SGM-FX insights

China: The Dead Spread   When I worked on the floor of the Chicago Futures Market, traders watched and traded the price differential between spot prices of pork meat and the futures price of live hogs. It was less than charmingly named the Dead Spread. Pork as we all know is a fundamental of the […]

Wide Ranges     Yesterday was a rough day in markets. Equities continued their tumble with key US indices producing price action that could suggest an imminent market correction. Amidst an intensification of the trade war masqueraded as threats of new Chinese economic weaponry, global bond yields continued to tumble. In a bid for safety, […]

UK Passports and US versus Europe   This may have passed you by but in case it has not: the UK is a member of the 6 month club which allows nationals of countries such as the UK to visit the USA with only the unexpired time necessary for the trip. Now for Europe: in […]

One May too many:   Surviving a third May proved to be too much for the British Prime Minister who, on Friday, announced her resignation in front of 10 Downing Street. Following a meeting with the chairman of the 1922 committee, she was left with no choice but to announce her defeat to the nation. Chosen […]

Elections:     India   PM Narendra Modi has been returned for a further 5 years with a resounding vote of confidence in his party the BJP. 600 million of the 900 million eligible votes have been counted and it points to 300 of the 543 seats going to the BJP. The Opposition Congress Party […]

AUDJPY   From the title you might think well, I don’t trade Aussie Dollars, come to think of it I’ve never been there in my life. Similarly, I’ve never had a Japanese Yen to my name, why on earth would I consider the exchange rate between the currencies of these two countries that are at […]

PM May’s Gamble   GBP liked the idea of a second Referendum rumoured to be what PM May would announce yesterday afternoon. The actuality sent GBP lower. FTSE steady at 7328. Rather than give credence to the market rumour, PM May painted a picture with multiple and in many cases contradictory possible outcomes of not […]

The Perfect Storm?   You would be forgiven for believing that the South African general election was the most significant threat to the Rand in the first half of this year. However, eschewed of blame as you might be, you’d still be wrong. In fact, the week ahead is considerably more risky. Tomorrow, the National Assembly […]

Big Week   Not just with the European elections on Thursday but in Australia where the Liberal Coalition won a surprise victory at the weekend boosting AUD but in the context of a near 3 year low, in Germany where Angela Merkel is being pressured to stand down at the end of this week by […]

I.M.Pei   News of the death of I.M.Pei the inspirational architect at the age of 102 late last night. At this time of US Sino stresses it is worth looking at the simply staggering array of work produced by Pei the son of a bank manager born in Canton(Guangzhou) China and who arrived in the […]

Chicken   The question on everyone’s lips yesterday afternoon was, ‘what on earth has to happen to move markets?’. The day started with a considerable appreciation within safe haven assets with the Japanese Yen and Swissie making early breaks skywards. US and German treasuries also rallied with the yield falling on Washington’s 10-year treasury note […]

Markets: Crypto and Oil   If you thought that Bitcoin had had its day, think again: a month ago it stood at £4000 having spent the previous 3 months stuck at £3000. And now? £6000! While in no way advocating crypto we do spend some of our time asking why such a move has occurred? […]