Dollar and Equities Remain on the Defensive; Greenland Dispute Center Stage at Davos January 21, 2026 President Trump has arrived in Davos. For a forum whose chosen annual theme is “A Spirit of Dialogue,” it is both ironic and undoubtedly purposeful that the U.S. president chose this moment to issue ultimatums on the non-negotiability of…
Greenland Tensions, Tariphobia, and A Snap Election in Japan Rile Investors January 20, 2026 President Trump’s relentless obsession with acquiring Greenland has shaken investor confidence to the roots. The seemingly delusional threat to do whatever it takes to get this done hadn’t been taken seriously until recently. Would a U.S. president really mimic the behaviors…
Escalating Economic Conflict Between Europe and the United States January 19, 2026 (156) Martin Luther King, Jr, the civil rights pioneer who espoused peace and brotherhood, would have been 97 years old, but on this commemorative observance of his birthday, President Trump has ramped up tensions with European nations opposed to his ownership demands on…
Next Week’s Menu: January 17-23, 2026 January 16, 2026 Central Banks: Interest rate levels will be reviewed in Japan, Turkey, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Romania, Norway and Kazakhstan. Minutes from the last European Central Bank Governing Council meeting and the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices will be published. Swiss National Bank…
Dollar Slipped Slightly Overnight But in Position for Likely Weekly Gain January 16, 2026 Like clockwork as documented in an earlier post, the dollar has opened another calendar year on an uphill trajectory and as in the first full week of January is poised for a second weekly advance in a row. Compared to 2025…
Oil Price Firms After Trump Lessens Military Threat Against Iran January 15, 2026 The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rebounded 4.2% overnight after President Trump withdrew his threat of immediate military action against Iran. Trump did this because info he has received suggests that the killing of protesters in Iran has lessened greatly….
Markets Spooked By a Looming U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on the Legality of 2025 Tariff Hikes January 14, 2026 The Supreme Court will be revealing its decisions on several cases at 10:00 EST today, and it’s possible that the decision on Trump’s large and widespread tariff hikes may be included in this batch. Those tariffs…
Four-Ring Circus: Japan, Powell-Trump, Iranian Protests and Imminent Release of U.S. December Consumer Price Data January 13, 2026 The focus on Venezuela at the start of this year has quickly given way to other attractions like the spiraling street protests in Iran, President Trump’s relentless pursuit of Federal Reserve officials, fresh speculation about a possible…
Criminal Probe Against Fed Chairman Powell Depresses Dollar and U.S. Stock Futures January 12, 2026 (157) This Monday ought to have been a quiet day in financial markets due to a paucity of data releases and Japan’s Coming of Age holiday closure. Instead, the dollar has declined 0.4% against the euro, sterling, Swiss franc, Mexican…
This Week’s Menu: January 10-16, 2026 January 10, 2026 Central Banks: Interest rate policies will be reviewed in Poland, Serbia and South Korea. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book of recent regional economic conditions since the last FOMC meeting arrives on Wednesday, and a slew of Fed officials will be making public comments during the upcoming…