Category: Countries & Regions

Posted on

Five Largest Banks ‘Should Be Broken Up’: Fed’s Fisher – CNBC

The five biggest banks in the United States are too powerful and should be broken up, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said on Wednesday.

The financial crisis has left the five biggest banks even more powerful than before, he said at an event in Mexico City……

“After the crisis, the five largest banks had a higher concentration of deposits than they did before the crisis,” he said. “I am of the belief personally that the power of the five largest banks is too concentrated.”

via Five Largest Banks ‘Should Be Broken Up’: Fed’s Fisher – US Business News – CNBC.

Posted on

Forex: Aussie Dollar, Canadian Loonie and South African Rand

The Aussie and Canadian Dollar mirror the CRB Commodities Index, testing resistance at their long-term highs. The Aussie encountered resistance at $1.08. Breakout would confirm a primary up-trend — already signaled by 63-day Twiggs Momentum above zero.

Aussie Dollar

* Target calculation: 1.08 + ( 1.08 – 0.96 ) = 1.20

Canada’s Loonie is similarly testing resistance at $1.01. Breakout would offer a target of $1.06*.

Canadian Loonie

* Target calculation: 1.01 + ( 1.01 – 0.96 ) = 1.06

The South African Rand is fairing slightly better, with the Aussie testing medium-term support at R8.00. Failure would warn of a correction to the long-term rising trendline at R7.50.

South African Rand

* Target calculation: 8.00 – ( 8.50 – 8.00 ) = 7.50

Posted on

Forex: Europe and Japan

The Euro is in a primary down-trend despite the latest rally, headed for a test of the descending trendline. Expect retracement to test support at $1.32; breach of $1.30 would warn of another test of primary support (at $1.26).

Euro/US Dollar

* Target calculation: 1.32 – ( 1.42 – 1.32 ) = 1.22

Pound Sterling broke its descending trendline several weeks ago and is headed for a test of resistance at $1.62. Upward breakout is unlikely at present, but recovery of 63-day Twiggs Momentum above zero would be a bullish sign.

Pound Sterling/USD

The US Dollar is retracing to test the new support level after breaking long-term resistance at 80 Japanese Yen. Recovery of 63-day Twiggs Momentum above zero, after a long-term bullish divergence, indicates a primary up-trend. Expect a test of the 2011 high at ¥85.

US Dollar/Japanese Yen

* Target calculation: 80 + ( 80 – 75 ) = 85

Posted on

Contrarian view: ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan says economy is slowing

ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan says the economy is slowing:

[gigya src=”http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/apps/cvp/4.0/swf/cnn_money_384x216_embed.swf” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” bgcolor=”#000000″ allowfullscreen=”true” width=”384″ wmode=”transparent” height=”356″ flashVars=”context=embed&videoId=/video/news/2012/02/29/n_ecri_lak_recession_jobs.cnnmoney”]

Posted on

EconoMonitor : Note from Athens: Feeling on the Ground Has Palpably Changed

Despite the clear sense of despair and anger in Greece, politicians and members of the public continue to think that the alternative—default and EZ exit—would be even worse.

……Among the increasingly popular fringe left- and right-wing parties, the only party actually advocating a EZ exit is the communist party, or KKE. The KKE will have just over 10% of the vote in the election in April according to most estimates and refuses to cooperate with any other parties in a coalition. For now, the rest of the political establishment advocates doing whatever it takes to remain in the EZ.

….. most Greeks express desperation to stay in the EZ. This is reflected in recent opinion polls: according to a poll conducted in February for Skai TV and Kathimerini, 70% of respondents said a EZ exit and return to the drachma would make Greece’s situation worse and 61% said they viewed the euro favourably.

via EconoMonitor : RGE Analysts » Note from Athens: Feeling on the Ground Has Palpably Changed.

Posted on

ECB Allots €529.5 Billion in Long-Term Refinancing Operation – WSJ.com

LONDON—The European Central Bank said it handed out €529.5 billion $712.7 billion in cheap, three-year loans to 800 lenders, the central bank’s latest effort to arrest a financial crisis now entering its third year. Wednesday’s loans were on top of the €489 billion of similar loans the ECB dispensed to 523 banks in late December. The ECB’s goal is both to avoid an escalating crisis as banks struggle to pay off maturing debts and to mitigate a sharp pullback in bank lending to customers across ailing European economies……about two-thirds of the loans went to banks in three euro-zone countries — two in the “periphery,” likely Spain and Italy, and one in the “core,” likely France or Germany.

via ECB Allots €529.5 Billion in Long-Term Refinancing Operation – WSJ.com.

Posted on

Momentum trades: Northern Graphite Corporation [NGC]

NGC turned up in my Momentum Stock Scan, but bearish divergence on 21-day Twiggs Money Flow warns of short/medium-term selling pressure.

Index

But respect of the bottom trend channel (at $1.80) and recovery above $2.00 would mean all’s forgiven and we can expect another advance.

Posted on

Equipment Demand Hasn’t Dropped Out, Just Taking a Breather – WSJ

New orders for durable goods fell 4.0% in January. And bookings for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft — a measure of future business spending on equipment — dropped 4.5%. Although the declines were larger than expected, they shouldn’t raise alarm bells. That’s because much of the weakness traces to special factors.

The first is the end of a tax credit that allowed 100% deduction for equipment bought last year. Not surprisingly, businesses front-loaded their purchases early in 2011.

The second reason is a quirk in the very volatile orders series: New bookings tend to fall in the first month of a quarter, then rebound in the second or third months. The pattern is especially acute in the first quarter.

via Equipment Demand Hasn’t Dropped Out, Just Taking a Breather – Real Time Economics – WSJ.

Comment:~ Accelerated tax write-offs stimulate new capital investment by the private sector, as companies bring forward or initiate expenditure in order to take advantage of the tax deduction. But there is bound to be a (partial) offset when the accelerated write-offs are removed.

Posted on

China outlines plan to loosen capital controls – FT.com

China’s capital controls have served it well. It was little harmed by the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 and has been largely insulated from the global tumult of the past four years. That resilience in the face of external trouble has emboldened conservatives in Beijing who support the status quo.

But there are also problems in maintaining such rigid capital controls. Chinese savers have few investment outlets for their money and plough it into the property market instead. Perhaps most important from a political standpoint, plans to transform the renminbi into a rival to the dollar have run into difficulty – foreign companies do not want a currency that cannot be invested in its country of origin.

“Internationalisation of the renminbi is now a clear mandate, so resistance for capital account liberalisation has been diminishing,” said Liu Li-gang, an economist with ANZ. “The wind has shifted.”

China’s top leaders have given a series of signals in recent months that they want capital account reforms to get into gear.

via China outlines plan to loosen capital controls – FT.com.

Powered by WordPress / WordPress Maintenance Service By Website Helper