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* Currency rally fizzles out... * Bank of Japan cuts rates... * Tracking David Walker... * A major shift change on spending... ** GDP Goes Negative... Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! A Happy Halloween Friday to boot! Boy, to be a kid again, and have what is forecast as a 70 degree day on a Friday for Halloween! We've been so busy at the Butler house that we didn't even decorate our front yard with Halloween stuff this year. UGH! But, that's OK, I guess, Alex is older now, and little Delaney Grace would probably freak out with the ghost that would fly across the front of our house, etc. Well... The fog that was lifted from the markets came back with a vengeance yesterday, and once again it was the deep, dark, dangerous U.S. economy leading the charge. 3rd QTR GDP printed yesterday and even though it was forecast to be negative, when it actually printed negative, the trading theme returned. 3rd QTR GDP goes negative (and if you throw in inflation for good measure growth was REALLY negative!) and the dollar rallies... It's the trading theme of the decade! (Ok, I exaggerate a bit there, as it has only been in place for 3 months now!)...

* Deleveraging continues to push $ higher... * Pound Sterling tumbles... * Canada cuts rates... * Argentina spoils appetite for emerging markets... ** Deleveraging pushes the US$ up... Good day... Wow, another unbelievable day/night in the currency markets. The dollar continued to run up vs. most of the currencies yesterday and last night as investors brought money back into the US. We continue to get calls from WorldMarket investors asking us what was pushing this dollar up, as all of the data seems to be negative for the US$. The only explanation which seems to make sense is the global deleveraging of investors. Here is as good an explanation as I can give. Over the past several years money was extremely cheap and investors took advantage of these cheap loans. Hedge funds, corporate investors, and even some individuals borrowed funds and placed them into higher yielding investments to earn the 'carry'. This occurred not only in the currency markets, but across the entire spectrum of asset classes. These investors were rewarded with incremental yields over 'cash' investors, and banks were more than willing to lend, so the amount of leverage continued to increase to absolutely absurd levels. Everything was fine until the housing market here in the US turned and losses started to show up on the books of some investors....

* 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?...

* 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....

* Euro rally ends quickly! * Housing Data continues to be bad... * OECD wants Norway's rates increased... * The Aden Sisters on a Wednesday! ** A Downward Revision of Eurozone Growth... Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! I'm sitting here wondering what to write about this morning, and on the radio is a classic song by Led Zeppelin, Dazed and Confused... Seems quite apropos, eh? I say this because that's what I've been for the last month, as the dollar got up from its death bed, and there's not a sign of any medicine that was prescribed had been taken! Oh well, why would I think that things would change for me at this stage of my life, I've been dazed and confused for a long time! HA! I'm sure that's what a lot of people are saying right now anyway... The euro rebounded over 1-cent yesterday, but that rebound has been wiped out completely in the overnight markets... There's just no lasting power in any currency rally VS the dollar right now. And as I keep going saying, this is reminding me so much of 2005 when the dollar covered up its pimples and posed for GQ, only to see the pimples pop through the makeup by year-end....

* No Bailout for Freddie and Fannie... * The euro reaches a new record high! * More risk today... * Aussie hits 25-year high! ** Credit Woes Sink The Dollar! Good day... And a Tip Top Tuesday to you! I thought I would change it up there today... Well... Overnight, we've seen the euro reach a new record high VS the dollar, only to give some of that ground gained back on some weak German data. There was more news yesterday regarding the Freddie and Fannie saga, but I've grown tired of that talk, we dance now! Seriously, though, I have grown tired of all that Freddie and Fannie talk, that I'm going to go through an exercise explaining what GSE's are and then go on with life... So... The euro reached a new record high overnight of 1.6038! WOW! This was reached based on the fears that credit problems in the U.S. are going to put the kyboshes on what little economic growth we now have. But the shine on the euro was rubbed out by a very weak ZEW... German Investor Confidence as measured by the think tank, ZEW, fell to a record low this month on the surging inflation problems, and rising interest rates. So for now, the euro is back below 1.60, but hear me now and listen to me later... This ZEW will soon be in the rear view mirror, and the euro won't have that albatross around its neck as it revisits its overnight high....

* More losses... * Currencies rebound... * Jumping off the bandwagon... * Slowing renminbi appreciation?...