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In This Issue..

* Risk Aversion goes away mad...
* China just says 'no' to currency flexibility...
* Maybe a return to fundamentals?
* Gold continues to soar!

Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! It's raining here, so it's one of those Rainy Days and Mondays... But I won't let it get me down, as opposed to the song! I got a chance to check out our new digs in the building next door to us here... Very nice! And... A long way from that small office I sat in on Olive St. a decade ago, when we started EverBank... To think back 10 years ago, and where we are today... Simply amazing!

OK... As I told you Friday, the President was in China this past weekend, trying his best to get the Chinese to agree to a greater flexibility for the renminbi... Well... There were a few stories this past weekend that hinted about the Chinese agreeing to do such... But I prefer to go with this story that appeared on Reuters last night... 'The Chinese government has sought to distance itself from speculation surrounding a central bank statement earlier this week that was interpreted as a shift in currency policy towards a stronger yuan. However, a report on Saturday by Xinhua, the state-controlled Chinese news agency said that the government would not allow the currency to gain against the dollar in the short term.'

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In This Issue..

* Non-dollar currencies rally...
* Euros and Aussie dollars lead the pack...
* $1.42 Trillion Deficit for 2009!
* TIC's data gets ignored again!

Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! Another 'lost' weekend for our college and professional football teams! UGH! The sun finally came out this weekend. YAHOO! It felt so good to be in the sun again... The TICs data was something that needed to be dealt with on Friday, but once again the markets ignored it... I'm telling you, this smells like, walks like, and talks like a gag order... OK... Let's get going this Marvelous Monday!

The non-dollar currencies all drifted on Friday, with the dollar seeing a bit of buying... But that's all been thrown to the curb this morning, as the non-dollar currencies, for the most part, are in rally mode VS the dollar.

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In This Issue..

* Currencies rally overnight...
* A$'s rally for 7th consecutive month!
* Will the ECB be vindicated?
* Sweden tries negative deposit rates...

Good day... And a happy Friday to one and all! So, yesterday didn't turn out the way I thought it would go, but that's OK... I think my body is trying to tell me something, as I overslept again this morning! I'm heading out the door this morning to go 'fishing'... Should be a ton of fun, with neighbor friends this weekend...

Well, front and center this morning, we are smack dab in the middle of a currency rally VS the dollar. It has all the makings of such, as the Japanese yen is getting sold, along with the green/peachback. The improved economic data this week, finally caught up with the dollar, as risk assets are back on the table....

In This Issue..

* Risk aversion has left the building...
* CIT survives without Fed help...
* SNB tries to fight the markets...
* Light week for US data...

Good day... We had just an amazing weekend of weather here in St. Louis, and this morning is shaping up to be another beautiful day. Friday turned out to be a beautiful day for those who have taken our advice and diversified their holdings out of the dollar. Risk aversion was placed on the back burner again, and investors moved money back out of the dollar into higher yielding currencies. The dollar and yen got sold but all other currencies rallied, and investors also turned back toward gold pushing the metal above $950 for the first time in over a month.

So what caused all of this confidence? First, the housing data released Friday morning in the US showed a slight pick up in both building permits and housing starts. While the housing markets have a long way to go, the data have given investors an indication that construction may have found a bottom. Not to throw cold water on investors confidence in the building numbers, but while the residential market may be bottoming out, the commercial market continues to tumble. I spoke to a good friend over the weekend who is a commercial real estate developer down in Memphis. He told me that his development pipeline has completely dried up, and even the brokerage side of his business has slowed. The only part of his business which has picked up is the marketing of foreclosed properties. He has shifted his concentration to helping banks and lenders 'work out' of commercial projects which they have taken back onto their books. The economy has kept most companies from opening new stores, and many continue to shut down under performing ones. My good friend tells me most of the people he talks to don't believe the commercial real estate market will turn around until the end of next year. Not good news for the banks who are still reeling from the residential real estate bust....

In This Issue..

* Risk Assets soar!
* What's behind this stock rally?
* Charts and fundamentals...
* Aussie Consumer Confidence drops...

Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! A total reversal of Friday's risk assets sell off was the soup du jour for Tuesday... This is beginning to remind me of a Wayne and Garth street hockey game... Here comes a car... Game off... Game on...

So, as I just said, Tuesday saw the currencies trade right back to the levels they enjoyed VS the dollar last Thursday, before risk assets began to sell off on Friday. These are the types of trading patterns you normally see when the assets involved are getting ready for a break out... A jail break... Tonight there's going to be a jail break!

OK, I'm not saying that the jail break takes place tonight, I just broke out in a song from the 70's... That's all... Seriously though, I hope we're seeing a return to fundamentals....

In This Issue..

* Currencies back off...
* More problems for BOA?
* More on China...
* Aussie Retail Sales rebound...

Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! I had someone last week in Bermuda ask me why I have my little sayings like Wonderful Wednesdays, and Fantastico Fridays... I told him that it had to do with my life scare of almost 2 years ago, and that I now celebrate each and every day! (well, maybe when I had pneumonia two weeks back I wasn't celebrating....)

OK... I hope your Cinco De Mayo fun was... Well... Fun! We went out with some good friends, but was back home before bed time for yours truly... Still fun though!

The currencies, led by the euro have run into a dollar road block... It's all about the Stress Tests this morning folks... It now appears that Bank of America (BOA) will need approx. $35 Billion, and not the measly $10 Billion rumored yesterday. That's quite a boat load of money, folks... So... All eyes are on the Stress Tests results which are expected to be released tomorrow. But this kind of rumor regarding BOA, is weighing heavily on the risk assets this morning, with a bias toward risk aversion....

In This Issue..

* Geithner sends the dollar on a thrill ride...
* A failed UK gilt auction...
* China set to recover first...
* AUD and NZD rally again...

Good day... The currency markets took back what little strength the dollar mustered over the past two days with the Euro moving back above popping back above 1.36 and the Australian dollar moving back up over .70. The cause for this dollar weakness? Data released in the US yesterday was surprisingly strong again, so investors dumped the 'safe haven' holdings of Treasuries and moved money back into higher yielding investments.

At one point yesterday the dollar index dropped precipitously (more than 1.5% in less than 10 minutes), and then bounced back up within a half hour. Jennifer McLean, who takes care of our currency trading while Chuck is away from the desk, said the sudden moves were due to Treasury Secretary Geithner's comments. Apparently Geithner was asked about China's call for a new international reserve currency yesterday at a NY event. He said that while he hadn't read the proposal, he understood it as a plan 'designed to increase the use of the IMF's special drawing rights. And we're actually quite open to that.' After hearing those words, currency traders immediately starting selling off the dollar. After all, if the Treasury Secretary of the US says the administration is open to a new international reserve currency, why do you want to hold dollars? I guess Geithner got wind of what he had done to the currency markets pretty quickly (the power of Blackberries!) and 15 minutes later he clarified his comments to say the US dollar should remain as the world's reserve currency....

* 651K jobs lost in Feb... * Dec. and Jan Job losses revised up... * Talking Norway, Canada, Australia... * Brazil stealthlike for 3 months... ** A Horrific Jobs Report! Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! A wonderful weekend here in St. Louis, a taste of spring was in the air. I got to spend some time with some of my closest friends on Friday night, a good time was had by all! Well... Our Fantastico Friday was interrupted by that horrific Jobs Jamboree number that printed Friday morning... 651K jobs were lost in February, which let me remind you is a couple of days shorter than other months. So, it could have been worse! Hard to believe that could be the case, but it's true. The unemployment rate rose to 8.1%, from 7.6% in January. The jobless rate is the highest since 1983. The economy has now shed 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, with almost half of those losses occurring in the last three months alone....