Economy: Latest Financial Topics from the NASDAQ

Week in Forex: Same Drivers, Different Direction
Over the past three months and the past month, the dollar has fallen against all the major currencies but the British pound. Sterling’s underperformance can largely be explained by uncertainty created by the Tory government’s sponsored referendum on continued EU membership. Most of the polls show those wanting to

Pre-Open Sentiment Indicates A Positive Open
The major indexes have been see sawing this week, with not much to show for all that movement. Pre open sentiment indicates a positive open for today’s session, with stability in the currency markets and momentum in oil prices

Sweeping Wealth Under The Mat
I wish I had the answer to correct the wealth imbalance between the average Joe and the ultra-rich. Personally I see no evidence that disproportionately taxing the rich to gift the poor will do anything to correct the imbalance. The rich have the wherewithal to avoid, recoup, reorganize …. any solution to create

A statistic about the U.S. economy that may surprise you
Many commentators seem to be pessimistically focused on the U.S. economy’s weak wage growth and manufacturing sector trouble. They don’t appear to be paying attention to the signs that the U.S. economy has actually been operating at a

Will Markets Continue to Gain?
Stocks appear to have lost the upward thrust in recent days that pushed them to new highs for the year, with the absence of any fresh catalysts as the primary reason for this tentative mood. Pre open sentiment indicates

Stocks Indicated to Open in Green
Stocks are indicated to start today’s session in positive territory following broad market weakness in the last few sessions. Favorable data out of China and gains in oil prices are driving the opening gains, but minutes of the last

Towers of Dabble: Commercial Real Estate Signals Trouble Ahead?
Man’s long determined history of dabbling in the building of touted towers, surely not for his self-gratification, but rather to bring him closer to God, has rarely been met with benevolence. Maybe God doesn’t like man, who He created after all, attempting to smash through His glass ceiling. Consider, if you will,

FX: Will FOMC Minutes Boost the Buck?
Market Drivers April 06, 2016 CNY Services bit better FOMC Minutes on tap Nikkei -0.11% Dax -0.27% Oil $36/bbl Gold $1226/oz. Europe and Asia : CNY Caixin 52.2 vs. 51.2 North America : CAD Ivey PMI 10:00 USD FOMC Minutes 14:00 It’s been a quiet night of trade in the currency market with yen demand dominating

Renewed Crude Decline
The major indexes are on track for a weak open, with fresh weakness in oil prices and soft economic readings out of Europe reigniting growth worries. The strong rally off the February lows has been losing its sheen lately,

Is the Fed on the right track?
I’ve pointed out many times here on the Blog that the Federal Reserve (Fed) missed its window to raise interest rates nearly three years ago, when conditions were ripe for a hike. After hearing Fed Chief Janet Yellen’s

FX: RBA, Fed & 5 More Things to Watch This Week
Daily FX Market Roundup 04.4.16 By Kathy Lien, Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management We have a very busy economic calendar this week filled with market moving events that range from tier 1 economic reports, a central bank meeting to speeches by top policymakers. Today’s price action is a

Attractive Under-The-Radar Merger Arbitrage Opportunity
By Aleksander Hansen This is a short write up as the value proposition here is simple and straight forward. The opportunity is most suitable for advanced individual investors as well as smaller fund managers RIAs due to the market

E-Commerce: Shifting The Tide Of Industrial Demand
By Chilton REIT Team Industrial facilities, though out of sight to many, play an integral role in our economy. An industrial warehouse is often where a small business gets its start. It’s cheap, flexible, and spacious. At the opposite

Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate: Election Day Approaches
By Nicholas Marshi The BDC Activist (a publication of the BDC Reporter) had a quick first look at the latest struggle between a business development company’s external manager and a would be change maker back in late January 2016.

Are America's Workers Playing Hard to Get?
Penelope Pussycat might not be the most iconic of Generation X cartoon characters, but she does stand alone in her capacity to confuse. Penelope, a lovely black and white fluff ball of a cat, had a seemingly inescapable penchant for finding herself the unsuspecting wearer of an unnatural and very skunk-like white

Benchmarks Likely to Remain Positive
Stocks have done really well lately, with the major indexes at their highs for the year on the back of improving sentiment for the U.S. economy and hopes of continuing Fed support. Pre open sentiment indicates that the trend

March Non-Farm Payroll Data Matched Estimates
The ‘headline’ March non farm payroll reading essentially matched estimates, with job gains of 215K vs. estimates of 213K and 245K in February (revised higher from the originally reported 242K read). The unemployment rate ticked up to 5% from

FX: Dollar Droops Ahead of Payroll Numbers
Market Drivers April 1, 2016 Dollar weakness persists UK PMI misses EURGBP at 15 month highs Nikkei -3.55% Dax -1.50% Oil $38/bbl Gold $1234/oz. Europe and Asia : CNY PMI Manufacturing 50.2 vs. 49.4 EUR PMI Manufacturing 51.6 vs. 51.4 GBP PMI Manufacturing 51 vs. 51.2 North America : USD NFPS 8:30 USD ISM

Standing Too Close To A Problem Can Make You Ignorant
There is truth in the old adage that many cannot see the forest for the trees. I have seen financiers and engineers faced with a problem, pull out a calculator, and puke out analysis with solutions missing the big picture. In some ways – Bosch, Audi, Porsche and VW are faced with the results of this dilemma with

Why The Payroll Number Tomorrow Is Not Important
We end the first quarter of 2016 today.  Within the month we’ve seen crude drop to $26, stocks declined 11%, and interest rates (the 10 year Treasury) dropped by more than 75 basis points.  That was just shortly AFTER the Fed raised rates for the first time in nine years. Still, for an investor that ignored it all,

Will Payrolls Help USD? Don't Bet On It
The U.S. dollar is trading steady to lower against most of the major currencies ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls report.  It was weaker in the first part of the North American trading session but clawed back towards the end of the day. This suggests that investors are cautiously hopeful that labor, the one if