Opinions

The ECB took aggressive steps today surprising markets just how far Mario Draghi went pulling out the big guns after two years of promises. The biggest question is will this really help the European economy rebound. Will this easing reach the man on the streets. Will this stimulus help Italy’s

The futures and Forex markets are set up for volatile reactions to the widely expected monetary easing announcement by the European Central Bank. Traders should expect expanded ranges and volatility. Several markets are set up for breakouts that could lead to major moves. These include the EUR/USD, Gold and the

All Eyes On ECB. In the wake of the release of solid jobs figures the market is getting a busy week, and it will start early. Chinese leaders will meet in Beijing for the National People’s Congress (NPC). Market expectations for this meeting are not very high; however the release

The USD/CAD Pair Depreciates Sharply in February The Canadian dollar has shown incredible resolve in its uphill climb against the greenback since the middle of January 2016. The loonie was trading at over 1.46000 to the USD barely a month ago, but has since clawed its way back to 1.35116,

Traders should be focusing on several asset classes this week based on the price action last Friday. The boost to U.S. consumer spending and GDP already has investors talking about a sooner than expected rate hike. This puts the emphasis on the February jobs data report due out on March

The market was mainly focused on the Brexit story last week as Boris Johnson, the popular Mayor of London, publicly supported an exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The upcoming discussions surrounding a potential Brexit will therefore continue to weigh heavily on the pound sterling. Meanwhile in

Issues keep going for Deutsche Bank.  There are growing concerns that the German bank may not pay coupon on its riskiest bonds next year. Its massive derivatives exposure starts also to alarm financial markets. In the U.S., data remain soft even if inflation has slightly picked up. Yet it has

To stay or to go, is the big question that is being asked in the UK today. If David Cameron is granted his wish list by the EU can he sell it to his supporters and secure a vote to remain in the Eurozone. Eurozone leaders have brought it down

The week has been extremely volatile. Stock markets went up and down as Janet Yellen admitted in front of the congress that the Fed would consider negatives interest rates but she was not sure “if it could be possible”. Uncertainties are definitely flying over the market and driving broad-based risk

The Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen appeared last Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee to discuss the economy and monetary policy. Investors, including myself, were eagerly waiting to see a strong and clear dovish sign regarding future interest rate hikes. Such a sign is desperately needed to give some

Key Takeaways The US Dollar has been trading higher against the past several months and also tested the 125.00 handle. However, it looks like the US Dollar may have created a major top against the Japanese Yen if we look at the higher timeframe chart like the monthly chart. There

The world is brimming with crude, and refiners and consumers are enjoying a bonanza at the expense of producers, reversing the trend of recent years. But a fall in upstream investment and a lack of urgency in climate change negotiations could be storing up problems for the future. The one

Global markets entered what could end up being called a true panic, much of the credit expansion of the last few years has been miss allocated towards emerging markets and commodities. The long-term thesis is that much of the global expansion in production for the last few decades has been

Valentine’s day is a day of love, romance, and of course, the market process. On this special day lovers across the U.S.—and Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe—buy roses for their sweethearts.  A beautiful gift, roses are.  Pricey too, especially on Valentine’s Day. The traditional gifts include

Over the past several years, the US and its allies and in some cases the citizens of several middle east countries have deposed their violent leaders. What did leaders in countries like Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Syria as well as many African nations as well as Cuba have in common. They

Most of us know about Bitcoin now even though it’s been around less than a decade it has moved to our mainstream vocabulary. Bitcoin supporter and miners have done a great deal pushing press and keeping in the headlines. Bitcoin skyrocketed from less than $200 to more than $1,000 in

In keeping with the theme encircling emerging markets, Brazil’s economy is feeling the full impact of weak trade, rampant commodity deflation, and political disaster.  In the wake of retreating trade with China and plunging prices for key exports such as oil and iron ore, the economy has undergone a rapid

With the lifting of sanctions, Iran would be able to export as much crude oil to the world as it can, or as much as it can find demand for. Before imposing an oil embargo on Iran in 2012, one in every five barrels of Iranian crude went to European

This week we need to pay our respects to one of the greatest musicians of our times.  I grew up with David Bowie who was an icon and symbol of the hard rock and roll era. I remember Bowie for his music, his on stage and off stage antics and

OPEC learned valuable lessons in recent years. When oil prices are high, there is simply too much incentive for the opposition to want to claim a slice of the pie. And that’s precisely what happened when OPEC enjoyed the benefits of oil prices over $100 per barrel. The enticement for