Markets

Highlights The US dollar was mostly softer vs. the majors, but remained in narrow trading ranges as both UK and US markets were closed for holidays.  While the euro saw a brief respite, we believe that the negative news stream will…

The euro has surrendered its earlier gain, dropping a full cent from the session highs set in early Europe just above $1.2450. The short-term technical indicators were a bit stretched, but the proximate cause seems to be news from the…

The US dollar is mostly little changed today. The main feature is the covering of short euro positions and this has lifted the single currency to new four-day highs against the dollar. As we have noted in recent days, its downside momentum…

Last year I told you that Berkshire had 62 derivative contracts that I manage. (We also have a few left in the General Re runoff book.) Today, we have 94 of these, and they fall into two categories. First, we have written 54 contracts…

Three month dollar LIBOR has edged up again today.  It has risen every day since May 10th, though the pace has slowed.  This reflects the demand for dollar funding.  While the focus in on European banks, the scramble to…

Bill Gross is a bond guy. And in the bond world, the return of capital counts for a heck of a lot more than the return on capital. So, naturally, with debts being socialized from the private to the public sector, Gross has been asking…

Nothing is so bad, that it isn't good for something. So goes an old adage in my home country (and I would imagine elsewhere too) and perhaps if hard-burdened Eurozone policy makers and investors are finding it hard to find any kind…

Here are two stories that I have picked up on in the last hour that demonstrate how contagion spreads during a panic. Both stories involved the strongest of actors within the Eurozone. The first story is from Spain. The Wall Street Journal…

Strong upward pressure on the dollar emanating from the European debt crisis and the tensions on the Korean peninsula apparently was countered by intervention from several Asian central banks. At one point the dollar was nearly 5.25%…

On May 7th, the market covered some short euro exposure in anticipation of some sort of response by European officials.  As we know they came up with a large package of guarantees (not just for Greece) and loans, and the ECB provided…