By Mike Conlon, ForexNews.com on Oct 20, 2011
This morning all eyes are on Athens where the Greek rioters are protesting against further austerity measures which are to be voted to ensure that Greece is taking the steps necessary to continue the bailout discussion. The Troika will be reporting the economic state of affairs in Greece but so far the sentiment has been that that was Greece has done is insufficient to date.
Yet there is some positive news coming regarding the EFSF, though at this stage they are just rumors and not confirmed. Supposedly, the EFSF will be able to buy bonds on the secondary market provided there are no bank solvency issues. What this means is that they can be a “constant bid” to attempt to keep rates lower and then they can re-package and flip them or hold to maturity or whatever. However, the size of the fund is still in question and whether or not they will leverage that remains to be seen.
Producer prices in Germany came in slightly higher than expected, and the German government GDP forecast showed a growth rate of 1%, much lower than the 2.9% they have experienced.
In other news that just hit the wire, in Libya Momar Gaddafi is being reported dead.
Earlier in the UK, retail sales figures came in much better than expected, showing a monthly gain of .7% vs. an expectation of .2%. This could be a function of higher price expectations because the BOE is seen as being inflationary. But I must say, so far the BOE has been wrong in many of their economic assessments and should inflation persist, the UK economy could come to a grinding halt.
Here in the US, Initial jobless claims came in at the usual 400K, and later this morning we will get existing home sales figures, the leading indicators, and the Philly Fed. Throw in a little Fed speak and there is just enough to inspire some volatility.
We are very range-bound at these levels as the Euro debt crisis continues to maintain a stranglehold on these markets and the anxiety increases with every TV report of another Greek rioter lobbing a Molotov cocktail.
Yet US stock earnings have been coming in positively despite the economic climate as corporations are lean and mean and sitting on mountains of cash, yet the market uncertainty thanks to the political gamesmanship in Washington is keeping them from hiring. While lack of demand is always cited as the “cause”, it is actually the effect of bad policy and not the other way around.
The super-committee that is charged with deficit reduction here in the US is likely going to be ineffective so it will be more of the same. However, these problems seem minor compared to what is taking place in Europe and this weekends meeting may produce progress toward resolution, or it may not.
Meanwhile, my short gold trade triggered yesterday as the Bear Flag pattern completed, with an initial price target of $1500, and then $1440.
Tomorrow could be a risk aversion kind of day, so today we may see some cautious risk taking, though today is likely to be an “inside day” producing neither new recent highs or lows.
At this point the rumor mill is in high gear so there could be mid-day volatility based upon unconfirmed reports. This market is more conducive toward short-term trading at this point, as the uncertainty is still high and risk at a premium.
Regards,
Mike Conlon,
Senior Forex Mentor
www.forexnews.com
