Weekend news: Greece back in the spot-light, Jean-Claude Juncker concerned for EU

Ross J Burland FXStreet

The weekend did not give us any dramas for the open today, but for me, the main news is back with Greece and the EU in respect to populism and a failed EU project in the making.

Over the weekend, there was continued and mounting concerns over Greek debt with the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, that considers himself as a ruthless truth teller on Greece, was speaking in an interview on German Radio - (Note: He also announced that he will step down when his current term ends in 2019). Alarmingly, but not totally surprising, he said the bailout program for Greece could fall apart. This comes as most IMF directors have believed that more relief for Greece may be required to restore debt sustainability. Mr Juncker also said that the UK could divide opinion among EU leaders once Brexit negotiations begin.

Other headlines

Other headlines that caught attention included Federal Reserve's Fischer who said that there is significant uncertainty about US fiscal policy, although he doesn't feel that the Dodd-Frank, as a whole, is going to be repealed by Trump's administration in respect to market reform's Trump was looking to implement.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

GBP/USD flirts with tops near 1.3470

GBP/USD manages to regain composure and challenge the area of daily highs around 1.3470 on Friday. Cable picks up pace despite marginal gains in the Greenback in a context of swelling geopolitical tensions and rising global oil prices.

EUR/USD trims losses, back above 1.1500

EUR/USD picks up some pace and bouces off earlier lows, reclaiming the 1.1500 threshold and beyond at the end of the week. The pair’s modest pullback follows a persistent risk-averse market mood and renewed buying interest for the US Dollar.

Gold: The $4,000 mark holds the downside for now

Gold faces renewed selling pressure, falling sharply toweard the $4,000 mark per troy ounce as the US Dollar regains momentum. Escalating US-Iran tensions are keeping inflation concerns and expectations of further Fed rate hikes alive, weighing further on the yellow metal.

Bitcoin eyes 50-day EMA breakout, Ethereum consolidates, XRP steadies

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple trade near key technical levels on Friday as the broader cryptocurrency market pauses following last week's recovery. BTC is approaching the 50-day Exponential Moving Average while ETH continues to consolidate between two major EMAs.

Warsh needs to restore his reputation

We were glad to see our deeply negative reaction to the Warsh press conference was not some personal peculiarity. Just about everybody in the financial press felt the same way. The consensus is building it’s not the Fed in the dog-house but only Warsh. Today the WSJ changed it tune and blasted Warsh—"the honeymoon is already over..”

9-3: Is the Federal Reserve’s vote tally Warsh's new forward guidance?

The rate did not move. Neither did the statement, and that’s the more interesting fact. Set the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement beside the one issued on June 17, and the two documents are identical apart from a single verb and a paragraph at the bottom naming three dissenters.