US Political Woes Weigh on Wall Street
For much of this year, market movements have been driven by international political developments, particularly trade and tariff tensions between the US and other major economies. This week, however, the focus has shifted to domestic politics, as attention turns to the White House’s tax and spending bill currently moving through Congress. Concerns that the bill […]
Gold Rebounds as US Dollar Retreat Continues
Moody’s downgrade of its US credit rating last weekend continues to impact bond and currency trading. The USD remains in retreat today enabling Gold to rally 0.8% and regain $3,300/oz. Meanwhile, other major currencies, including the Loonie, Pound, Euro, Aussie and Yen, are up 0.2%-0.6% today. Commodities are also rallying with Copper up 1.2% and […]
Investor Confidence Continues to Improve
Business-related news has been quiet overnight. President Trump is returning from his trip to the Middle East, and trade talks appear to be progressing on several fronts. In the absence of negative developments and amid an encouraging tone overall, equity markets continue to rise. Heading toward the weekend, US index futures are up 0.3% across […]
Stocks Backslide Amid Mixed Earnings and Economic Numbers
Thursday morning finds stock markets around the world slipping as their recent rally fades. US index futures are down 0.4% to 0.7%, while in Europe, the DAX is down 0.1% and the FTSE is up 0.2%. Overnight, the Hang Seng lost 0.8% and the Nikkei fell 1.0%. The US 10-year Treasury yield is steady near […]
Stocks Soar as US-China Trade Tensions Ease
Much of the uncertainty which has been hanging over world markets in recent months eased significantly. The US and China announced yesterday that they have agreed to pause their recent tariffs for 90 days while they work on a bigger trade agreement. This news has ignited a rally in US index futures, which are up […]
Gold Rallies as Investors Turn Cautious
Amid continuing uncertainty about the health of the global economy and the state of the ongoing trade wars, investor sentiment has been turning defensive once again this week. Traditional havens for capital in turbulent times continue to attract capital this morning with Gold up 1.8%, Silver up 2.2% and the Japanese Yen up 0.6%. Meanwhile, […]
US Traders Take Profits Ahead of Central Bank Meetings
The trading week kicked off overnight with overseas markets staging big catch-up rallies, including gains of 1.0% for the Nikkei, 1.1% for the FTSE and 0.7% for the Dax. Upward momentum appears to be fading, however, with US index futures down 0.6% to 0.9%, giving back some of Friday’s 1.4%-1.5% US index gains. With the […]
Stock Slide Steepens as US Q1 GDP Goes Negative
NOTE: The Morning Minutes will not be issued Thursday or Friday, they will return on Monday May 5th. Concern that the tariff war could push the US and other countries into a recession has deepened this morning after it came out that the US economy turned negative over the winter. US Q1 GDP was quite […]
US Dollar Rebounds as Talks Continue
Amid ongoing talks between the US and Russia aiming to end the Ukraine War, and conflicting stories about whether the US and China are talking tariffs or not, the US Dollar is bouncing back this morning. Gold is down 1.3%, the Yen is down 0.5%, the Euro is down 0.3%, and the Loonie is down […]
Another Rally Fades as China Stands Its Ground
The relief rally of the last two days appears to be winding down once again as hopes for a quick end to the tariff war were dashed once again. Chinese officials indicated overnight that they are not in any talks with the United States and that if the US wants to move forward, they should […]