Yen Drops Against All Major Currencies as BOJ Adds Stimulus

Yen Drops Against All Major Currencies as BOJ Adds Stimul - Bloomberg

The yen fell by the most since 1995 against its developed-nation counterparts as the Bank of Japan added economic stimulus and signs Europe’s debt crisis was abating damped safety demand.  The 17-nation euro strengthened against the dollar and the yen during the quarter after regional leaders agreed on a second bailout for Greece, spurring optimism that the region was recovering from its financial crisis. Higher-yielding currencies, led by Mexico’s peso, rose on signs the U.S. economy was picking up. The U.S. is forecast to report a fourth month of job gains of more than 200,000 April 6.

Is gold overpriced relative to other commodities?

Is gold overpriced relative to other commodities? - MarketWatch

Gold stocks are quite popular among hedge funds these days, and with good reason. John Paulson , who is very bullish about gold, made $5 billion by betting on gold in 2010. As of December 31, 2011, the largest position in the 13F portfolio of his Paulson & Co was the gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) SPDR Gold Trust GLD +0.52% , in which Paulson had over $2.6 billion invested.

Charting the American consumer ignoring gas prices

Charting the American consumer ignoring gas prices - The Week in Charts - MarketWatch

Consumer spending for the second straight month outpaced personal income growth, according to the Commerce Department. Economists such as those at PNC say the income data is likely to be revised higher, so consumers really aren’t dipping into their savings as much as the statistics suggest. Consumers spent more money on a broad variety of goods and services in February, especially new cars and trucks, but also on gasoline.

Copper ends first quarter up 11 percent despite China fears

Copper ends first quarter up 11 percent despite China fears | Reuters

Copper rose 11 percent in the quarter, up more than any other quarter since surging of almost 20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The first-quarter gain came on the heels of an 8-percent rise in the final three months of 2011, as European debt crisis fears receded and healthier economic signals in the United States helped drive investment demand at a time when fears about an impending slowdown in China, which accounts for about 40 percent of global copper demand, have escalated.

Soft China landing to cap 2012 commodities gains

Soft China landing to cap 2012 commodities gains | Reuters


SHANGHAI, March 31 (Reuters) - China's cooling economic growth will cap gains in commodities prices and temper the roaring earnings performance of mining companies. But easier credit and fresh spending on infrastructure will likely drive a strong medium-term outlook.
Soft manufacturing data last week coupled with warnings about economic risks by two of China's most influential government think-tanks have shaken confidence in the strength of commodities demand in the world's No. 2 economy, hammering miners' shares and pulling oil and base metals prices lower.

FX Concepts’s Taylor Exits Bets on Commodity Currencies

FX Concepts’s Taylor Exits Bets on Commodity Currencies - Bloomberg

John Taylor, founder of the currency hedge fund FX Concepts LLC, said he is ending bets that commodity-based currencies will appreciate as slowing Asia growth damps metal prices. “If you look at Australia or South Africa, these currencies have come under a lot of pressure as commodity prices in general, copper, steel, iron and iron ore, have been heading lower,” Taylor said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness with Margaret Brennan.” China’s growth “is headed in the wrong direction. Imports of certain critical material are going down, and prices are going down on the products that it imports. It just doesn’t look healthy.”