USD/JPY – A Pair You Can Learn From

We’ve discussed how important this pair is with respect to it’s “drive in equity markets” ( with JPY being sold/borrowed then converted to USD in order to purchase equities ) and it’s interesting to note that:

Regardless of whatever fluctuations we’ve now seen around Yellen’s “slightly more hawkish” comments….USD/JPY refuses to break higher thru the downward sloping trend line that has contained it for so long.

What would appear as “USD strength across the board” really only manifests as a couple pips rise in USD/JPY.

This is because strength in JPY is even GREATER. With both currencies taking inflows only JPY taking MORE creating a net result of USD/JPY falling “lower”.

This may appear counter intuitive as one might imagine “well USD is going higher….this pair should also be going higher right?” WRONG.

Understanding the fundamentals behind this pairs movement can tell you a lot about market’s appetite for risk as “USD will be converted BACK to YEN as U.S equities are sold.

A stronger Yen correlates to “weaker U.S Equities” near 95%.

Something to add to your toolbox if  it’s not already in there.

I’m adding short USD/JPY here at 101.63

Stocks Up And USD Down – You Can't Have Both

This is what I’ve been getting at for some time – with respect to the never-ending “money printing” and “phony elevation” of U.S stock prices.

You can’t have high stock prices and a weak currency forever, as “at some point” the scales will tip back, and the currency will rise as assets priced in USD are sold.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too….or at least – not forever.

The Fed “needs” a weak dollar, in order to satisfy a number of its sinister plans.

  • A weak dollar helps “dramatically” when considering the amount of debt the U.S has. Paying out with “freshly minted funny money” has been quite a strategy indeed.
  • A weak dollar helps promote exports and encourages investors abroad to “buy U.S.A” cuz – with respect to your their own currency, everything looks cheap cheap!
  • A weak dollar translating into low-interest rates allows big corporations to “borrow cheap” ( too bad they then just go an invest the money in other countries though eh?)
  • Low interest rates force seniors ( who can’t make a return on savings ) into higher risk assets like the stock market, where they can then be completely and totally fleeced by the Fed’s big bankster buddies.
  • A weak dollar translates into inflated stock prices which deceives the general public believing  that “everything is ok” as long as the stock market remains elevated.

And  on and on and on and on and on…….

As of today….we are FINALLY seeing the inverse correlation of “a stronger USD and weaker stocks” start to take shape..as it well should!

A stronger US Dollar is a complete and total disaster for the U.S economy as along with it comes rising interest rates –  at a time where the U.S is already “practically” in recession.

The Fed has printed America into a deep deep corner as the ship finally starts to turn, with a rising dollar and falling equity prices finally putting the “fundamental balances” back in place.

4 More Days – USD Toast Or Treasure?

If you can believe it – the U.S Dollar has spent the entire last week “still hovering” near a well-known area of support, showing absolutely no interest in “getting off its ass” and making a move higher.

As forex markets have a tendency to move sideways for extended periods of time, this should come as no real surprise but in having held a number of small positions ( almost averaged out now ) “long USD” for some time now, I’m only giving it a couple more days before just “going with my gut” and likely pulling a “stop n reverse” – getting back on the short side of this dud.

The overall weakness and lack of any real “life” suggests ( as I’ve now suggested for some days ) that regardless of any “near term pop” – USD looks pretty much set on breaking support and continuing on its merry way – into the basement.

Considering the lack of movement ( in either direction ) scratching a trade that has consumed nearly two full weeks of trading doesn’t put a smile on my face. Not at all. If you consider the time and effort, and in turn the “lack of reward” you can easily see why we call this “work”.

I’ll give this dud a couple more days to “prove itself” but as it stands…..I’m a hair away from flat-out “stop and reverse”, wherein the probability of an actual “waterfall” exists.

It’s make it or break it time for USD. 4 days Max.

Forex_Kong_Face_Book

Forex_Kong_Face_Book

 

Low Volume – New Year Balancing Act

I would caution not to get too “too excited” here – getting back to trading for the first day of the new year. Many portfolio manager types will be busy “re balancing” as a number of asset classes “appear” to be sitting right near areas of possible correction.

The fantastic “dip” in USD I caught a couple of days ago ( as an extra little Christmas present ) has very quickly been replaced by an early morning “surge” here this morning, as gold has also made a nice bump up of 17 – 18 bucks.

Japan’s Nikkei has certainly stalled here “around the 16,000” area so we’ll need to keep an eye on that as well.

All in all I imagine today as well tomorrow (heading into the weekend) should be a couple more days of relatively low volume, with larger / more pronounced swings in price. Not exactly the environment for making any big decisions or making and larger trades. It’s easy to get “swayed” when you see something move a considerable amount in one direction or another, thinking you’ve missed something when in reality it makes a lot more sense to sit it out – until volume returns, and prices find a more stable footing / direction.

Technically speaking, today’s move in USD looks to have done “some damage” to the prevailing downtrend “but” – I’m not looking to take it into account yet….with the new year balancing act / shenanigans playing out as they normally do.

I am also watching AUD like a hawk, as in my view – she’s not looking very good here across the board.

Trading Nightmare – I'm Awake And In Profit

One of my computers called me about an hour and a half ago.

Plucked from the grasp of yet another “unsettling dream” ( for what ever reason I am continually plagued by dreams of having my teeth pulled / ripped / removed / taken in ever increasingly “bizarre fashion” ) I welcomed the alert, and eagerly leapt from the bed to silence the soft repeating tone.

Several trades had been picked up, and to my surprise – the U.S Dollar taking a relatively huge hit as the London sessions moved into their first couple hours trading. My surprise? Of course not – you know that. Everything moving accordingly to plan with the added bonus of still having every single tooth intact! How wonderful!

And with so many caught in nightmares of their own, gobbling up useless news stories of tapering and the assumed effect of a “much stronger dollar”.

EUR and GBP are obviously the biggest winners here as per trades in the comment section some hours ago as well a quick tweet.

The “tooth removal” dreams are extremely unpleasant, and it’s really no wonder I don’t sleep a whole lot. Thankfully I was “saved by the bell” here this evening, and rewarded with some fantastic trade entries.

In celebration I plan to eat 3 lbs of chocolate, a full tub of ice cream and as many stale candy canes as I can wrestle from the kids across the street.

UPDATE:

I can fully understand that this must be moving way to fast for some of you as…..only hours later (in fact less ) I’ve already banked just under 400 pips across the board in 6 pairs total, and will now be looking for pull back on smaller time frames – and of course re entry.

When some of this goes down in the “dead of night” I don’t imagine there is much some of you can do about it , not having the alerts / computers chiming, the lifestyle ( never sleeping, no kids , no other job, likely insanity ) let alone the interest / dedication / commitment.

We’ll have to find a solution moving forward.

U.S GDP Data – Totally Bogus

You can get in here and argue your case til the cows come home! – and I honestly hope that you do, as perhaps you’ve some insight / information that can better help me understand.

The U.S data released this morning is absolutely hilarious. Not just “kind of funny” but so absolutely outside the realm of believable that I’m literally “on the floor laughing”.

Let’s see what the markets make of both this “ridiculous GDP number” and the “magical drop” in unemployment.

I’ve only added to USD shorts as well watching Japan continue to slide with long JPY’s starting to take shape.

Short and sweet this morning, as I want to get “back to the circus” as soon as possible.

I’ve not had this much fun in a while!

USD will continue to be sold here.

 

USD Bullish Or Bearish? – You Tell Me?

I think it’s fantastic that I’ve “managed to wrangle” a number of intelligent readers here at Pot Stock Watch, and that these guys also offer their opinions / beliefs / suggestions and projections.

You can surf around the net for a “looooooong time” searching for some of the “nuggets” that turn up in the comments section here at the site, with a large portion of these insights coming from a “small handful” of some mighty intelligent people.

Yesterday’s post on “the proposed downward slide of the U.S Dollar” brought about a couple of fantastic “alternate views” which I appreciate in that – we enter the world of “speculation” when we start looking out over longer periods of time – where in theory “it’s impossible” for anyone to “actually know” how things will play out.

Throwing the ball around with others allows for a better perspective, an acceptance of alternate views and an “opening of the mind” should you be so closed as to only consider your own ideas, as correct.

The future path for the U.S Dollar (having such impact on all else) seems like as good a place to start as any so…..I welcome “any and all” to weigh in on this post ( as I will leave the comments section open for eternity ) as to provide a lasting resource for readers in the future.

USD bullish or bearish? You tell me?

USD Headed Lower – And Then Lower

This won’t come as a surprise…coming from me but – USD is headed much lower.

I think it’s about time – we’ve had enough of this “mucking around” at these levels, having more or less “danced around” the past few months. It’s time for the next leg down.

I don’t have time here this morning but if you want to pull up a general chart of the $dxy or in some platform (like stockcharts) $USD, I’d get your sights set on a serious of long red candles taking us down into that area around 75 – 72 in coming months.

If this “doesn’t” correspond to an “inverse move” in the price of gold and silver ( looking at is as such a dramatic decrease in USD value ) I will be forced to take on “the Habanero challenge” as I have offered several times in the past.

Up 3% overnight alone with the majority “still coming” from trades entered in GBP vs Commods in the weeks past. I suspect the Nikkei will “attempt” a solid double / retest top at 16,000 ( the high from May ) as JPY futures inversely “double bottom” shortly.

Enjoy:

Done Deal – The U.S Is Now China

The plans/suggestions emerging from the weekend’s meetings in China are staggering!!

Ok ok….a little dramatic and perhaps overstated but get this…..

As part of an evolving proposal Beijing has been developing quietly since 2009 to convert more than $1 trillion of U.S debt it owns into equity, China would own U.S. businesses, U.S. infrastructure and U.S. high-value land, all with a U.S. government guarantee against loss!

The Obama administration, under the plan, would grant a financial guarantee as an inducement for China to convert U.S. debt into Chinese direct equity investment. China would take ownership of successful U.S. corporations, potentially profitable infrastructure projects and high-value U.S. real estate.

These points have been discussed for several years now so it’s really not anything new ( although I’m sure it’s the first you’ve heard of it ) but the message is very clear.

China will not tolerate / watch their dollar denominated assets ( treasury bonds ) go up in smoke via currency crisis and crash of the U.S dollar – BUT WILL ACCEPT HAVING THIS DEBT TURNED INTO DIRECT INVESTMENT IN OWNERSHIP OF U.S BUSINESSES AND LAND.

GOVERNMENT GUARANTEED!

Brilliant…..absolutely brilliant.

 

U.S Debt Downgraded By Chinese

Finally we get a solid move on the fundamentals, as last nights downgrade of U.S debt from Chinese ratings agency “Dagong” sent the U.S Dollar spiralling down.

Now Dagong is no “Moody’s or Fitch” ( currently rating on “negative watch” ) but this in itself brings about a very interesting point.

A Chinese ratings agency having such a significant impact on the dollar? Wow.

You might expect this kind of move given that a “reputable” agency in the U.S gave the “thumbs down” on the debt ceiling debacle sure…but a Chinese ratings agency?

As the largest holder of U.S Debt / Treasury Securities on the planet it is now painfully clear how much influence China truly has. The agency suggested that, while a default has been averted by a last-minute agreement in Congress, the fundamental situation of debt growth outpacing fiscal income and GDP remains unchanged. “Hence the government is still approaching the verge of default crisis, a situation that cannot be substantially alleviated in the foreseeable future”.

Kicking the can a couple of months further down the road makes little difference when the U.S will just be back in the news then…..still unable to pay its bills.

The short USD trades obviously made big moves here overnight, but not exactly as expected. Great gains in EUR, GBP as well CHF but oddly the “commodity currencies” have shot higher. An interesting dynamic and certainly one to keep an eye on as NZD as well AUD approach overbought levels.

Gold up a wopping 34 bucks here this morning, so perhaps we’ve got the “risk off” flows on the move.