Ascent Blog

  • Euro Hit As Sovereign Debt Fears Resurface
    The euro was massacred on the second trading day of the week falling more than 150 points in overnight trade after a Wall Street Journal article suggested that this summer’s bank stress tests were insufficient raising fresh concerns in the FX market regarding the quality of sovereign debt in the region. The WSJ article claimed that the tests published in July understated the banks holdings of potentially risk sovereign debt. The Journal noted that, “Some banks excluded certain bonds, and many reduced the sums to account for ‘short’ positions they held—facts that neither regulators nor most banks disclosed when the test results were published in late July.”
  • Aussie Weakens As Political and Monetary Risks Weigh
    The Aussie dollar fell towards the .9100 cent mark after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates unchanged and the Labor party finally won enough independent votes to form a minority coalition government.
  • Euro Hold Ground, But Cable Drops Further in Quiet Holiday Trade
    With US on holiday until tomorrow, currency markets remained predictably quiet with cable providing the only volatility of the night as the unit slipped below 1.5400 on continued EUR/GBP strength. The euro held its gains in post NFP trade but could not break through the 1.2900 level as markets remained concerned about funding problems in the peripheral EU economies.
  • Cable Remains the Weakest Link Ahead of NFP
    On an otherwise typically quiet pre-NFP night of trade, the pound came under pressure once again after UK Services PMI missed by a wide margin printing at 51.3 versus 53.0 eyed. This was the weakest Services PMI reading since April of last year and the third PMI gauge to miss expectations this week suggesting that Q3 growth in the UK economy will slow markedly.
  • Can The Rally in Franc Continue?
    Swiss CPI printed at 0.0% today a bit softer than the 0.1% expected suggesting that price pressures in Switzerland remain muted as result of the strength of the Swiss franc. This was the fourth month in row that CPI data has printed negative or flat, hinting at some possible deflationary developments in the Swiss economy, but the SNB is unlikely to be concerned about the latest reading given the healthy growth in GDP.


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Last Updated (Wednesday, 21 July 2010 20:16)