Currency Wars
One of the trading themes for 2013 is likely to be the continuation of currency wars. Real or perceived, currency wars have existed for as long as I can remember. Whether a devaluation of an existing currency, or revaluation, currency wars cause seismic movements in exchange rates. The latest country to join the currency wars game is Japan, with the Japanese Yen losing value against all major currencies since elections a couple of months ago. The Bank of Japan, under political direction from the incoming government has agreed to raise it’s inflation target and adopt quantitative...
Read MoreTwo weeks into January
It’s pretty snowy and frosty in my part of the world. That said, we are two weeks into January and there have been some exceptionally profitable trading days so far this year, January 2nd being the first of them. It was almost so predictable, the USA did not fall off the fiscal cliff. No real surprise at all. The element of surprise was contained to the extent that the US politicians have been taking careful note, maybe even having private coaching from their European counterparts. Collectively, the US politicians managed to kick the can down the road. It worked in Europe in 2012, so...
Read MoreAugust trading review
It’s been a quiet month, with trading volumes very low. Volumes of UK equities traded daily are about half the levels from earlier in the year. Yet the FTSE index has managed to reach it’s highest levels since early April. The current trend is showing upwards, with the moving averages all in the right direction and the 50EMA providing support yesterday. After a fantastic Olympics and now the amazing paralympics, eyes are not focused on trading just yet. When you look at the narrow trading range of EURUSD this week, and for much of August, you could be forgiven for thinking the...
Read MoreJust like buses – central banks announcements
Last week was notable for news affecting the value of major currencies. We waited all week for announcements from central banks and just like buses, three came along at once. The Bank of England’s announcement to print another £50 billion was anticipated. The markets knew that was going to happen. At the moment of the announcement, a small blip in the value of GBPUSD just confirmed the inevitable. The European Central Bank then duly obliged with a quarter point cut from 1%. This bit was expected by the market. The Euro went into free fall on the back of the ECB reducing the overnight...
Read MoreMirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest currency of them all?
It’s been an interesting few days. Friday started with gloomy news from the UK manufacturing sector. GBP unloved as the UK remains recession bound. Then the news from the USA. Non-farm payroll figures upstaged the UK in their disappointment. Cue USD joining the ugly currency parade. So now we have EUR, GBP and USD in this parade. The Swiss National Bank decided a while ago to limit the value of the Swiss Franc by linking it to the value of the Euro. The setting of a “floor” rate of exchange effectively fixes the value of the Swiss Franc, so better add CHF as well. With four...
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