Coffee Mogul Defends Loans

Employees of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. knew company founder Robert Stiller as a low-key yoga aficionado who wore sweaters to work, preached the importance of charity and made sure the staff had access to meditation rooms.  It turns out the 68-year-old Mr. Stiller also bought costly real estate and piled up hundreds of millions of dollars in debt borrowed against his company stock and other investments.

Euro-zone fears as new elections beckon for Greece

Two of the last Treasury bond bulls stood up the other day and made their best case for the worst case.

China, ECB odd bedfellows in the euro’s resilience

China, ECB odd bedfellows in the euro’s resilience - Michael Casey's FX Horizons - MarketWatch

Central-bank policies explain why buyers frequently emerged whenever the euro dipped below $1.30 in February, March and April. And they’re preventing it from collapsing more rapidly now that it has finally broken below that level and has reached its weakest point since Jan. 25.

Treasury bond ‘bubble’ is nothing to fear

Treasury bond ‘bubble’ is nothing to fear - Jonathan Burton's Life Savings - MarketWatch

Market strategist David Rosenberg and economist Lacy Hunt — who both see 30-year Treasury yields diving to 2% as prices surge — addressed hedge-fund investors and money managers in separate sessions last week at the Altegris Strategic Investment Conference in Carlsbad, Calif.  Their message: Don’t hate the long bond because it’s beautiful.  “There are substantial capital gains in the long Treasurys,” Hunt said in an interview, “and even greater on zero-coupon Treasurys.”

Trader's Radar: Sell and Even Buy in May, but Don't Go Away

There’s a saying on Wall Street, “Sell in May and go away” which suggests bulls take some time off after the historically strong “Best Six” calendar period. No doubt that on the heels of 2011 – 2012’s massive percentage climb during that same stretch, investors might stand to do extra well heeding that advice.   Bulls may also wish to consider a bearish Fibonacci-based butterfly top in place. We’ve diligently followed the weekly pattern the last couple months and see its completion as a reason for bulls to not expect higher highs in the broader market anytime soon. On the other hand, history doesn’t always repeat itself or if it does, it doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for some bulls along the way.

EFSF bailout fund approves Greek emergency payment | Reuters

(Reuters) - Euro zone governments kept Greece afloat on Wednesday after agreeing a payment of 5.2 billion euros from the region's bailout fund, despite opposition from some member states following the Greek election results.

Commodities Fall Broadly On Concerns About Europe - TheStreet

Doubts about Europe's political and economic future drove prices down for a wide range of commodities Tuesday as worries persisted about future demand for everything from copper and oil to soybeans.
Metals prices were hit hard. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium all fell. Energy and agricultural products were mixed.

Natixis plans to shut commodities brokerage unit | Reuters

(Reuters) - French bank Natixis (CNAT.PA) said it plans to close its commodities trading division, as one of the oldest ringdealing members of the London Metal Exchange becomes the latest victim of the European debt crisis.  The bank had "wound up" Natixis Commodities Markets (NCM), which offers derivatives on a range of metals, fuels and commodities as part of its CIB adaptation plan, the bank said in its earnings statement on Wednesday.

With Nowhere Else To Go, Investors Buy Bonds

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Bond yields bumped along record-low yields yet again Wednesday as investors chose lower returns over higher risk.  Simmering concern about Europe's ability to come to grips with its debt crisis fed the fear, which bolstered prices for perceived safe-haven investments like U.S. Treasurys and high-grade corporate bonds.  The U.S. Treasury, for example, was able to sell 10-year debt at the lowest yield on record, and the yield on an index of investment-grade corporate debt also reached a new record low, albeit by a fraction of a basis point. Debt prices move inversely to their yields.  "It's not cheap," Gary Pollack, head of fixed-income trading at DB Private Wealth Management, said of the Treasury auction, "but it's more about wanting the safety."

Euro Under Pressure But Still Waiting for Daily Close Below 1.3000 - Until Now

Inside Futures: Relevant trading-focused information authored by key players in the futures, options and forex industries

Although the outlook for the Euro does not look good at this point, we would highlight that the market still has been unable to put in a daily close below 1.3000…

• Greece political uncertainty fuels fears of contagion
• Euro under pressure but yet to close below 1.3000
• Commodity bloc and emerging market FX most exposed

The ongoing political turmoil in Europe continues to shake the markets, with the inability for Greece to form a government now fueling speculation that the country might soon exit the Eurozone. Although an exit by Greece would have only a minimal impact on the broader economy, given the country’s size, fears of contagion seem to be the bigger problem right now, as investors start to price in the impact this will have on larger economies like Spain and Italy.

Trend, Counter-Trend, and Volatility Trading

Inside Futures: Relevant trading-focused information authored by key players in the futures, options and forex industries

Starting with trend trading, the issue becomes which trend are we talking about? There are three types of trends: long-term, intermediate, and short-term. The answer is simple; it is the one that we select to trade from at our initial entry. Way too often I hear from students who have jumped on a trade for a quick scalp (short-term timeframe) yet as it went against them, they stayed in it for the remainder of the trading session waiting for a reversal back to their original forecast. As the closing bell approached, they did not want to close the losing trade so they left it open overnight, which turned the initial scalp into a swing trade (an intermediate timeframe trade that could last several days). But wait, their story doesn’t stop there. Because there is no stop loss, they have held onto a loser in the hope that it will come back, so they can at least exit flat. Hence the original scalp trade evolved from a short intraday trade into a swing intermediate trade that could last several days and then maybe even into a position trade that is in reality an investment, or long term position. Why? Just because the time frame that was being traded was never clearly defined.

Japanese Yen Back to its Neckline

Inside Futures: Relevant trading-focused information authored by key players in the futures, options and forex industries

Since the Japanese Yen broke its neckline of 12582 (http://bit.ly/wB63eA), the market fell into its support range of 11931-11697 from April of 2011 and completed its head/shoulder target of 11900 March of this year.  The support level has been defended and following the completion of the head/shoulders the market has gone into short covering which has now led the market back into testing its neckline of 12582 from where the market broke down from.  This neckline now provides the market great resistance as it retests the level.  A failure at this level is needed to show itself before actually defending the level so that a reference point for a stop can be given.  Resisting this level gives room to move back lower and take out the 11931-11697 support range to test its next major support at 11375 to retrace into the 2010 flash crash highs from where this market broke out from.  Should this neckline be squeezed, the next major resistance seen is up to 13030.

Greece Threatens To Destroy Euro, France's Hollande Rejects Austerity

The European sovereign debt crisis has entered a new phase of complexity after Sunday’s elections in France and Greece, where the real winner was the popular backlash against austerity.  A political impasse in Greece that could derail efforts on structural reforms and the implementation of austerity, along with French president-elect Francois Hollande seeking to renegotiate the EU’s fiscal compact, means Germany’s Angela Merkel has lost key allies in her attempts to save the Eurozone through austerity.

Why Gold Could Be Setting Up For A Killer Comeback - Forbes

The stars could be aligning for gold to return to its decade-long bull run, recently punctuated by sideways trading over the last couple of months.  The yellow metal is getting murdered on Tuesday, down more than $40 in New York, but an intense resurgence of political risk in Europe and a couple of months of weak jobs numbers in the U.S. put stimulus definitely back on the table: safe-haven flows, currency debasement, all of these are gold-positive.

Greece Could Be Out Of The Eurozone As Early As This Summer - Forbes

As the tide turns in Europe and voters reject austerity, the possibility of a Greek Eurozone exit has taken real proportions once again.  The rise of the Greek far-left, with Alexis Tsipras of the Syriza party now trying to build a government based on the rejection of Troika-imposed austerity and structural reform, has been the main catalyst.  An ECB board member, Fitch Ratings’ CEO, and the head of an important hedge fund have all publicly accepted a Greek exit as possible, while Citi reportedly raised its probability that the Hellenic Republic leaves the Eurozone by 2013 to 75%.  The ball, it seems, is already rolling.

Roubini: EU To Break Up Once Contagion Hits Italy And Spain - Forbes

Political uncertainty continues to rise in Europe as Greek politicians fail to build a government and more EU leaders, including German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, raise the possibility of an exit from the monetary union.  Another Euro bear was economist Nouriel Roubini, who expects Greece to leave the EU in 2013, sparking contagion and the possible fall of the Union if Spain and Italy are hit too hard.  Spain, said Roubini, will lose market access by the end of this year.  Still, the economist admitted to having 35% of his money in U.S. equities on a can-kicking earnings recovery.

Deutsche Bank fends off surging Citigroup as top currency trader

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG held off Citigroup Inc. to keep its position as top foreign-exchange trader for an eighth-straight year in an annual survey by Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc, even as its market share slipped below 15 percent.

Treasuries up on Greece, US may sell notes at record low yield

May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury 10-year note yields fell below 1.8% for the first time since February as Greek politicians struggled to form a government, adding to concern that Europe’s financial turmoil is deepening and boosting demand for the safest securities.

Oil falls as economy and demand growth sputter

The oil complex and most risk asset markets are all struggling to recover from the sudden drop that hit all of the markets this week after the elections in Europe. The low of the week is still the level made during the first hour of trading on Sunday night with many markets still holding that short term support level. That said, gold has not and is now trading well below the low and below the $1,600 per ounce level. Commodities and equities have been a strong downside move for the last several weeks with most multi-commodity indices now at levels not seen since the end of last year. In other words most commodity gains for 2012 have been completely wiped out. This is certainly not a good outcome for the producing or natural resource countries but it is certainly a big positive for the consuming world in that the savings on the cost of purchase of commodities should work its way to the consumer who should now have more income available for discretionary and non-discretionary purchases. It is also a big positive in reducing the risk of price inflation.

Australian Dollar Heads To Parity On Greek Worries

CURRENCIES: Australian Dollar Heads To Parity On Greek Worries

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- The Australian dollar fell closer to parity with its U.S counterpart on Wednesday, weighed down by concerns about Greece's political future.  The Australian dollar traded at $1.0057, down from $1.0125 in late North American trading Tuesday, when it touched a session low of $1.0087.

Unusual Pairings Emerge in Currency Market

Unusual Pairings Emerge in Currency Market - WSJ.com
 
A small but increasing number of investors are trading emerging-market currencies against each other, rather than against the dollar, say analysts and traders.  Unusual "crosses," such as the South African rand versus the Israeli shekel and the Mexican peso against the Brazilian real, are becoming more common, some investors say, as volatility has ebbed and trading volumes in emerging-market currencies have risen.