Markets

News that Moody's cut Greece's credit rating to Ba1 from A3 is encouraging the market to do what it was already doing and that is paring the euro's earlier sharp gains.   This was a four notch downgrade, which reflects the…

For the fifth day, the euro is recording higher highs and higher lows. It has advanced by roughly 3.25% since last Monday's lows.  While we recognize an improved news stream, the main circumstances of the European debt crisis have not…

By Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman Highlights The US dollar is extending last week’s pullback in what appears to be largely position adjustments, partly as a function of a better news stream and a healthier appetite for…

Muni investors are acting as if there is no default risk in the municipal bond market based on yields.  It's a bit like the conditions in the eurozone before the sovereign debt crisis. The Wall Street Journal reports: Investors are…

Highlights The US dollar is mixed in choppy trading as yesterday’s sharp moves are consolidated.  The shallowness of the euro’s pullback suggests continued position squaring may be taking place.  Some short-term momentum players…

The following is the weekly commentary from Comstock Partners, which makes the point that housing has not turned the corner decisively and this is at odds with even the recent S&P bottom of 1040. While the market has been focused on…

Frederick Sheehan is the author of Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Two significant changes are pushing markets towards a shakeout. First,…

News is that the German Constitutional Court has rejected efforts to block Germany from participating in the guarantees that are a critical part of the Stabilization Mechanism.   While many expected such a ruling, there was a…

Highlights The US dollar is softer across the board and is indeed at new lows for the week against most of the major currencies ahead of a relatively constructive string of economic data and rate hikes from New Zealand and Brazil, a…

The June Monthly Commentary By Annaly Capital Management. The Economy: The financial crisis is not over The Residential Mortgage Market: The tale of "fails" in the mortgage market The Commercial Mortgage Market:…