Join FXCM market specialists, Russell and Nikos as they discuss the current crisis in confidence surrounding the banking sector. In addition, the ECB has raised rates by 50bps and now all eyes turn to the Fed. However, it is uncertain that they will raise rates given the instability in the banking sector. This week also sees the BoE rate announcement.

The US02Y has declined markedly over the last eight trading days from a high of 5.09% to current levels of 3.74%. This has proven to be a tailwind for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is up over 25% over the last week.

UBS Group has agreed to acquire Credit Suisse Group with the help of liquidity assistance from the Swiss National Bank. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive one share in UBS for 22.48 shares in Credit Suisse, valuing the deal at around $3.2 billion. The Swiss government is providing 9 billion Swiss francs to backstop potential losses that UBS may incur. The merger comes amid…

The Fed's balance sheet increased at the same time that FXCM's US.BANKS basket declined. This, as the confidence crisis in the banking sector unfolded.

Gold’s daily candlesticks are trading in their bullish channel between the upper blue and red bands. The red Bollinger bands have expanded due to an increase in volatility. The longer the precious metal remains in this channel, the greater the likelihood of further price appreciation.

The US30 closed higher yesterday as a syndicate of banks threw First Republic a lifeline. Four major US banks, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, will each make a $5 billion uninsured deposit into First Republic Bank as part of a $30 billion backstop by 11 banks to support the banking industry. First Republic's stock fell by 14.7% in after-hours trading after the bank disclosed that it…

Gold is generally inversely correlated to the US 10-year real rate. There may be short periods when they sync up positively, but these are rare. The current correlation coefficient is -59%.

USOil’s daily chart is trading in its bearish channel between the lower blue and red bands. The red Bollinger bands are moving in opposite directions as volatility has increased. The longer it maintains this channel the more pressure will be applied to the USOil price.

The banking sector is under stress. It started with the demise of Silvergate Bank and then gained a momentum with the failure of SVB and Signature Bank last week. However, it was exacerbated yesterday with news of a growing crisis at Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest lender.

Bond yields are declining sharply as banking worries flare up again. This time its European banks which have triggered the flight to safety. The catalyst is the refusal of Credit Suisse’s biggest shareholder to invest anymore capital in the troubled bank. This, in turn, sparked selling in US regional bank shares as fears heighten that there is a distinct sensitivity to any rate increases within the sector. The CME Fedwatch…

A calm has been restored to the market following the failure of SVB. The key event for today will be retail sales, out at 12:30 PM GMT. Traders will also be interested in the PPI data released at the same time. Yesterday’s CPI came in at 6% y/y, which was lower than the previous 6.4% y/y. Barring any surprises, the market expects the Fed to hike by 25 bps on…