The swine flu the war in Iraq and Afghanistan Obama administration global recession ...etc...
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Stress Tests are Not Stressful Enough
Last week, when the U.S. Treasury unveiled the basics of their lender “stress tests”, the Fed concluded that “most U.S. banking organizations currently have capital levels well in excess of the amounts required to be well capitalized. ”Simultaneously, they also claimed that the banks needed more capital. Apparently the Fed has little understanding of irony.
Why would our central bankers conclude that “well capitalized” banks need “more capital?” Quite possibly, they believe, as I do, that the rosy economic assumptions that form the basis of the “stress tests” may be far too optimistic. I believe that neither the Fed nor the Treasury have any will to paint a clear picture of our financial turmoil. But that won’t stop them from operating under those assumptions.
A brief examination of the stress test assumptions shows why the Fed should be hedging their bets. (more)
Why would our central bankers conclude that “well capitalized” banks need “more capital?” Quite possibly, they believe, as I do, that the rosy economic assumptions that form the basis of the “stress tests” may be far too optimistic. I believe that neither the Fed nor the Treasury have any will to paint a clear picture of our financial turmoil. But that won’t stop them from operating under those assumptions.
A brief examination of the stress test assumptions shows why the Fed should be hedging their bets. (more)
How Does $9000 Gold Sound?
by: Marc Chandler April 26, 2009
In recent days the Canadian and Swedish central banks have joined the majority of other G10 central banks by indicating that they too may engage in quantitative easing now that the interest rates have been reduced to 25 and 50 basis points respectively. The ECB is wrestling with ways to extend its own form of quantitative easing and an announcement is likely at its next meeting on May 7th.
While some observers have focused on the potential debasement of the US dollar by the aggressive monetary and fiscal policies of both the Bush and Obama Administrations, many investors are worried about the viability of the whole universe of paper money.
As Gillian Tett, award-winning journalist at the Financial Times, put it earlier this month, there has been a four-decade long experiment with fiat currencies not backed by gold or silver. This crisis is so profound that increasingly it appears to have shaken confidence in the experiment. At the same time, the crisis looks to have widened the range of possibilities. (more)
In recent days the Canadian and Swedish central banks have joined the majority of other G10 central banks by indicating that they too may engage in quantitative easing now that the interest rates have been reduced to 25 and 50 basis points respectively. The ECB is wrestling with ways to extend its own form of quantitative easing and an announcement is likely at its next meeting on May 7th.
While some observers have focused on the potential debasement of the US dollar by the aggressive monetary and fiscal policies of both the Bush and Obama Administrations, many investors are worried about the viability of the whole universe of paper money.
As Gillian Tett, award-winning journalist at the Financial Times, put it earlier this month, there has been a four-decade long experiment with fiat currencies not backed by gold or silver. This crisis is so profound that increasingly it appears to have shaken confidence in the experiment. At the same time, the crisis looks to have widened the range of possibilities. (more)
MarketTrends: April 30, 2009
Issued by Colin Cieszynski, CFA, CMT, Market Analyst, CMC Markets Canada
North American Indices and Commodities: US Equities Break Out of Consolidation Zones
After declining through February and rebounding in March, US equity indices consolidated their gains through April. Through this period, equities encountered significant resistance but kept forming support at higher lows, forming bullish ascending triangle patterns. This morning, the Dow Industrials (US30 CFD) and S&P 500 (SPX500 CFD) overcame resistance and broke out of these triangles, suggesting that a new upleg may be underway.
These breakouts, coupled with breakdowns by gold and silver below $900/oz and $12.50/oz respectively suggest that investor confidence continues to grow. In addition to a number of better than expected earnings reports, comments from the US Federal Reserve Board yesterday suggest that the US economy may be starting to stabilize. With the street ignoring yesterday’s worse than expected US GDP numbers it appears that many investors may be thinking the low point of the global recession may be close at hand or already behind us. The next major resistance levels appear near 8,350 then 8,900 for the Dow, 900 and 950 for the S&P.
That being said, the road to recovery may yet be long and bumpy and retests of previous breakout points are common so it may be a bit early to get overly excited about the market. There are a number of factors that may affect sentiment over the next few days. First, there have been a number of reports overnight that Chrysler may declare bankruptcy as soon as today, although this may have already been discounted in market pricing. Second, a number of overseas markets are closed tomorrow for holidays so there may be fewer participants about on Friday. Third, when US equities move significantly in one direction on the last trading day of the month, they tend to reverse course a bit the following day on normal profit-taking. Fourth, don’t forget that stress test results are due on Monday, May 4th, which may yet have a significant impact on the global banking sector.
Although Canadian markets have rallied today, the S&P/TMX 60 (Toronto60 CFD) has remained in its current 550-575 trading range. It appears that the retreat in the precious metal sector may be offsetting gains in other areas of the market.
Commodity trading today also suggests investor confidence may be growing. Precious metals, which had previously acted as a safe haven for capital, have been under pressure with gold breaking down through $900/oz and silver dropping back under $12.50/oz. Meanwhile, economically sensitive commodities continue to rebound, led by copper which has rallied back through the $2.00/lb level, wheat’s move through $5.25/bushel and corn’s advance toward a test of $4.00/bushel resistance. US Crude also continues to attract support, holding near the $51.00/bbl level with resistance near $51.50/bbl and $53.00/bbl and support near $50.00 or $49.00/bbl. Concerns over swine flu now appear to be contained to the pork area with lean hogs falling 3.2% and breaking down below $0.60/lb and pork bellies sliding 0.8%.
Canadian and US Share Update: Earnings Reports Drive US Month-End Trading, Canadian Metals Move in Different Directions
Today’s advance in the US markets appears to be particularly broad based, with leading climbers coming from a number of different sectors. The common theme of the day appears to be a positive reaction to earnings reports and guidance. Leading advancers off of earnings news include: Owens-Illinois (OI) up 27.0%, First Solar (FSLR) up 24.2%, Newell-Rubbermaid (NWL) up 23.1%, Dow Chemical (DOW) up 18.3%, International Paper (IP) up 16.5%, Akamai Technologies (AKAM) up 11.8%, Citrix Systems (CTXS) up 10.0%, and Starbucks (SBUX) up 10.9%.
In Canada today, the main theme has been a significant split in sentiment toward metal producers, with base metals climbing in tandem with the copper price and precious metals falling along with gold and silver. Leading advancers include: First Quantum (FM) up 8.5%, Teck Cominco (TCKb) up 6.0%, Thomson Creek (TCM) up 5.4%, and FNX (FNX) up 4.5%. Falling precious metals include: Agnico-Eagle (AEM) down 6.4%, Silvercorp (SVM) down 5.1%, Silver Wheaton (SLW) down 4.3% and IamGold (IMG) down 4.0%.
Sentiment toward the forest products sector may be improving in response to International Paper’s earnings report. Canfor (CFP) has advanced 5.4%, while Sino-Forest (TRE) has climbed 3.5%.
North American Indices and Commodities: US Equities Break Out of Consolidation Zones
After declining through February and rebounding in March, US equity indices consolidated their gains through April. Through this period, equities encountered significant resistance but kept forming support at higher lows, forming bullish ascending triangle patterns. This morning, the Dow Industrials (US30 CFD) and S&P 500 (SPX500 CFD) overcame resistance and broke out of these triangles, suggesting that a new upleg may be underway.
These breakouts, coupled with breakdowns by gold and silver below $900/oz and $12.50/oz respectively suggest that investor confidence continues to grow. In addition to a number of better than expected earnings reports, comments from the US Federal Reserve Board yesterday suggest that the US economy may be starting to stabilize. With the street ignoring yesterday’s worse than expected US GDP numbers it appears that many investors may be thinking the low point of the global recession may be close at hand or already behind us. The next major resistance levels appear near 8,350 then 8,900 for the Dow, 900 and 950 for the S&P.
That being said, the road to recovery may yet be long and bumpy and retests of previous breakout points are common so it may be a bit early to get overly excited about the market. There are a number of factors that may affect sentiment over the next few days. First, there have been a number of reports overnight that Chrysler may declare bankruptcy as soon as today, although this may have already been discounted in market pricing. Second, a number of overseas markets are closed tomorrow for holidays so there may be fewer participants about on Friday. Third, when US equities move significantly in one direction on the last trading day of the month, they tend to reverse course a bit the following day on normal profit-taking. Fourth, don’t forget that stress test results are due on Monday, May 4th, which may yet have a significant impact on the global banking sector.
Although Canadian markets have rallied today, the S&P/TMX 60 (Toronto60 CFD) has remained in its current 550-575 trading range. It appears that the retreat in the precious metal sector may be offsetting gains in other areas of the market.
Commodity trading today also suggests investor confidence may be growing. Precious metals, which had previously acted as a safe haven for capital, have been under pressure with gold breaking down through $900/oz and silver dropping back under $12.50/oz. Meanwhile, economically sensitive commodities continue to rebound, led by copper which has rallied back through the $2.00/lb level, wheat’s move through $5.25/bushel and corn’s advance toward a test of $4.00/bushel resistance. US Crude also continues to attract support, holding near the $51.00/bbl level with resistance near $51.50/bbl and $53.00/bbl and support near $50.00 or $49.00/bbl. Concerns over swine flu now appear to be contained to the pork area with lean hogs falling 3.2% and breaking down below $0.60/lb and pork bellies sliding 0.8%.
Canadian and US Share Update: Earnings Reports Drive US Month-End Trading, Canadian Metals Move in Different Directions
Today’s advance in the US markets appears to be particularly broad based, with leading climbers coming from a number of different sectors. The common theme of the day appears to be a positive reaction to earnings reports and guidance. Leading advancers off of earnings news include: Owens-Illinois (OI) up 27.0%, First Solar (FSLR) up 24.2%, Newell-Rubbermaid (NWL) up 23.1%, Dow Chemical (DOW) up 18.3%, International Paper (IP) up 16.5%, Akamai Technologies (AKAM) up 11.8%, Citrix Systems (CTXS) up 10.0%, and Starbucks (SBUX) up 10.9%.
In Canada today, the main theme has been a significant split in sentiment toward metal producers, with base metals climbing in tandem with the copper price and precious metals falling along with gold and silver. Leading advancers include: First Quantum (FM) up 8.5%, Teck Cominco (TCKb) up 6.0%, Thomson Creek (TCM) up 5.4%, and FNX (FNX) up 4.5%. Falling precious metals include: Agnico-Eagle (AEM) down 6.4%, Silvercorp (SVM) down 5.1%, Silver Wheaton (SLW) down 4.3% and IamGold (IMG) down 4.0%.
Sentiment toward the forest products sector may be improving in response to International Paper’s earnings report. Canfor (CFP) has advanced 5.4%, while Sino-Forest (TRE) has climbed 3.5%.
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