As we go into the new year, we have to ask ourselves: 'Can this growth continue, and what is going to happen with Iraq?' |
For most people in financial markets, this is typically put in a box labeled 'too difficult'. There's just no sensible way of producing a systematic probability of the outcomes and it's very hard to put numbers or values on it. |
For the last three or four years there has been a gradual reduction of staffing on foreign exchange desks for doing these intra-European trades partly because the volume has declined, |
Generally we're looking pretty quiet - one of our traders just told me it's one of the quietest days he's ever seen. |
His reputation as an arch-dove on inflation is rather misleading. |
I don't think anybody expects them to move on rates given their recent rhetoric. |
I think he's going to lean towards indicating that the Fed isn't in a hurry to raise rates, |
I think he's still concerned to keep the stock market afloat and to hold down bond yields. He's going to be more inclined to talk the markets up rather than down. |
I think most of the staffing implications have already been taken on board. It has been happening gradually over a period of time. |
I think the market is in a dangerous position, |
I think the market is in a dangerous position. It has gone a long way toward pricing out a [Fed] rate increase, and that does leave you vulnerable if data comes out pointing to inflation. |
Ireland is just too successful, that's the problem, ... Ireland is seen as too expansionary given the current inflationary environment. |
Ireland is just too successful, that's the problem. Ireland is seen as too expansionary given the current inflationary environment. |
It certainly looks rather more realistic than it did before the release of these figures. |
Markets want to hear some kind of hint that they'll back up these words with action, specifically intervention in foreign exchanges to drive the euro higher, |