Financial Planners

Gold gained for a second day in New York as concern Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis is worsening spurs demand for the metal as a protection of wealth. The euro reached a four-month low versus the dollar after Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece’s long-term credit rating, citing heightened risk that the nation may not ... Continue Reading

U.S. banks increased sales of protection against credit losses to holders of Greek, Portuguese, Irish, Spanish and Italian debt in the last quarter of 2011 as the European debt crisis escalated. Guarantees provided by U.S. lenders on government, bank and corporate debt in those countries rose 10 percent from the previous ... Continue Reading

Asian bourses have ended trading, hitting four-month lows as weaker US data added to rising worries over Europe. Commodities and their currency sensitive pairings are not immune to the surround sound of contagion fears. Gold has been able to dig itself out of Monday’s bear market trap, ending on a ... Continue Reading

Canada looks like a safe bet to be the first amongst the G8 members to hike rates. Last month’s inflation figures were a tad stronger than expected, topping Governor Carney’s +2% inflation target. Despite the small breach, no CBank in this stuttering economic environment would be rushing to raise rates. ... Continue Reading

The collapse of efforts to form a Greek government this week has reinforced, for many, the bullish outlook for the big dollar. The run-up to Greek parliamentary elections on June 17 will be marked by continued concerns about a disorderly exit from monetary union. The market currently sees contagion fears ... Continue Reading

World shares slid and German borrowing costs hit record lows on Friday as a deepening Spanish banking crisis, uncertainty about Greece’s future in the euro zone and lacklustre U.S. data bolstered safe-haven assets. World stocks, as measured by the MSCI index, dropped 0.7 percent and are now below where they began ... Continue Reading

The third largest IPO in corporate history, the largest in tech, is about to make a few specs very wealthy today. Frantic Facebook Friday’s enthusiasm does not seem to be spilling over to disrupt the dour mood of FX. The 50% of Americans who believe that Facebook is a fad, ... Continue Reading

This market needs to catch its breath after the selling pressure across currencies and the blood bath in equities this week. It can be rather monotonous to listen to the euphoric rants of the EUR bear. To date, it has been an unfair playing field. They have all the negative ... Continue Reading

With only enough cash on hand to keep the country afloat for just another month or so, the noose is tightening on Greece. The next aid installment – approximately 30 billion euros – is desperately needed to meet upcoming debt obligations, but is contingent upon Greece first implementing a further ... Continue Reading

Grexit has not occurred yet, but contagion is surely here, just look at the unsustainable debt financing levels in Spain. The EUR squeeze continues, albeit painfully slow. When Capital markets eventually go for the Greek kill, euro policy makers will not have had the time to put in place a ... Continue Reading