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  • Who Owes Who?

    * Trading theme pushes yen higher... * Settlement day for Lehman CDO's... * Oil price fall hurts loonies... * Gold climbs back above $900... ** Who Owes Who? Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! It certainly doesn't look as though it will be a Fantastico Friday in stocks, as yesterday was a bloodletting, and overnight the Japanese stock market sold off 11%, and Europe is down about 9% at this point. UGH! This is getting quite ugly... But remember what I've been saying this week about the currency trading theme... When things look bleak, the dollar goes up... And when it looks as though all the stimulus might work, the dollar sells off... This has been quite evident in Japanese yen overnight, as stocks sold off 11%, the currency rallied to a 98 handle from 101 yesterday... And... Then in dollar trading, other than yen, the dollar is stronger this morning, pushing the euro back to the 1.35 handle. The high yielders, which enjoyed a day in the sun yesterday before U.S. stocks took a turn on the slippery slope, got whacked hard overnight! UGH!...
  • Coordinated Rate Cuts!

    * Yen trades to 98! * Carry Trades unwinding hurt high yielders... * Gold rallies back to $900! * Central Bank rate cuts.... ** Coordinated Rate Cuts! Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well... There's a ton of stuff to talk about today, one of which is the amazing run that Japanese yen has had in the past month, but particularly the last week! No need to sneak a peak at the currency round-up, Japanese yen is trading 98.80! WOW! I could be acting like a contortionist and trying to slap myself on the back, but that would unprofessional... And besides, the rest of the currencies are taking shots to the mid-section. Anyway... Blow the horn, the Carry Trade (for yen) is dead, may it rest in peace! OK... The currencies tried like all get out yesterday to rally VS the dollar, the euro did end the day 1% higher on the day, which after the bloodshed of the past month, I'll take that any old time! I would love to go back to 2005 (not really, but for this conversation's sake I will) and pull out some old Pfennigs where I talked about all the naysayers talking about a break up of the euro... We had the NO votes from France and Denmark on accepting the European Union's (EU) Constitution, we had riots in the streets of France, we had rising interest rates in the U.S. and dozens and dozens of naysayers called out the euro and said it would collapse under the weight. I said then, and I'll say now... HOGWASH!...
  • The Deed Is Done...

    * Adding $700 Billion to our debt... * U.S. loses 159K jobs in September! * Dollar rallies to 13-month high VS euro * Ding Dong the Carry Trade is Dead... ** The Deed Is Done... Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! The deed is done... The House, which had previously voted down the Bailout Package, decided to go ahead and put the country in debt by another $700 Billion... Yes, I know it the payouts will be in installments, but in my mind it was in one swoop that $700 Billion was added to our debt... And guess what? The dollar rallied on the news! More on the Bailout Package in a minute... The other thing happened on Friday was the awful Job Jamboree in which 159K jobs were reported lost by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) during September. The job losses were all over the place led by job losses in Manufacturing. And guess what? The dollar rallied on the news!...
  • Wooden Arrows?

    * A euro revelation! * House to vote on Bailout... * Yen remains strong... * Jobs Jamboree Friday! ** Wooden Arrows? Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! A Fantastic Friday, I hope! As the blind man said, as he spit into the wind... It's all coming back to me now... And so it was yesterday morning after I had hit the send button for the Pfennig, a trader friend called to give me some insight, and... After talking to him, it all came back to me now... What the heck is he talking about now? I hear you asking... Well, recall how I and probably all of you too, have been scratching my head and wondering just how in the world the dollar could be rallying in the face of all that's going on, and the bad data to boot. Well, here it is folks, sit back and take a sip of coffee......
  • Senate Passes The Bailout Package!

    * Euro falls to 1-year low.... * Bailing out foreign investors? * O'Neill has a better plan... * ISM collapses! But the dollar rallies... ** Senate Passes The Bailout Package! Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! Rocktober started off with a bang for the dollar, as the green/peachback continued to gain VS the euro and other currencies, pushing the euro to a one-year low VS the dollar. We all sat here and shook our heads in disbelief yesterday, as the U.S. ISM Index (manufacturing) collapsed in September, but the dollar rallied anyway. The ISM Index fell from 49 to 43.5, the lowest print since Rocktober 2001, which happened to be near the end of the 2001 recession and right after the awful period following 9/11. So... To me... This really paints the recession picture clear and bright for all to see... So, why did the dollar rally with this albatross around its neck?...
  • The Bailout Lives!

    * The Senate to the rescue? * Dollar rallies big time... * Rumor day... * Consumer Confidence stronger? ** The Bailout Lives! Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Welcome to October! Or as we say in St. Louis... Rocktober! September went by in a flash, let's hope Rocktober slows down a bit! Well... Monday we had carnage in stocks, and yesterday in currencies, while stocks rebounded. What a difference a day makes! On Monday, the House voted down the Bailout package (doesn't it just get your goat that it's still being referred to as the "rescue plan"?), and yesterday, seeing the collateral damage caused by the "no" vote, Congress decided to try and rescue the bailout plan....
  • King Henry Was Wrong Again!

    * Bailout package is voted down! * Biggest one day point drop for the DOW! * Dollar rallies hard... * Carry trades unwind... Again! ** King Henry Was Wrong Again! Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Well... Guess who was wrong AGAIN! That's right, King Henry Paulson, he of the U.S. Treasury Sec. throne... He told the world on Friday, that the bailout package was a "done deal"... And he told us again on Sunday that it was a "done deal"... The markets rejoiced, the stock jockeys danced in the streets, the karma flowed and all the stars were in alignment... And then... A (not so) funny thing happened on the way to the forum... King Henry's men revolted, and the bailout package did NOT have the votes to pass it, and the "done deal" was "undone"! Once again this man has led investors down the wrong path. I've documented the wrong statements by this man in the past year, and still, investors hang on every word by King Henry... When will they ever learn? When, will, they, ev-er learn?...
  • Bailout Package Is Ready...

    * Ready to spend $700 Billion... * Wachovia wants to sell itself... * Dollar rallies hard... * The rot on the vine spreads... ** Bailout Package Is Ready... Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! A Wonderful Weekend for yours truly, as the weather was Chamber of Commerce like, I got to see all the kids, and little Delaney Grace two days! I also got to enjoy two football games, one that Alex played in, and one that Alex went with me to! Fabulous stuff! OK... The data on Friday was the stuff that should have sent the dollar to the woodshed, but like all the data lately, it just gets swept under the rug, as the market movers are myopic with the Bailout package. Lawmakers worked all weekend to iron out the details of the package, and King Henry (U.S. Treasury Sec.) has announced again that the package has been agreed on by Congress. The vote doesn't actually take place until tomorrow or Wednesday, but that hasn't stopped King Henry from pounding his chest over his latest victory. I like what I heard from former Fed Gov. (and Mark Twain Bank economist) Laurence Meyer, who said: "This has a reasonable chance of pulling back from the brink and having some success, but it's far from certain that will be the case."...
  • Cash For Trash...

    * Grave words about the economy... * OPEC warns of a higher Oil prices... * FDIC in need of $150 Billion? * Citigroup calling for a higher euro... ** Cash For Trash... Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! Well... The President sure painted a rosy picture for the U.S. economy last night didn't he? NOT! Whoa there partner! With words like 'collapse' and 'danger' and 'panic', President Bush was telling the country that we're in deep dookie! In telling the public that the government must put $700 Billion of taxpayer's money at risk to bail out the financial system, he said... 'We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis. Our entire economy is in danger. America could slip into a financial panic.' Now... Those are some serious statements, folks... And were followed up by the comments by the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, who said, 'Whatever you think about whether or not there was a need for a bailout... Once the president, secretary of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Chairman have announced that if you don't do this, there will be a collapse, there's probably going to be a collapse if you don't do it.'...
  • Some Healing...

    * largest one-day move up in the euro! * largest one-day move up in Oil! * Gold and Silver rebound! * Renminbi finally moves! ** Some Healing... Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! I heard from one of my two sisters that live in the Houston area yesterday. They rode out the Hurricane together, have some damage to her house, and is still without electricity. I can't imagine what that's all like. But they are both safe at that's what's important at this point. Well... The euro had it's largest one-day move upward VS the dollar since its inception in 1999, yesterday... We've seen some profit taking in the overnight markets, but just for good measure... I think it appropriate to show that the euro reached 1.48 yesterday... That was a 3.5 euro move, and after falling to a low of 1.3869 on 9/12 (before bouncing big that day), the euro has now recovered about 7%... I would call that "some healing"......
  • Goldman and Morgan Stanley Are Now Banks!

    * Currencies see some healing... * $1 Trillion and counting... * Gold and Silver rebound! * The Currency Capitalist... ** Goldman and Morgan Stanley Are Now Banks! Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! Someone along the road last week stopped by to tell me that I was too "Cheery" each morning with my salutations! He laughed, because of course he was kidding... But as I told him... If you're told what I was told last summer, each and every day is a day to be cheery about, no matter what's going on in the markets! Well... That was quite the trip last week, 3 cities in one week... In October I do 5 cities in 10 days... And then of course we had the goings on of last week... I really was upset and angry last week when I sent those notes to Chris for Friday's Pfennig. Our Gov't has spent 100's of Billions of dollars, and looking to spend more to avert a crisis... Yes, it was a Crisis, and something had to be done, but the way we did it, wreaks of socialism... My good friend, John Mauldin, whom I spent some time with last Friday, said, "I would sure like to see some regulation in Credit Default Swaps for all the money we spent!"...
  • Paulson and Bernanke ride to the rescue...

    * Paulson and Bernanke ride to the rescue... * More debt for the US taxpayer... * Emerging markets rally... * Congrats to EverBank Soccer Greats... ** Paulson and Bernanke ride to the rescue... Ahoy thar maties.. Yesterday was a very volatile day in what has become an incredibly choppy week. The currency and metals markets began the day rallying vs. the dollar as it seemed yet another huge financial firm was circling the bowl. But late in the afternoon the dollar came charging back, and gold fell back below $850 after surpassing $900, ARRGH! So what caused this quick reversal? Senator Schumer was credited with turning the markets around. He announced, mid afternoon, that the Federal Reserve and Treasury were going to create a new government institution which would purchase all of the toxic debt instruments being held by Wall Street. Wall Street obviously thought this was just a fantastic idea, and the stock market immediately rallied, taking the dollar with it. The details of the plan still aren't available, but the markets have been desperately searching for a hero to come and rescue them, so even the hint of a rescue was enough to shoot stocks back up. The proposal currently being discussed in congress involves moving troubled assets from the balance sheets of American financial companies into a new government backed institution. The SEC also instituted a ban on short selling of financial stocks, copying a similar ban which was instituted yesterday in London. Chuck had a travel day yesterday as the FXU moved from San Diego to Dallas, but he was keeping an eye on the markets and sent me this last night....
  • Sanity returns to the currency market...

    * Sanity returns to the currency market... * Chucks thoughts from San Diego... * CDS market explanation... * Swiss central bank to leave rates unchanged... ** Sanity returns to the currency market... Good day...Wow! What a day it was yesterday on the currency/metals desk here at EverBank. Finally, some sanity returned to the markets as investors moved out of their dollar holdings and into both currencies and metals. Gold was up over $80 yesterday, and continues to climb this morning. The Aussie dollar was up over 2%, climbing back above .80 cents and the Euro climbed back above $1.45. The dollar was up pretty much across the board, making for a very busy day here on the desk. Chuck also had a great day down in San Diego with FXU. He sent me the following late last night which he asked me to share with you....
  • Dollar bulls take a breather...

    * Dollar bulls take a breather... * Paulson is out of control... * From the mouth of babes... * Fingers crossed for Chuck... ** Dollar bulls take a breather... Good day...Just as Chuck predicted, we had a Thundering Thursday yesterday, as thunderstorms moved into the St Louis area early yesterday and are expected to stick around throughout the weekend. Yesterday was a pretty slow day in the currency markets, with the dollar trading in a fairly tight range, but overnight the dollar changed direction and we saw it lose ground across the board for the first time in weeks. This turnaround was seen in the European markets as traders finally started to realize the speed of the increase in the US$ was overdone. But before I get going this morning, I need to run a public service announcement for Chuck. Yesterday's Pfennig announced that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut interest rates .25%. This was in error, the bank actually cut .50% to a rate of 7.5%. Chuck realized his error just after hit the send button, and wanted to make sure I let everyone know (He received more than a few emails from readers letting him know his error). The extra quarter point cut was aimed at giving the NZD a good jump start, and Governor Alan Bollard is indicating more rate cuts will be on the way: "We've got room to move,.. We're in a loosening mode." The reaction of the currency markets was the same with a 50 bps cut as it would have been with a 25 bps cut, they sold off the kiwi as the interest rate differentials narrowed....
  • More Dollar Strength!

    * Trichet's words sink the euro rally... * A New Conspiracy theory... * Japanese yen continues to rally! * An Announcement... ** More Dollar Strength! Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! It has not started out as a Fantastico Friday, just a Fun Friday... No wait! Just because the dollar is running around the end with the ball, and the currencies can't catch up with the greenback, is no reason to allow it to filter through to my feelings about each and every day! That's right! I'm feeling like there's a ton of weight on my shoulders right now, with this dollar strength, and everyone jumping ship... But, I promised myself over a year ago that if I was able to fight cancer and come out on top, that I would celebrate each day... And that's what I try to do! So... I'll make it a Fantastico Friday after all! The euro's two-day rally VS the dollar got stuffed in a box and shipped to sea yesterday. The single unit looked as though it would add to the rally that took it above 1.45 but as I was signing off yesterday the euro was giving back its gains VS the dollar... And soon, it would give back more than the two-day rally's gains....
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