Russell Shor

Initial jobless claims came in at 229K, lower than the expected 249K. Moreover, last week’s number was revised downwards from 242K to 225K.

Following the negotiations over the debt ceiling, Fitch Ratings has expressed concern regarding the United States' debt, resulting in a placement of the nation's highest-rated bonds on a "Rating Watch Negative."

The German economy contracted over the last two quarters, which is defined as a technical recession. Q1 GDP, revised a second time, came in at -0.3%. This follows Q4 2022’s GDP of -0.5%. Germany has faced considerable challenges following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent choice made by European leaders to sever relations with Moscow.

Apple, the renowned technology giant, made a significant declaration on Tuesday regarding their future. They unveiled a ground-breaking partnership with Broadcom, a leading company in the industry, for a substantial agreement spanning multiple years and involving billions of dollars. The focus of this collaboration is centred around the development and production of state-of-the-art 5G radio frequency components and wireless chips. It is noteworthy that a portion of these advanced 5G…

During the last policy meeting, Fed officials reached a unanimous decision to raise interest rates, despite considerable deliberation on whether it would be wiser to pause the tightening efforts. The minutes of the FOMC’s meeting held on 2-3 May, will be released today, and will provide valuable insights into the extent of the officials' consideration of maintaining interest rates and whether any committee members advocated for a pause.

The bitcoin daily chart is trying to break out of its bearish channel between the lower blue and red bands. To this end, we are keeping an eye on its RSI.

Yields Chart Uptrend Source: www.tradingview.com The top candlestick chart is the weekly US 2-year yield, with the weekly US 10-year yield underneath. The 2-year is a good proxy for monetary policy and the 10-year represents fixed income investors' sentiment. Both instruments have charted a higher trough followed by a higher peak, putting their yields into uptrend. This is in stark contrast to the sentiment shift of March (blue rectangles), where…

On Friday, during a panel discussion, Fed Chair Powell suggested that rates may not climb as much as expected due to credit tightening. Other Fed speakers suggest that FOMC members are developing diverging views. China data hints at a slowing momentum in recovery and EU CPI is still too high. This week sees two more inflation data points – core PCE on Friday and UK inflation on Wednesday. Wednesday will…

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet again on Monday to try to find a deal to avoid a U.S. default. Lawmakers are still far apart on an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit, and time is running out. McCarthy said there's no agreement yet, despite a productive phone call with Biden. Biden called on Republicans to reconsider their extreme positions, as he finds their proposals…

The FAANG stocks are influential. They are registering as overbought, which may have broader market implications.

The JPN225 is trading at its highest levels since August 1990. It is up over 6% month-to-date and up over 16% over the last 12 months.