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Fed not as hawkish as expected...

* Fed not as hawkish as expected... * Markets now turn to ECB and BOE... * Canadian dollar slides... * Aussie hit by 1-2 punch.. ** Fed not as hawkish as expected... Good day...I want to start off today's Pfennig by apologizing for those of you who were waiting to receive their Pfennig yesterday. I sent it off at the normal time, but we had some problems with the program which sends it out, so it was delayed in getting delivered. You can always view the current Pfennig at www.dailypfennig.com where we post it first thing in the morning. That website also has archived versions of past pfennigs for your reading pleasure! They tell me the problem has been fixed, so you should get this pfennig right on time. The dollar drifted higher throughout most of the day yesterday as the markets prepared for the FOMC rate announcement. The sentiment driving the dollar higher was that the Fed would sound much more hawkish in order to keep an overall consensus among the FOMC members. Dollar bulls were expecting a signal from Bernanke that an increase in interest rates would be just around the corner. These higher interest rate expectations encouraged traders to take the dollar index back up to just under 74, a level we haven't seen in almost two months....

Published Wed, Aug 08 2008 10:12 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Oil, Inflation, Commodities, Gold, European Central Bank, Canada, Bank of England, Interest Rates, The Fed, FOMC

Taking On Risk Again!

* Mexico's rate goes higher! * A 100 Billion dollar note? * Euro rates to go higher? * Oil's sell off might be short-lived... ** Taking On Risk Again! Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, the taxi's waiting, he's blowing his horn... Yes, I'm off to Vancouver this morning... This becomes a labor of love for me especially today, with Chris taking off the same week I'm in Vancouver, I'm writing the Pfennig on my way to the airport! Graham Nash wrote a song about that... But I won't go there after the intro! Oh, what the heck! Just a song before I go... This will be short-n-sweet this morning, as I've got to get to the airport! Friday, saw the currencies range bound once again, as the data cupboard was empty. And... We didn't have any major losses print, or we didn't have any news at all about all the rot on the U.S. economy's vine. The Biggest mover was... Drum roll please... The Mexican peso! Yes, the Mexican peso outperformed all other currencies last week, reaching a 5-year high VS the dollar after the Mexican Central Bank raised interest rates 1/4% (25 BPS) to 8%, pushing the peso to its highest level VS the dollar since 2003!...

Published Mon, Jul 07 2008 9:27 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Oil, Euro, New Zealand, European Central Bank, Bank of England, The Fed, Mexico, Peso

Profit Taking Dominates The Day...

* Dollar faces Dynamic Duo this week... * RBA leaves rates unchanged... * Comparing decades... * Tankan is somewhat positive... ** Profit Taking Dominates The Day... Good day... And a Terrific Tuesday to you! In keeping with Pfennig tradition, I begin each July with words from one of my fave bands of the 70's, Uriah Heep... There I was on a July morning... (I could go on, but you get the point.) Well, the profit taking that I talked about yesterday morning, continued for most of the morning yesterday, causing the euro to fall from the 1.5810 level I saw when I turned on the screens, to the low 1.57 area. It had to be profit taking because why would anyone buy dollars VS euros as a long time investment, with the dynamic duo of the Jobs Jamboree and an ECB rate decision staring the dollar bulls right in the face this week......

Published Tue, Jul 07 2008 8:12 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, British Pound, Brazilian Real, Oil, Euro, European Central Bank, Consumer Debt

BIS Disses The Dollar!

* Euro & Aussie on the rise... * Yen continues to rise on stock sell off... * Another depressing warning... * Gold takes off! **BIS Disses The Dollar! Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! June the 30th... I had a fabulous weekend, with a Cardinals' win Saturday night to top it off! I'm waiting for news from the blood doctor on my latest ultra sound on my leg. And my goofy car is acting up again! UGH! But... Not even that kind of stuff could ruin my weekend! OK... Front and Center this morning, we have the euro climbing above 1.58, and the Aussie dollar hitting a 25-year high! The dollar is getting sold again, as the negativity toward the dollar grows strong again. We also have The Bank for International Settlement (BIS) talking about how a disorderly decline in the dollar can't be ruled out completely, while U.S. Treasury Sec. Paulson is talking about how a strong dollar is a good thing for the U.S....

Published Mon, Jun 06 2008 8:41 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Dollar, Oil, Gold, Euro, Yen, European Central Bank

Fundamentals Rule!

* Stocks fall 358 points! * Japan's inflation problem... * Profit taking in reals... * Buffett warns of stagflation... ** Fundamentals Rule! Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! Hopefully a Fantastico Friday too! It's the last Friday of June... Where did the month go? WOW! Next Friday, we'll be celebrating our nation's birthday... Can you believe that? The 4th of July? It just finally warmed up here in St. Louis, and it's already the going to be the 4th! Amazing... How the time flies when you're having fun! And Fun is what I'm having... With every day that passes, I get a little stronger, and another day further from the pain and problems of last summer... How could I not be having fun? OK... Well... Recall yesterday when I told you a Big Bank's chartist said the euro would top out at 1.5726, and that I hoped it would fly right by that? It did! It did! It did fly right past that! I love it when fundamentals rule! The euro has climbed to 1.5765 this morning as I write after spending most of the day yesterday taking liberties with the dollar. Another chartist said yesterday that the euro would re-visit the 1.60 level if it breached 1.5785... So, we've got that going for us, eh?...

Published Fri, Jun 06 2008 8:58 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Oil, Inflation, Gold, European Central Bank, Japan, The Fed, Stocks, Warren Buffett

More Awful Data For The U.S!

* Housing continues to rot... * Fed Officials warn the markets... * A new "junk bond" house... * David Galland's thoughts... **More Awful Data For The U.S! Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! A full day in meetings yesterday had me ready for the easy chair upon arriving home... The Celtics are NBA Champions for the 17th time, congrats to them and their fans, of which I was one as a kid, and through the Larry Bird era... Kind of lost track of the NBA over the years... Another full day of meetings on the docket for yours truly, can't wait! NOT! OK... The currencies really had a boring day yesterday... The bias was to sell dollars, but not by much. The euro gained a little, but has given it all back this morning. The data in the U.S. yesterday was weak if not awful, but the markets are still hanging by a moment on the Fed's rhetoric... Shoot Rudy, even the Financial Times is calling out the Fed and those that are getting carried away with thoughts of 75 BPS in rate hikes this year... The title of the FT article was... "Rate rise expectation overplayed, believe Fed officials"...

Published Wed, Jun 06 2008 9:15 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Oil, Home Sales, Euro, European Central Bank, The Fed, Junk Bonds, David Galland