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Heading Towards Zero...

* Fed cuts rates 50 BPS! * Currencies rally Big! * 3rd QTR GDP to go negative? * I.O.U.S.A. ** Heading Towards Zero... Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! It certainly was a Tub Thumpin' Wednesday for the currencies, foreign stocks, commodities, and the Philadelphia Phillies! This by no means that the deep dense fog that has hung over the markets for 3 months has lifted for good... It did, however, lift for one day, and what a day it was! Oh, and the Fed did indeedly do cut their Fed Funds rate to 1%, which works out great since Fed Funds had been trading at 1% anyway! I had a reported from Dow Jones call me a few minutes after the rate cut and ask me my opinion on what the dollar was doing, which at the time was rallying back a bit... I said it looked like a classic case of buy the rumor sell the fact, that enough speculators were pushing the dollar lower ahead of the rate cut in hopes that a larger cut would be made. That, however, was not the case, and the dollar rallied... But only for about 20 minutes, and then it took a rid on the slippery slope, with the euro pushing to the 1.29 handle as I left for the day....

Published Thu, Oct 10 2008 8:59 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Currencies, Dollar, China, Euro, Ben Bernanke, Interest Rates, The Fed, Jobs, FOMC, Renminbi, I.O.U.S.A, Consumer Spending

A Currency Bounce...

* U.S. stocks soar! * Currencies rally! * Consumer Confidence at an all-time low! * Getting off the bench! ** A Currency Bounce... Good day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! The fall chill has really set in here as witnessed by my need to throw on a jacket and my Missouri Tigers baseball cap each morning! When you are basically bald like me, the cold air is not a friend to you, thus the need for a baseball cap from now until late spring! Well... The trading theme remained in place yesterday, but this time it was reversed. For those of you new to class, or any of you who have been playing horse hooky, the trading theme that has gripped the markets since August is: The deeper, darker, and more dangerous the U.S. economy and financial meltdown, including the credit market's locked status, the dollar gets bought... If there is any sign of light to all this mess, the dollar gets sold, for whenever the markets get their minds off the mess, they are reminded of awful fundamentals for the dollar....

Published Wed, Oct 10 2008 10:30 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Currencies, China, Euro, Consumer Confidence, Interest Rates, The Fed, FOMC, Norges Bank, Home Prices, Stocks, Amero

A New Trading Theme...

* Coordinated rate cuts...* Did the Fed reignite soaring inflation?* More pain in Iceland...* Revisiting the 90's in Japan... ** A New Trading Theme... Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! Well... How about those wily veteran Central Bankers? They all got together and decided to cut rates... The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) went first with their 100 BPS cut, and opened the rate cut sea for the rest of the Central Banks around the world. The European Central Bank, The Riksbank (Sweden), Swiss National Bank, Bank of Canada, Bank of England, and the Bank of China all lined up at the rate cut table... The Bank of Japan, The Norges Bank (Norway), and Reserve Bank of New Zealand did not participate. The Bank of Japan doesn't have any rate to cut, The Norges Bank will wait until their regularly scheduled meeting on 10/15, and the RBNZ believes that they have taken their toxic waste bond flu shot......

Published Thu, Oct 10 2008 9:27 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Inflation, Gold, New Zealand, Iceland, Yen, Canada, Interest Rates, Japan, The Fed, Mexico

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?...

Published Thu, Oct 10 2008 9:46 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, China, Bailout, Recession, Euro, Alan Greenspan, European Central Bank, ISM Index, Interest Rates, The Fed, GDP, Debt

Paulson speaks with forked tongue...

* Paulson speaks with forked tongue... * Fed leaves rates unchanged... * A look back at the data... * Japan to weather the financial Tsunami... ** Paulson speaks with forked tongue... Good day...Another day, another $85 billion of US taxpayer used to bail out an ailing financial firm. Yes, our Treasury Secretary went on another shopping spree, and this time he was accompanied by Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Barnanke. Just two days ago, Paulson drew a line in the sand when he let Lehman Brothers collapse into bankruptcy. The non-action from Paulson was seen as a good move by most, as he was sending a signal to the markets that the US taxpayer couldn't be seen as the buyer of last resort for failed financial firms. And Paulson talked tough with regard to AIG. Paulson was asked about reports that AIG wanted an emergency loan to help it through its troubles. "What is going on right now in New York has got nothing to do with any bridge loan from the government," he replied. "What's going on in New York is a private sector effort, again, focused on dealing with an important issue that's, I think, important that the financial system work on right now, and there's not more I can say than that....

Published Wed, Sep 09 2008 9:35 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Ben Bernanke, Interest Rates, Japan, The Fed, TIC Flow, Henry Paulson, AIG

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

A week of interest rate decisions...

* A week of interest rate decisions... * Pound Sterling drops again... * Brazil and Mexico continue to dominate... * Gold and Silver fall... ** A week of interest rate decisions... Good day...The dollar stayed in the pretty tight range it has established over the weekend, gaining some strength over the weekend after losing some ground on Friday. Should be an exciting week as it is 'Interest Rate Decision' week as a number of central banks will be announcing their new rates. I think the rate announcements will reinforce my feelings that the world's economies are heading down divergent paths, with some economies heading down a recessionary path while others maintaining good growth rates. As expected, the US unemployment rose to the highest level in more than four years as employers cut jobs again in July. But the decrease in payrolls was slightly less than forecast, so some were saying 'it isn't as bad as we thought'....

Published Mon, Aug 08 2008 10:24 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: British Pound, Brazilian Real, Inflation, Silver, Gold, Interest Rates, The Fed, Peso

"Somewhat Receded"?

* Fed leaves rates unchanged... * A dovish tone to the Fed... * Dollar Bulls run for the hills! * Norway raises rates... ** "Somewhat Receded"? Good day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to you! Well... If you are a non-dollar owner, you might want to quickly go to the currency round-up to check on your currency / currencies... The Fed left rates unchanged and were quite dovish in their statement, and the dollar has been sent to the woodshed... Welcome back! Front and Center this morning, we have a currency rally going on, with the euro leading the dogs off the porch to chase the dollar down the street. The single unit has pushed past the 1.57 handle this morning, and the high yielders of Aussie, kiwi, and Brazil are all dancing in the streets because their positive rate differentials are even more in the face of traders now....

Published Thu, Jun 06 2008 10:39 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Gold, New Zealand, Interest Rates, The Fed, Norway, Renminbi

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

When Will The Fed Be Called Out?

* More dollar strength... * Conspiracy theories... * BOC leaves rates unchanged... * A euro chart discussion... **Front and Center this morning, the dollar continued to hold the advantage over the euro and other currencies yesterday and in the overnight market... The euro did attempt to rally overnight, but that move was thwarted, as an European Central Bank (ECB) member, Stark, threw cold water on the rally. Stark, said that "the markets have understood the Governing Council's signal", which meant the markets understood that the ECB was going to raise rates in July... But then the cold water came flying out of the bucket as Stark then said, "However, we are not talking about a series of rate increases."...

Published Wed, Jun 06 2008 9:41 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Euro, European Central Bank, Interest Rates, The Fed, Bank of Canada

Jawboning The Dollar Higher...

* More bias to buy dollars... * Printing money... * Kiwi gets hit hard! * Rate announcements today......

Published Thu, Jun 06 2008 9:03 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Dollar, Inflation, Kiwi, Consumer Confidence, Ben Bernanke, Bank of England, Interest Rates, The Fed

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

A Transparent Fed?

* The dollar swings the hammer again... * Begin the emptying of the data cupboard! * Regurgitating stories on the euro... * The Mogambo on a Tuesday!...

Published Tue, Apr 04 2008 9:14 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Trade Deficit, Dollar, Euro, European Central Bank, Interest Rates, The Fed, Mogambo

Another Large Rate Cut From The Fed...

* Are there more rate cuts coming? * Yen and Swiss kicking sand... * Emerging Markets High Yielders fall... * Buying Opportunities in Gold and Silver?...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2008 1:57 PM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Commodities, Silver, Gold, Yen, Swiss franc, Interest Rates, The Fed

Back to the Days of Volcker...

* Waiting on a 100 bps move... * Fed plays Whack a Mole... * Carry trade reverses... * China raises reserve ratios......

Published Tue, Mar 03 2008 9:28 AM by Chuck Butler

Filed under: Currencies, Dollar, China, Interest Rates, Carry Trade, The Fed

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