by James

Markets seemed to hold on pause last week, as central bank activity dominated headlines, but had limited market impact. Equities slopped around, and finally slipped mildly in the absence of clear direction. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and Russia?s RTS fell 5.5%, but Brazil, China and India all rose. The MSCI Emerging Markets index climbed [...]

by James

As Bernanke sits patiently through testimony on the Hill, the Federal Reserve has announced the expiration, shrinking and continuation of various exceptional programs providing liquidity to the system. For Mr Bernanke, it takes the patience of a saint to sit through political testimony, while some questions have been thoughtful and timely: is it a good [...]

by James

Latvia?s frail economic situation has remained at the centre of the global financial debate, even as markets have strengthened over the last couple of months. The subject is of great importance to Russia and Europe investors as the break down of one Baltic state would quickly transmit to the other two, and probably into wider [...]

by James

The last week was a nervous time across the financial markets, in large part ahead of quadruple witching, which saw index and equity options and futures all expire on Friday. Volumes were high, and direction was highly uncertain, but finally the close was relatively calm, reflecting low levels of open interest. Investors were hedging heavily [...]

by James

Paying impressive homage to Jim O?Neill, the Goldman Sachs strategist who coined the BRIC acronym, Brazil, Russia, India and China this week convene their first summit. The event is obviously a significant positive, not least because it has proven so difficult for these nations to even sit down together, let alone agree on common interests. [...]

by James

Commodities and sovereign debt remained volatile last week. US equities managed to rise 0.7% and the dollar rallied back 1% as the bond market fluctuated before closing up. At one point, 10 year bonds sold for more than 4%, and the initial pricing of a 30 year auction on Thursday raised eyebrows. But, things snapped [...]

by James

Doug Dachille of First Principles Capital is on CNBC?s Squawk Box right now – an extremely impressive individual, with a clear perception on what is going on at the heart of the credit crisis. He has made some valuable observations about the US mortgage market, which has been edging up recently, despite the Fed?s $1.2 [...]

by James

Interesting market dynamics continue this week, with US equities stuck at significant technical levels and the US treasury yields continuing to climb. The curve is now flattening, with 10 year break-evens hitting resistance at 2%. The five year inflation expectation continues to normalise, and fed fund futures have curiously begun to price expectations of rate [...]