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FOMC Meeting Day!

* What will the Fed do? * Going into the fryer? * Trichet tries to cool the jets... * India raises rates 50 BPS! ** FOMC Day! Good day... And a what should be "Wild" Wednesday to you! This is the day the Fed's "true" colors come through in my opinion. The markets were all fired up a couple of weeks ago, and the air in their balloon has been slowly let out up to now. But today, we'll see if their balloon get re-inflated or goes "pop"! You see, today is the day the Fed's FOMC meeting adjourns and a rate announcement along with a new bias will be the order of business at the end of the meeting. The Fed Heads normally eat their lunch, which was probably packed in brown bag consisting of a baloney sandwich (since that's what they normally spew is baloney!), some chips and ho-ho's... HAHAHAHAHA!...

Published Wed, Jun 06 2008 9:14 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Currencies, Inflation, Consumer Confidence, Interest Rates, Trichet, The Fed, FOMC, India

German Business Confidence Falls...

* The euro gives back 1-cent... * The Economist agrees with Chuck! * RBNZ takes a shot at kiwi... * FOMC week! ** German Business Confidence Falls... Good day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! Friday turned out to be Fantastico, as I hoped it would, and it ended with a nice surprise retirement party for long colleague, John Kaupisch. I couldn't talk about it Friday, because it was a surprise... But it was real nice, and John was surprised... His last day is July 3... First guy to retire here... I'll probably be the next, but with a 13-year old, I doubt that happens any time in the near future! The currencies held steady Eddie on Friday, with the euro popping up to 1.5660 at one point, only to end the day around 1.5620. Still, a nice day given all the negativity the euro had been receiving because of the Fed's rhetoric, and other minor stuff in the Eurozone... Overnight though, the euro has gotten treated like a red headed step child (OK no nasty comments, it's just a saying). The German Business Confidence as measured by the think tank, IFO, fell to the lowest level in more than two years this month... Business leaders are feeling the pinch of record Oil prices and the threat of higher interest rates....

Published Mon, Jun 06 2008 9:13 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Euro, Ben Bernanke, Carry Trade, GDP, Germany, FOMC, Reserve Bank of New Zealand

Removing Fed Rate Hike Bets...

* The euro rallies 1-cent! * U.S Data continues to be a drag... * Canada's Carney underpins the loonie... * RBS issues a warning! **Removing Fed Rate Hike Bets... Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! Looks like it could be a Fantastico Friday as traders are Finally coming around to Chuck's way of thinking regarding Fed rate hikes... And as traders remove their bets for aggressive Fed rate hikes, the luster begins to fade on the dollar rally. The meetings are over for this week (they start up again next week!), YAHOO! I get to spend the day on the trading desk... I've missed everyone! OK... Front and Center this morning, we have the euro trading 1-cent higher, knock, knock knocking on Heaven's Door, I mean, the 1.56 handle. As I said in the intro, it appears that traders don't have the stomach to hold on to their bets that the Fed will aggressively raise interest rates this year. Recall, the other day, I told you that the bets were ratcheting up and had reached 75 BPS of rate hikes this year... I doubt we have any... In fact, as I told you the other day too, I believe that when the dust settles on the fact that the Fed isn't going to raise rates, things will have gotten so bad here that the Fed will be entertaining thoughts of cutting rates again!...

Published Fri, Jun 06 2008 9:20 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Brazilian Real, Oil, China, Euro, Carry Trade, FOMC, Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland

Paulson Speaks With A "Double Tongue"

* The U.S. economy in a wreck! * More problems to come... * Funky accounting at the Fed... * SNB leaves rates unchanged... **Paulson Speaks With A "Double Tongue" - Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! I was alone last night, and decided to write... Oh Boy! Are you, dear reader, in trouble when I begin writing at night for the next morning! My Cardinals were losing again, so my attention turned to putting down all these thoughts that keep coming into my head... Like Michael Keaton in Night Shift (what a great movie!) I need a recorder to put all these thoughts down... Like... Feed the mayo to the tuna! OK... Front and Center this morning, the euro's rally that went on all day yesterday and into the early Asian session (all the way to 1.5580) ended this morning... Someone, somewhere decided that the U.S. will be able to squeeze by this slowdown... Unfortunately, I don't agree! I see the U.S. being involved with the multi-car accident on the highway... But as Pfennig readers you already know that... However, instead of just hearing from me all the time about this meltdown of the U.S. economy, let's hear from an organization that tracks these things......

Published Thu, Jun 06 2008 9:38 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Euro, Ben Bernanke, The Fed, Economy, FOMC, Henry Paulson, Swiss National Bank

Questioning The Fed's Rhetoric...

* More dollar strength... * Retail Sales surprise... * SARB raises rates! * Gold on the slippery slope... **Questioning The Fed's Rhetoric... Good day... And a Happy Friday to one and all! It will be a Fantastico Friday (Hopefully) for the boys and girls in the St. Louis office, as we head to Busch Stadium tonight for a Cardinals baseball game... We even have a special guest that will be with us, so party on Wayne... Party on Garth! Well... Things went a little crazy on the desk while I was away yesterday... When I returned home last night, I had a ton of emails from the Big Boss, Frank Trotter, and that's usually a sign that things didn't go well! Frank plays hockey on Friday mornings, and said he will call me to bring me up to date on his way to hockey......

Published Fri, Jun 06 2008 9:10 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Gold, The Fed, Citigroup, Retail Sales, FOMC

FOMC Minutes Point To Problems...

* Questioning the Fed's moves... * Euros slow down... * Aussie hits 25-year high... * Oil hits $135!...

Published Thu, May 05 2008 11:45 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, Employment, Oil, Gold, Euro, The Fed, Economy, FOMC

IFO Send Euros Soaring Higher!

* The euro rallies again! * Talking about Cross trades... * Kohn sings Ray Stevens... * FOMC minutes today......

Published Wed, May 05 2008 9:30 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Bonds, Oil, Gold, Euro, European Central Bank, The Fed, FOMC

Currencies Rally...

* The dollar trades weaker... * U. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment drops... * Gov't reminds us of what they want! * Gold climbs back to $900!...

Published Mon, May 05 2008 11:27 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Gold, Euro, FOMC

US Housing Continues to Slump

* US housing continues to slump... * FOMC to reverse course... * Nordic Banks help the Icelandic krona... * Carry trade weighs on the yen......

Published Fri, May 05 2008 10:41 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Home Sales, Carry Trade, Icelandic Krona, FOMC, Home Prices

The Fed Follows Through...

* Fed follows through... * GDP holds positive... * BOJ keeps rates unchanged... * Gold continues to drop......

Published Thu, May 05 2008 9:42 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Gold, Interest Rates, The Fed, GDP, FOMC, Bank of Japan

FOMC Day...

* More dollar strength... * U.S. data looking bad... * Where are my rose colored glasses? * A note on Gold......

Published Wed, Apr 04 2008 10:39 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Gold, Consumer Confidence, Interest Rates, FOMC, Home Prices

FOMC Finally Comes Clean (sort of)

* FOMC finally comes clean... * Pound Sterling to drop with falling consumer confidence... * Bank of Japan holds rates... * AUD$ and NZD$ economies prove resilient......

Published Wed, Apr 04 2008 9:48 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Australia, British Pound, Recession, New Zealand, Japan, FOMC

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