Bobbys Corner-Open Market-Feb.8.2012
Good Morning:
The Greek saga continues-as the markets await Greek prime Minister Papademos is again set to meet in Athens to discuss and hopefully come to an agreement over the debt crisis in his country. The scheduled meeting has been delayed-which is hardly a surprise to anyone
In US political news-Rick Santorum, Former US Senator of Pennslyvania swept all 3 Republican primary contests last night. This has certainly made the race a different animal.. Life will be difficult for Newt Gingrich now-and does this show that Mitt Romney does not have the support of the American Mid West. I am sure that President Obama was very happy with the results-as this shows an even further divided Republican party-and that will be very helpful for the re election of the incumbent President.
World equity markets and US Futures are higher.
Oil is trading just under $100/bar.
Bobbys Corner-Open Market-Feb.7.2012
Good Morning:
In an unexpected move, the Reserve Bank of Australia left their benchmark interest rates unchanged at 4.25%. With signs of growth in North America and Asia-the RBA opted to leave rates steady for the time being. The RBA will monitor the growth of the global economy, and will set their interest and monetary policy accordingly.
In other news-it seems that Greece is getting closer to an agreement with their creditors. We have heard this for the past few weeks-so when we get confirmation-I will let you know. In the meantime-European leaders are running out of patience for Greece to get their monetary policy in place.
Fed Chairman Bernanke will be speaking to Congress today-after last friday’s positive jobs data-will his tone be different? No likely.
Equity markets are lower-as are US Futures.
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOOD LUCK
Bobbys Corner-Open Market-Feb.6.2012
Good Morning:
I have returned after my knee surgery. The surgery went well-and now my job is to do physical therapy and get back up to speed.
I see that very little changed- Greece is still trying to work out their latest mess. The discussions between the parties regarding austerity measures to ensure the bailout funds for March (as Greece has a 14 billion payment due) are virtually at a stand still.
There needs to be agreement within the Papademos’ government regarding these new austerity and the restructuring of government programs and staffing.
EU officials are waiting for the Greek government to come to terms with the new package which includes “wage and pension reductions, along with job cuts and tougher tax enforcement programs”.
Asian equity markets were higher-but with no news out of Greece-European equity markets dropped lower-and US Futures are lower at this time.
Last night the NY Giants won the NFL Superbowl-and the big winners were the advertisers and networks. Commercials cost up to $3.5 million for a 30 second spot during the game.
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOOD LUCK
Bobbys Corner-Open Market-January.27.2012
Good Morning:
With a looming 14 billion euro payment due in March-the Greek government is in continuous talks with their private creditors to restructure their debt. This has been the centerpiece of the currency markets for the past week. Creditors are insisting on ECB participation in the Greek debt mess.
In other news from the Euro Zone:
Portuguese bond yields reached new highs-as market participants are in the mindset that Portugal may need a second bailout to work out their debt mess.
Spain’s unemployment rate rose to over 22%-as the loss of construction jobs continues to hamper any employment recovery.
US Q4 GDP rises 2.8%.
Asian equity markets were higher-Europe is lower-as are US Futures.
Oil is higher-still below $100/bar. Gold is lower.
HAVE A GREAT DAY-WEEKEND & GOOD LUCK
I will be out of the office next week-as I am having knee surgery. I will hobble back on Feb 6.
Bobbys Corner-Open Market-January.26.2012
Good Morning:
With the ongoing sage between the Greek government and private investors continuing-there have been reports of the private sector accepting a interest rate of less than 4%. This is a major barrier that will now allow Grrece to seriously revamp their debt. Greece has a 14 billion euro payment due in March-and without the help of the IMF or ECB-they will not be able to meet this deadline.
This news pushed the EUR/USD pair into the mid 1.31 handle (1.3173).
Italy sold 4.5 billion euro worth of 3 year notes-with the lowest yield since last August. The yield was 3.763% versus 4.853 on the last 3 year note auction.
Yesterday’s press conference by Fed Chairman Bernanke brought the possibility of a third round of QE to the markets if unemoloyment remains high-so I guess we will see more QE by the 3rd quarter of this year.
He also talked about keeping interest rates low through 2014.
Gold, Silver and Oil are all higher-as are equities and futures.
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOOD LUCK
Bobbys Corner-Open Market-January.25.2012
Good Morning:
Another choppy night of trading as Euro and GBP led the parade.
With better than expected German IFO data-the EUR/USD pair rose to the mid 1.30 range before falling back into the mid 1.29 range.
GBP did worse-as lower than expected Q4 GDP surprised the markets. With manufacturers cutting production, and the service sector stagnant-is the UK looking at a double-dip recession? The BOE will be assessing it’s QE program to see if additional stimulus will not only be needed-but will it do anything in reality-only time will tell.
Greece is still negotiating with private bond holders to work out new interest rates for a bond swap. The prospects are not looking rosy.
Apple Inc blew out Q4 earnings-expected earnings $10.16/share-real earnings $13.87/share. Apple is now the largest company in the world. They have jumped over Exxon/Mobil to take the #1 spot.
Last night President Obama gave his “State of the Union” speech. He called for higher taxes on the rich, and more government spending (I have no idea where this money will come from) for job creation. It was a very political and partisan speech-pitting Democrats and Republicans against each other. In my opinion-the fighting between parties has added to the problems in Washington.
This afternoon we have the statement from the FOMC-and a news conference By Chairman Bernanke.
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOOD LUCK
Bobbys Corner-open Market-January.24.2012
Good Morning:
The euro was firmer in overnight trading-after a report from the Euro Zone pointed to an expanding manufacturing and service sector. This expansion data was unexpected, and much stronger than expected.
In a move to support local growth-the Reserve bank of India left their benchmark interest rate unchanged, but lowered their reserve ratio, in the hope of bringing more foreign investment to India. With Europe in crisis mode-the RBI is looking to attract foreign investments that may of gone to the EU or other world business centers instead.
It seems that the Greek government and their bondholders are not able to come to an agreement on how to solve the nations debt crisis.
Finance ministers from Europe have been reluctant to pour more money into Greece. The finance ministers have been hoping that the bondholders could offer some relief.
Asian equity markets were mixed-Europe is lower-as are US Futures.
Tonight at 9PM EST President Obama will give his “State of the Union” address.
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOOD LUCK
Bobbys Corner-Open Market-January.23.2012
Good Morning:
Asian trading was muted as the start the Chinese New Year kept many Asian market participants away.
In a move that has been anticipated- EU Foreign Ministers announced that there will a ban on Iranian oil imports beginning July 1st in an effort to pressure the nation to contain its nuclear program. The EU will try to put measures in place to ease the pain of an embargo for some countries, like Greece
Iran has been meeting with Indian officials on how to maintain trade-as the world looks to tighten sanctions around Iran and countries doing business with them. Iran is India’s second largest oil supplier-and they have discussed Iran being paid in rupees. Iran is seeking partial payment in JPY-as Iran is concerned about the value of the rupee staying somewhat stable.
Equity markets are higher-as are US Futures.
Oil, Gold and silver are all higher.
HAVE A GREAT DAY & GOOD LUCK
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