Since we last checked in on the South African Rand (ZAR) in June 2021, the currency was appreciating toward multi-year highs of 13.37 ZAR per US dollar, previously not seen since January 2019. In the proceeding five months, leading up to the present, the USD has staged a comeback against the South African currency and is now level with the average exchange value...
With its back up against a wall, the US Federal Reserve has pledged to begin tapering its asset purchase program. Beginning later this month, the Federal Reserve will reduce the number of US Treasury Securities it purchases each month by US $10 billion and the number of Mortgage-Backed Securities by US $5 billion.
How did the USD react to the Federal Reserve...
What do we know about the Metaverse?
The Metaverse is a concept (for now). A concept that has motivated Facebook to change its branding to Meta and begin developing the infrastructure of a meta-universe. The drastic pivot that Facebook is attempting to pull off, the Company hopes, will put it at the forefront of the internet’s “next frontier”, just as it was a...
As of writing, the DXY is trading at 93.355, down by 0.50% on Thursday trading.
GDP growth in the US may be contributing to this 4-week low in the dollar index. GDP growth missed expectations for Q3 2021, reporting in at 2.0% rather than the expected 2.7%. Q3’s GDP growth represents the lowest value reported for this data point since the US began to recover from...
Last Wednesday, Former US President Donald Trump announced the creation of his Media Company, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) as well as its planned merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: DWAC).
Within four days, the NASDAQ-listed DWAC stock had grown by 740%. At the close of the Monday trading day (25/10/21), DWAC was trading at US $83.86....
Q3 earning season is currently underway, and most high-profile companies are delivering revenue beats. Yet, Q3 revenue is not the only thing investors are watching. Investors are interested in revenue growth, customer acquisition, and pace of growth alongside the balance sheet. Inflationary and supply chain pressures that may affect the outlook of reporting...
Inflation data from outside the US should pique traders interest this week. Several major economies will be reporting on actual inflation figures experienced during September 2021.
Will they match their forecasted values, or will the data follow US inflation and surprisingly creep upward?
Who should be watching the inflation data?
Traders of the Great...
As a trader, it’s a general rule of thumb that we should always be looking to maximise potential returns (per unit of risk) with each transaction. We should always be looking to squeeze as much out of the market as we can.
There are times when this can occur by simply letting the trade run its course. However, sometimes market conditions align perfectly for savvy...
The Nonfarm Payroll (aka, NFP report) is making a habit of missing its forecast by wide margins. September’s NFP rolled on Friday, revealing that a meagre 194K jobs had been added to the US economy last month. Perhaps the NFP report wouldn’t have been as disappointing had forecasts not predicted September added 500K jobs for the month.
Job growth held to...
It is hard to find a positive word about Facebook (NASDAQ FB), possibly for a good reason.
As the dominant social media platform, it has experienced its fair share of controversy and accusations of impropriety since its inception in 2004. Controversies that readily come to mind include misusing user data and helping bad-faith actors interfere with US elections....
Traders that have taken a long position on Natural Gas will have been feeling lighter than air for the better part of 2021. Remarkably, the trading price of Natural Gas has rocketed up 115% since the beginning of the year, outperforming price increases in other commodities currently sitting close to record highs, Oats (up by 63.83% YTD), Copper (up by 19.65% YTD),...
The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI), which tracks the performance of all stock listed on The Tadawul, has recorded a 30.34% increase since the beginning of 2021.
However, the TASI is sitting at a peak level, which appears to be a repetition of the previous boom and bust cycle. The TASI was in a comparable position in late 2014 and late 2007, before wiping out more...
The New Zealand dollar against the U.S. dollar is facing a critical fundamental event tomorrow: RBNZ's Interest Rate decision. New Zealand has been fortunate that the government's decision to go "hard and fast" has meant citizens have had relative freedom through Christmas and New Years'.
The NZD/USD is currently sitting at around 0.732, up around 1.37% over the...
The New Zealand dollar against the U.S. dollar is facing a critical fundamental event tomorrow: RBNZ’s Interest Rate decision. New Zealand has been fortunate that the government’s decision to go “hard and fast” has meant citizens have had relative freedom through Christmas and New Years’.
NZD/USD eying out RBNZ meeting
The NZD/USD is currently sitting at around...
Week ahead
· CNY PBoC Interest Rate Decision
· NZD Retail Sales Q4 & RBNZ Interest Rate Decision
· GBP Unemployment Rate 3m
· USD GDP Q4
We have a relatively fair number of economic events this week ahead. However, they are relatively significant in their effect on the financial markets and further fundamental guidance.
We've seen risk-on in...
We have seen a clear downtrend in the USD/JPY since the U.S peaked in early April. The Coronavirus saw a rush to the cash, specifically the Greenback.
However, with the financial markets roaring back to life since then, the love for the Greenback has faded. Furthermore, many Japanese investors bringing back their capital out of U.S stocks back into their home...
NZD/AUD is approaching a robust congested area at around 0.925. A downwards channel sees a possible move further lower may see the pair come a level below 0.9. However, an action lower will be dictated on which economy puts the brakes on monetary stimulus first.
Monetary policy dictated by the state of the economy
During the peak of the Coronavirus, the best...
Markets are Frothy
Here's an interesting juxtaposition. There are currently just over 25 Million Currently Infected Patients of Covid-19, with 2.4 million deaths*. However,
· Tesla is up nearly 2,000% since the start of 2019. A luxury electric car company whose slim profit can be primarily contributed to government credits is worth more than Facebook.
· WTI,...
