- Hopeful signs on new-home supply crunch - WSJ
- Sticking a finger into the ECB's air - Alphaville
- European stocks retreat as tension escalates in Crimea - Bloomberg
- Crimea parliament is seized, raising Ukraine tension - WSJ
- Fall in renminbi heightens derivatives risks - FT
- Why Sweden has so few road deaths - Economist
-John Maynard Keynes, A Tract on monetary Reform
I hope that you will excuse my lack of writing yesterday. Occasionally, the military must attempt to collect their use from me. This morning I am firmly planted at my desk.
The trading mood across the Atlantic has been affected in no small part by the happenings in Ukraine overnight. The FTSE is trading lower by 0.70% and the DAX is off 1.56%. This "risk off" appetite has spilled over into US futures - currently S&P 500 futures are down 5.5 points, Dow and Nasdaq cohorts lower by 47.00 and 4.75 points, respectively. Ukraine is facing the slight possibility that they might lose control of Crimea (a mostly Russian-friendly Southern region of Ukraine, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet); however, I do not believe this will be a major issue once US markets open and we get underway.
Janet Yellen is scheduled to give testimony (again) at the Senate Banking Committee. The only potentially "new" piece from the Chair of the Fed may be a clarification on policy stance as the unemployment rate falls to 6.5%. No one expects a rate-raise because no one believes too much in the unemployment rate at present - most of the decline has come from historically low labor participation.
US equities have been trading in a pretty tight range, still near highs - I am leaning to the bullish side. Every talking head on CNBC, Bloomberg, FOX, et al seems beholden to the idea that markets are "topped out" and "fizzy" at current levels. Expect the unexpected, I say.
Heads or tails, the relentless pursuit of profit continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment