Author: Alexander Gloy

  • LIMTI – update 12/15

    The LIMTI (Lighthouse Investment Management Timing Index) is an experimental project. It is calculated daily on the basis of various statistical readings on the US stock market (mostly S&P 500 Index) to gauge whether the market is overbought (red shaded area) or oversold (green area). Below I will go into detail in regards to which…

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  • Funeral music for the Euro?

    Funeral music for the Euro-zone? This week, EU leaders will try to agree on limited EU treaty changes at a summit (December 16-17). The aim is to establish a permanent rescue mechanism for countries in financial difficulties. On Monday and Tuesday (December 13-14) foreign affairs ministers will meet in Brussels to prepare draft conclusions. The…

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  • Ireland: Bail-out with a Boomerang

    Why the EU/IMF bail-out of Ireland will be a boomerang with multiple victims. This article looks at the motivations behind the, at first sight, clueless actions.

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  • The mystery of the equity investor

    Performance of international stock market indices in local currencies. Source: StockCharts.com Looking at the performance of international stock markets over the last 200 days, the German Dax index stands out. But why? Sure, Germany is an island of prosperity amongst the European turmoil. Low unemployment, strong economic growth and a stable political system help. You…

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  • Ben’s Big Bluff

    For the last weeks I tried to figure out why “Ben” (Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve) would go for “QE2” (Quantitative Easing – part II) when “QE1” was not very effective in terms of stimulating the economy. It did not make much sense. My conclusion is that the Fed has run out of options,…

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  • LIMTI – update

    Update on the Lighthouse Investment Management Timing Index (“LIMTI”): LIMTI (Lighthouse Investment Management Timing Index) as of 11/19/2010 The LIMTI is an experimental project. The index is calculated daily on the basis of various statistical readings on the US stock market (mostly S&P 500 Index) to gauge whether the market is overbought (red shaded area)…

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  • Meeting of EU finance ministers a joke

    Nothing. That is the outcome of EU finance ministers in Brussels on November 16. The “Statement of the Eurogroup on Ireland” couldn’t have been less void of content (“The Eurogroup welcomes the significant efforts…”). Ireland resisted a bail-out package which officials from the ECB, Spain and Portugal had been pressing for (the contagion effect on…

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  • The Austrian bombshell

    Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell said the December tranche of Austria’s contribution (EUR 190m) will only be paid out if Greece can show that it has raised the amount of money it pledged to take in through taxes. Proell told reporters Tuesday that “at this stage that target does not appear to have been met.”…

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  • The Irish Ultimatum

    Irish 10yr yields continued to drop (7.96%) on rumors the country will be forced to accept a bail-out. Other peripheral Euro-zone members, like Portugal, have suffered under contagion effects and want the Irish to end the crisis. Irish 10-year government bond yield. Source: Bloomberg.com According to The Guardian, Portugal, Spain and the ECB have given…

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  • Ireland: No news is bad news

    November 15, Monday morning. Asian markets open. And no word regarding a bail-out for Ireland. According to the FT (“Concern grows as Dublin spurns help”) Senior European officials held “informal” discussions late into the night to discuss whether Ireland needed an aid package. The meeting broke up without any action to be taken. Apparently German…

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