific Tuesday for the currencies VS the dollar, it was not a Terrific Tuesday for Gold, and the Cardinals!

Front and Center this morning, Gold is retreating again today and has fallen well below $1,200... Here's the skinny... Yesterday, it was announced that China's Agricultural Bank of China reported a very successful public offering, raising more than $22 Billion. Now, what does this have to do with a Gold sell off I hear you saying? Ahhh grasshopper... Come, sit, let's discuss...

Basically, it's like this... If a Chinese Bank can pull off a very successful IPO without breaking a sweat, then the daggers can be put away on a global risks, and that could be seen in the performance of equities all across the board yesterday....