Markets

Thus far the SNB has successfully blocked the Swiss franc's appreciation relatively cheaply. Compare the bang it got from about CHF18 bln intervention last year with the record operations by Japanese officials. The SNB has various ways it…

The LTRO's provided more than 1 trillion euros of liquidity. An under-appreciated aspect of the virtuous cycle, was the bank balance sheets improved not just because of cheaper cost of capital, but because there was a significant rally in…

The German 2-year note has dropped below Japan's for the first time ever, with the German 2-year note yielding 0.109%, a record low. Japan's 2-year note yield is 0.111%. Meanwhile, the 10-year bund is at 1.638%, nearing the record low of…

As full liquidity returns to the markets for the first time in nearly a week, the US dollar and Japanese yen have rallied. First though weak short euros and long yen cross positions were squeezed in early Asia, but by the time Europe…

This chart from the Wall Street Journal explains visually what worries me about the supercharged run up in the S&P500. While the index is increasing, earnings growth is not.

Given a clearly overbought market, the re-emergence of Europe's sovereign debt problem and the Fed reducing the imminence of QE3, even the bulls concede that a correction is likely. Overall, however, investors remain optimistic, and are…

Take a look at the long-term charts of crude oil and natural gas. The historical oil-to-gas price ratio had ranged from 6:1 to 10:1 before the economic crisis. Since one barrel of oil contains the energy equivalent of the 5.825 million…

The yen was the weakest of the major currencies in Q1, losing about 7.2% against the dollar. There was a clear shift in both speculative and portfolio flows. This is just one of seven observations about the Yen via Marc Chandler.

The US dollar remains broadly firmer as euro zone concerns pressure below the surface. Increased euro zone tensions encouraged the market to test the SNB’s resolve at capping the franc against the euro.

The minutes from the March FOMC meeting have continued to drive the dollar higher, except against the yen, and bonds and stocks lower. Especially in the context of Bernanke's recent remarks, the, should we say less than dovish, tone to the…