Wednesday, 29 July 2015

FED : Risk Event or Non-Risk Event?

Ladies and Gentlemen,


 Today the two day Federal Reserve meetings start. Chairwoman Janet Yellen is not holding a press conference and updated economic projections will not be released. This meeting is dismissed as a ‘non-event’, however the statement will be released at 19:00 BST and should be digested quickly just in case it is an ‘event’. Look out for the following:-





  •       Rates on hold, the last rate hike was in 2006, a hint might be given by tweaking their description of the economy.

  •           The Fed has a dual mandate, both employment and stable prices.  An upbeat assessment of the job market whilst energy prices have weakened could signal lift-off.

  •           The last five Fed Policy Statements have been approved by a 10-0 vote, will this unanimity last forever? Jeffrey Lacker, Richmond Fed President, is seen as the possible dissenter


If this is a non-event we have to wait until September 17 for our next guidance

Good Luck

Anish S. Lal @anish8fx
FX & Precious Metals, Atom8 Financial Services LLP
2nd Floor, Centenary House, Palliser Road, London W14 9EQ, UK
T: +44(0)20 3405 3910 | M: +44 (0)7983701816 | anish.lal@atom8.com | www.atom8.com

Risk Warning

Trading on margin (spread betting, CFDs and FX) carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors.  The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you.  Before deciding to trade your live account, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite.  You could lose more than your initial investment and should not trade with funds you cannot afford to lose.  You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.

Friday, 10 July 2015

Will the markets gap for a third week in a row at market open?

Dear  Traders

Will the markets gap for a third week in a row at market open?

EU leaders have issued an ultimatum to the Greek government, ‘reach an agreement with your creditors or face crashing out of €uro’
Alexis Tspiras has made a three year proposal and it looks as if Germany are bowing to pressure to avoid a disastrous rupture to monetary union.
It is acknowledged that Greece’s public debt, 180% of GDP, can never be repaid and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “a classic haircut” is out of question.

If you look at the FX option market, volatility has fallen, are investors missing the point that the GREXIT could happen this week end?

Below is the time line for the next 72 hours

Athens have formally submitted a request for a three year bailout. The two previous bail outs where submitted before the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) even existed. The European Commission in liaison with the ECB must evaluate this request in 24hours.

Saturday
Under the ESM treaty, the ESM’s board of governors (the Eurozone’s 19 finance ministers) decide whether formal negotiations should begin.
If there are grounds for progression the trio of bailout monitors – the ECB, the European Commission and IMF - will develop a ‘memorandum of understanding’. This title may be changed as it presently stands for the austerity measures that the Greek people are living under.

Sunday
If the Eurozone’s finance minister agree to commence bail out talks this summit may not be needed. However if no deal has been struck, leaders from all 28 EU countries will be summoned to Brussels to sort out the mess. There is a humanitarian relief programme that may be required for fuel, food and medicine.

Monday
If a deal has been approved by the finance ministers then parliamentary approval will be need before permission is officially granted
If no deal has been agreed then the ECB governing council will convene to withdraw the €89bn and the GREXIT will ensue


I hope this helps your understanding of the events. 

Friday, 3 July 2015

The Greek Drama reaches the final curtain, YES or NO?

Dear Traders 

This week end the Greek people get to decide whether or not to accept the bailout conditions proposed jointly by the European Commission(EC), the IMF and ECB on 25th June 2015

Legal Validity

Today the Greece’s top administrative court, the Council of State, is due to rule on the legality of the referendum
The referendum may violate the country’s constitution by posing a question about public finances

The Question

Voters will be asked whether they approve the proposal made to Greece by the EU, the IMF and the ECB during the Eurogroup meeting on 25 June.
The proposal consists of two documents, titled Reforms for the completion of the Current Program and Beyond, and Preliminary Debt sustainability analysis.
The question will contain two choices stated as
·         Those citizens that reject the proposal of the three institutions vote 'No’ – not approved
·         Those citizens that agree with the proposal of the three institutions vote 'Yes' – approved

Alex Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Greece, recommends a ‘No’ vote
Although the consequence might be the exit of Greece from the Eurozone, there has been rhetoric that this could be used as a tool for Greece to renegotiate its position within Europe.
From a practical point of view the banks re open on July 7th

The Polls

I have seen 4 polls the latest was from the University of Macedonia with 1,042 people survey 42.5% Yes and 43% no.
Alco’s polls was a ‘yes’ whilst Focus and pro rata were both ‘no’

This is all destabilising and if the price action from last week end is anything to go by then a move lower in €/$ is what we expect.
Our original comment was that 20th July was is the most significant date as the ECB’s position will harden if their payment is missed


Enjoy your week end if you can.

Anish S. Lal @anish8fx
FX & Precious Metals Sales, Atom8 Financial Services LLP
2nd Floor, Centenary House, Palliser Road, London W14 9EQ, UK
T: +44(0)20 3405 3910 | M: +44 (0)7983701816 | anish.lal@atom8.com | www.atom8.com

Risk Warning
Trading on margin (spread betting, CFDs and FX) carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors.  The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you.  Before deciding to trade your live account, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite.  You could lose more than your initial investment and should not trade with funds you cannot afford to lose.  You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.
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Wednesday, 1 July 2015

NFP Thursday

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

The markets have been very clearly focused on Europe and specifically Greece in the last few trading sessions.

 

Tomorrow, this temporarily changes as we have the US Non-Farm Payroll number at 1.30 BST

 

The ADP employment change data today was better than expected today at 237k when 218k was consensus, this is often seen as a pre cursor for the NFPs

 

The ISM manufacturing number was also better than expected at 53.5 when 53.2 was expected, so where does this lead us.

 

The NFP consensus is 233k and last month the number was 280k but everyone knows ‘The Fed’ is data dependant and with two additional job reports before the September Fed meeting does anyone care?

 

Yes, the split seems to be how many rate hikes will there be before year end, one or two?

 

However we may need to look away from the headline figure and understand what is going on beneath the bonnet to assess how the Fed voters will interrupt the numbers

 

The labor participation rate needs to be improving, average earnings need to be ticking up the year on year, the rate is presently 2.3% and aggregate income growth needs to be positive.

 

As ever the devil is in the detail

 

Good Luck 

 

Anish Lal