http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/http://mediaserver.fxstreet.com/images/fxstreet-provider-logo1-en.gif7http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-11-17.htmlPresident Obama’s trip to Asia is one part introduction, one part diplomatic dialogue and eight parts competitive economics. Whatever understandings are reached with leaders of Japan, South Korean or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) in Singapore, it is the visit to Beijing that matters. The American President would like China’s cooperation on the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, a more flexible currency policy for the yuan, open trade and continued ChineseTue, 17 Nov 2009 08:20:07 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-11-17.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-11-11.htmlThe Peninsula Hotel in Beijing has far more staff than its counterpart in New York. Squads of doormen hail cabs, busboys compete for baggage, water glasses are filled in the restaurant without asking. In the department stores nearby dozens of sales clerks idly rearrange merchandise and getting there is simple, Beijing may be the easiest major city in which to find a cab. Service positions are more than plentiful in the Chinese capital. Which raises a question about Chinese business, does itWed, 11 Nov 2009 08:22:25 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-11-11.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-11-03.htmlThis is the first in a two part column on the Chinese economy On the weekends the line to see Chairman Mao’s’ body in his mausoleum in Tiananmen Square can stretch for blocks. This fall Beijing is full of Chinese tourists. In the Forbidden City, in the Summer Palace and especially in the brand new malls and shopping complexes, groups of rural tourists in matching red or yellow baseball caps troop diligently behind their guides and stare at the big new city. These travelers are from an olderTue, 03 Nov 2009 08:23:10 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-11-03.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-10-16.htmlThe spectacular rise in gold, now hovering in record territory, has been fostered by three very different conceptions: gold as a trader’s choice, gold as a theoretical proof and gold as a historical metaphor. For the believers in metaphor the ascent of the metal is an augury for the decline of the West; for the theoreticians it is the only secure defense against inflation; for the traders it is a momentum purchase not to be missed. All three groups are buying gold and as yet, none have beenFri, 16 Oct 2009 09:19:22 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-10-16.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-10-01.htmlBonds markets are telling investors that a prolonged period of low rates will be necessary to dig out from the deepest recession in almost a century. In the United States short rates are effectively zero. The American 10 year bond closed at 3.32% on Friday, a minimal ask considering the record amounts of debt issued and to be issued by the Federal Government. Bond investors have not demanded a premium return for taking on ever greater amounts of debt. The flood tide of government debenturesThu, 01 Oct 2009 07:23:49 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-10-01.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-22.htmlThe weak dollar threat to bonds Currency rhetoric and Treasuries Washington's economic agenda China's strategic interest When yields on the 10 Year Treasury note were climbing to 4.0% last spring bond traders fears were focused three items: the Federal Reserve’s liquidity provisions, the Obama administration’s ten year deficit projections and the inflationary potential of both programs. The collapse in Treasury prices prompted the Fed’s entry into the Treasury market. Its $300 billon programTue, 22 Sep 2009 07:56:20 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-22.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-15.htmlThe yen carry trade was one of the great runs in modern currency history. A long position opened in late in late 2003 and held until mid-2007 appreciated over 30% in capital and could have earned upwards of 7% a year on the interest rate spread. At the trade’s height from mid-2005 until the summer of 2007 the trajectory of yen crosses rose with barely a correction. Japanese rates in that period never rose above 0.5%. The worldwide lure of yen funding was not only the extremely low cost ofTue, 15 Sep 2009 06:51:17 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-15.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-10.htmlOne of the most surprising developments of the financial crisis and recession has been the continued strength of the Japanese Yen. The return of relative stability to the world financial system has not prevented the yen from retaining the majority of its crisis induced advances. The Japanese currency has held onto about 75% of its gains against the dollar, 65% versus the euro, 60% from the aussie and 75% from the sterling. In comparison the dollar has retained only 47% of its euro gain, 33% ofThu, 10 Sep 2009 10:23:03 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-10.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-01.htmlHave the Chinese engineered a spectacular economic recovery, the envy of the industrial world or has Beijing created a version of the American housing and credit bubble of the past decade? The China jury is still out. But despite the evident confidence in the mainland story shown by the commodity and currency markets there are worrying signs that the end of the government stimulus spending will seriously dampen the Chinese economic resurgence. When the Chinese Government announced their fourTue, 01 Sep 2009 08:57:38 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-09-01.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-08-11.htmlA trading turning point? Security dollar versus repatriating dollar The fear bubble in dollar assets If no economy recovers can the dollar rise? The reaction of traders to Friday’s Non Farm Payrolls may be the most concrete sign that the currency markets are coming to the end of the financial crisis. The initial response was, as it has been since the unwinding of the security dollar bubble began in March, to sell the dollar against the euro. But the dollar sellers exhausted themselves afterTue, 11 Aug 2009 07:39:46 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-08-11.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-08-05.htmlChinese economic growth has cushioned the effects of the worldwide recession in New Zealand and Australia. Both countries export large amounts of raw materials to Asian manufacturing centers, China foremost. The yuan is fixed to the dollar (unofficially) the aussie and kiwi are not. The Australian economy has avoided recession; the New Zealand economy shrank just 1.0% for two successive quarters. As China returns to strong economic growth and the potential for internal unrest diminishes, theWed, 05 Aug 2009 06:33:21 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-08-05.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-07-21.htmlSince late May the dollar has traded in a limited four figure range against the euro - limited and a bit odd. Good American economic news pushes the dollar down; bad news returns it to favor. May Non Farm Payrolls, unexpectedly positive, gave the dollar a fainting spell. The June numbers, worse than predicted, revived the greenback. Retail sales figures and consumer confidence have gradually returned from oblivion and the value of the dollar ebbed as they rose. Risk aversion is the standardTue, 21 Jul 2009 07:34:32 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-07-21.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-07-07.htmlThe origin of the Group of Eight was an invitation from French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1975 to six of the major World War Two combatants to meet at Rambouillet in France. Leaders from West Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the United States, Japan and France attended that first meeting. The impetus to the summit, if not the sole topic, was the first post war economic challenge to the west, the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. In 1976 Canada was invited to join and the group stayed at sevenTue, 07 Jul 2009 06:54:38 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-07-07.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-29.htmlIn the past three weeks there have been several indications that the Federal Reserve is reconsidering the extent and perhaps necessity of its extraordinary liquidity provisions to the Treasury market. How far have the chairman and governors pulled back from their quantitative easing policy? On June 3rd Chairman Bernanke commented in Congressional testimony that federal deficits cannot continue forever. In fact the deficits can continue, but the Fed’s $300 billion Treasury purchase plan willMon, 29 Jun 2009 15:51:42 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-29.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-22.htmlThe currency market view of quantitative easing Monetization or a stable dollar The normalization of Treasury rates A foreign veto on quantitative easing? After a few months out of the currency spotlight the Federal Reserve will once again be the focus for traders when the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. This time it will not be the Fed Funds target rate, the central bank’s chief historical policy tool, that will be the locus of interestMon, 22 Jun 2009 14:34:27 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-22.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-17.htmlThe divergence of Treasury yields and the Dollar Fed rate policy--double bind or double blind? Quantitative easing and the long term value of the Dollar The 10 year yield returns from oblivion In a normal world these two charts would be complementary. As interest rates on the 10-year Treasuries rise one could reasonably expect the Dollar Index to follow. But ever since March 18th when the Federal Reserve announced its $300 billion quantitative easing policy, the divergence has beenWed, 17 Jun 2009 08:51:23 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-17.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-08.htmlHigher consumer sentiment is not the gateway to recovery Consumer debt reduction continues at high levels The Fed conundrum: fund the government or the consumer Relief is not recovery Several confidence measures in the United States have returned to the levels they held before the great financial collapse last fall. Do they presage an impending economic recovery? US Consumer Confidence readings from the Conference Board and University of Michigan have pulled out of their deep post SeptemberMon, 08 Jun 2009 14:30:31 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-08.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-03.htmlThe factors driving the Dollar seem to vary with the season. Last fall at the height of the financial crisis safe haven flows trumped all considerations; at one point investors accepted zero return for the security of holding US debt. The Dollar rose 17% against the Euro in a month and made similar gains versus the Pound Sterling, the Canadian Dollar, the Swiss Franc and the Australian and New Zealand Dollars. But even at maximum market panic Dollar superiority was not total; the imploding YenWed, 03 Jun 2009 06:59:41 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-06-03.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-27.htmlThursday and Friday presented the unusual spectacle of American equities, Treasuries and the dollar all falling at the same time. The price of 10-year Treasury Notes dropped more last week than any week since June 2008; the rate rose above 3.4% for the first time since last November. The dollar tumbled below 1.4000 to the euro for the first time this year. Its 3.6% loss for the week was the largest decline against the euro after it sank 4.8% in the five days to March 20th. And the Dow declinedWed, 27 May 2009 07:36:01 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-27.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-19.htmlThe unstated risks of consumer economic modeling Tracking a permanent change in consumer spending Sentiment versus consumption Is the consumer the last to know? Economic analysis anticipates the future through mathematical equations. If interest rates are reduced by a certain percentage then the economy can be expected to grow by x factor. The difficulty in accurate prediction arises from the assumptions disguised within the formulas. For the American consumer it is beginning to look like oneTue, 19 May 2009 09:39:54 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-19.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-11.htmlThere are two standard definitions of recession. The first, two succeeding quarters of negative GDP is traditional, straightforward and evident as the statistics are released. By this definition the United States has been in recession since the third quarter of 2008 when the economy contracted by 0.5% followed by a negative 6.3% in the first quarter of 2009. The second definition is compiled by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private research organization, and uses a farMon, 11 May 2009 13:07:02 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-11.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-06.htmlHas central bank currency intervention gone out of style? Two extreme cases in the past year should have beckoned intervention: the all time high of the euro against the dollar last summer and the 15 year high of the yen in late January. But despite the damage that was being done to the European and Japanese exports by their strong currencies, neither central bank intervened. Why have central bankers eschewed one of their primary tools for effecting violent change in the currency markets? AtWed, 06 May 2009 06:41:51 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-05-06.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-27.htmlIt has been a long road for the European Central Bank and its head Jean Claude Trichet. In less than a year the most anti-inflationary of the world’s central banks has moved from strict monetary conservatism to the verge of sub 1.0% interest rates and to serious consideration of quantitative easing, leaving many principles in its wake. It is not the fact that the ECB has followed the rest of the world’s central banks in pouring liquidity into the banking and monetary systems of Europe that isMon, 27 Apr 2009 13:52:00 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-27.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-14.htmlLast Thursday the American equities had an excellent day. The three major averages rose more than 3.0% capping a five week rally that has been the sharpest since 1933. Wells Fargo, the large California bank, was the catalyst as it reported much better than expected first quarter earnings. But the entire financial sector participated, as speculation followed the Wells Fargo report and a press story that all major US banks will pass the Treasury Department’s ‘stress tests’ that the financialTue, 14 Apr 2009 06:44:15 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-14.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-10.htmlThe chief savior for the United States in this economic, financial and banking crisis, aside from China of course, will be the American consumer. If United States economic growth is to resume there is no possible substitute for American consumer spending. It is the average US family budget that is the ultimate object of all government plans and business investment. The chief economic justification for the Washington stimulus package is that it will replace jobs and income lost through theFri, 10 Apr 2009 11:16:15 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-10.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-01.htmlThe view from a jetliner at 30,000 feet can be clarifying. So the view of the American economy and its prospects from abroad can be instructive. From overseas the latest Washington political gaffe or media outrage doesn't even make it to translation. No one in Saudi Arabia, where I have been for a week, asked me if I thought the Democrats or Republicans were responsible for the AIG bonuses. Perhaps it was simple courtesy, but more likely it was not considered important enough to discuss. ThatWed, 01 Apr 2009 06:26:34 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-04-01.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-03-24.htmlThe spectre haunting Federal Reserve monetary policy is the fear of deflation. A prolonged period of falling prices presses down on both the productive and the consumption sides of the economy. Businesses lose pricing power and face shrinking revenues even if they maintain sales levels. Consumers, frightened by job losses and discouraged by the collapse in family wealth postpone purchases, particularly of large items like homes and cars. Businesses with falling revenues fire workers, who buyTue, 24 Mar 2009 08:01:29 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-03-24.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-03-23.htmlIt was not the language of diplomacy and disguised meaning. Chinese President Wen Jiabao’s admonition to the American Government: “I want to ask the United States to protect its credit rating, honor its words and ensure the safety of China’s assets”, was not a request it was a lecture and it was a warning. China’s influence over US economic and political policy is on the rise. This was a public notice from the highest reaches of the Beijing administration. Chinese economic interests do notMon, 23 Mar 2009 09:57:13 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-03-23.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-03-03.htmlWhat accounts for the sudden renaissance of fundamental economic analysis among Yen traders? Since the January 21st peak at 87.10 the Japanese currency has lost 12% against the Dollar in five weeks. The amount of the loss is comparable to the panic induced crash last September and October when the Euro lost 17% against the Dollar and the Dollar shed 14% versus the Yen. Certainly there is enough bad news out of Japan to justify such a reversal in the Yen’s fortunes if the developments had beenTue, 03 Mar 2009 11:34:42 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-03-03.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-02-17.html$787 billion. A bill so hurried that it is questionable if any Representative or Senator who voted on it read the entire text. $311 billion in discretionary spending, much of it not until 2010 and 2011, $285 billion in tax cuts and $191 billion in increased benefits spending. Will this stimulus help the economy in 2009? Last year's $168 billion stimulus did almost nothing to bolster consumer spending, most of the money went into saving or to pay down debt. Obama advisor David Axelrod isTue, 17 Feb 2009 09:38:37 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-02-17.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-02-02.htmlWhat is the most important statistic in economics? Yes, that is a trick question. It is the one that signals the end of the recession. By the time this downturn is over that number may be the most famous economic indicator of the past generation. But as diligently as it has been sought it has not yet arrived. In the United States there are no signs that the recession has even reached a bottom, let alone evinced signs of recovery. The United States housing market, sub-prime, prime, foreclosedMon, 02 Feb 2009 16:33:15 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-02-02.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-01-26.htmlThe British Pound Sterling has suffered more from the financial crisis and recession than any other major currency. From its high point of just over 2.1100 in November 2007 to its Friday close at 1.3812 the Sterling has lost 35% of its worth against the US Dollar. It has sustained similar losses against the Yen, 51%, the Euro 44%, and the Swiss Franc 36%. In comparison the Euro has declined only 19% against the Dollar, 32.1% versus the Japanese Yen, and 11% against the Swiss Franc; theMon, 26 Jan 2009 17:05:30 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-01-26.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-01-13.htmlIs there logic to Friday's move in the Dollar? Despite atrocious job numbers and indications of a deepening American recession the Dollar gained against all of its competitors except the Japanese Yen. The United States unemployment rate jumped 0.4% to 7.2% in December. In February of last year the rate was 4.8%. In eleven months the percentage of the work force seeking but unable to find work has increased by 50%. American job rolls shed 524,000 paychecks in December with an additional 154,000Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:04:33 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-01-13.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-01-05.htmlThe Chinese New Year does not begin until January 26th but her economic future was foretold back in September and October when American consumer and credit spending collapsed leading the world into its deepest recession in a generation China's exports shrank 2.2% in November; the first decline is seven years. The Shanghai Stock Exchange lost almost 70% of its value in 2008. Chinese factories, particularly those feeding export industries are closing, unemployment is rising and wages andMon, 05 Jan 2009 09:53:34 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2009-01-05.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-12-22.htmlIn journalism it is the month of August when all the newsmakers are on vacation. The business movers are in the Hamptons, the political shakers are back in their Congressional districts but the print pages and websites still need to be filled with copy. So writers dig deep into human interest, a dog hero here a quintuplet there, perhaps a fish and cat love story. Stories that would never see the light of day in another season are front and center above the fold. Currency traders may not beMon, 22 Dec 2008 09:16:27 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-12-22.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-12-09.htmlOn first analysis it would seem that the survival or not of the American automobile manufacturers will have little direct effect on the dollar. The United States economy is no longer a manufacturing economy, less than 20 % of GDP is directly tied to produce goods. Though the US is still the world's top manufacturing nation by total value, autos are not a US export. In 2005 the value of US produced goods was $1.5 trillion, 1.5 times the value of the production of the next country Japan. The USTue, 09 Dec 2008 08:39:00 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-12-09.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-12-01.htmlIn December 1989 the Nikkei Index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at 38,915.87. Nineteen years later it is at 8,512.27. The current Bank of Japan overnight call rate is 0.3%, the lowest central bank rate in the industrialized world. This benchmark Japanese interest rate has been at 0.5% or lower since 1996, including more than five years of zero rate policy while the Bank of Japan was fighting incipient deflation. Two straight quarters of negative growth this year have put Japan into anMon, 01 Dec 2008 14:35:00 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-12-01.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-11-25.htmlThe August 2007 to July 2008 euro bubble ended spectacularly. In three months of trading the united currency lost almost quarter of its value against the dollar. Valuations in bubble markets are divorced from reality, they are propelled higher by the internal logic of profit. As long as participants in the market can push prices higher then some will make money and the bubble is self-sustaining. But when the collapse comes is it swift, deep and usually irreversible. Bubble markets do notTue, 25 Nov 2008 17:47:58 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-11-25.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-11-10.htmlAmerican equity investors are worried about the incoming Obama administration. The Democratic candidate's campaign promises to raise capital gains and marginal tax rates are viewed by many as a dangerous burden for a recessionary economy. But the President elect's tax and fiscal plans will have little effect on the positive prospects for the US Dollar. In the context of the world's economies US marginal tax rates and fiscal policy matter far less than the comparative advantage that low USMon, 10 Nov 2008 14:17:41 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-11-10.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-11-03.htmlThe demise of the carry trade and its associated components is without parallel in the history of modern currency trading. But the extraordinary rise and fall of the carry did not take place in the isolation of the currency markets. It was part of the worldwide search for trading profits fueled by cheap credit, leverage and the ability to flash money around the world in an electronic instant. The same factors that propelled the carry higher and then wrote its collapse drove the commodityMon, 03 Nov 2008 10:08:55 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/info@fxsol.com (FX Solutions)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-directions/2008-11-03.html