First Ben, then Jean-Claude, now Wen in national figures impacting markets with their rhetoric. Throw in the political action of oil reserve releases and we have another week of government event risk impacting markets both up and down and making the market almost unanalyzable day to day. I’m glad I went macro because there used to be a time when I just read annual reports. In our new world, micro research no longer suffices and there is no wonder volumes have been declining for two years, who wants to play in this new world? Chinese Premier Wen used the FT to give his State of the Union address but it was his comments specifically on their inflation battle that had Asian markets higher as they implied he would step off the tightening peddle. Wen said “There is concern as to whether China can rein in inflation and sustain its rapid development. My answer is an emphatic yes.” In terms of the steps taken, “these have worked. The overall price level is within a controllable range and is expected to drop steadily.” With Greece, the weekend will be spent by the PM and his supporters to convince the opposition to vote yes next week on their updated budget with more spending cuts and higher taxes. While without passage Greece would default, the opposition is right in wanting to pass pro growth strategies as part of the deal. German IFO business confidence was unexpectedly up slightly.
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: