Monday, March 7, 2011
China Plays Chess - The US plays Checkers
While the US diddles about developing a 21th century energy policy, refuses to drill and tap the resources in it own backyard and has the administration telling its citizens that they should check the air pressure in their tires instead of making a serious effort to wean us off dependence on foreign oil (let me add here that corn-based ethanol is not the answer), China forges ahead boldly going where no man has gone before.
Give credit to the far-thinking and realistic Chinese who view the volatile Mid-East as no place in which to put all of one's eggs.
You can read the entire story here:
http://energyfromthorium.com/2011/01/30/china-initiates-tmsr/
Give credit to the far-thinking and realistic Chinese who view the volatile Mid-East as no place in which to put all of one's eggs.
China Initiates Thorium MSR Project
Published in Coal Strategy Thorium Uranium-233 by on January 30th, 2011You can read the entire story here:
http://energyfromthorium.com/2011/01/30/china-initiates-tmsr/
Need a Reason to Buy the US Dollar or some more T Bonds?
Look no further than this story from the Washington Times;
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/7/government-posts-biggest-monthly-deficit-ever/
Government posts biggest monthly deficit ever
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/7/government-posts-biggest-monthly-deficit-ever/
Confusion and Uncertainty reigns in the Bond Market
The long bond was lower today finally retracing some of the gains from Friday but still unable to move beyond last week's high above the 120 level.
Bonds are caught in a sort of tug-of-war between those who are viewing the surge in crude and liquid energies as having an inflationary impact or at least feeding into inflationary expectations and those who view the same event as a sort of tax on economic activity that will curtail both business profits and consumer spending and act as a drag on overall growth.
Throw on top of that the "safe haven" trade due to unrest in the MIddle East and North Africa, or MENA as some have aptly named it, and you have all the ingredients for a volatile mix of yo-yo like action.
If that were not bad enough, you then get apparently conflicting comments coming from some of the various Federal Reserve governors concering whether or not QE will be extended beyond June or perhaps even curtailed prematurely.
It is enough to make a bond trader decide to become a fishing guide on a nice quiet lake somewhere!
Here is the daily chart including today's action. You can see that the bonds have temporary stalled out near the top of what was the former seven week trading range from December 2010 - February 2011.
You might note that I am using the June 2011 contract for the analysis versus the Continuous contract chart because that one includes the transition from the March Contract to the June contract as the most active month which gives a bit of an exaggeration to the downside move. I am going to post both of them so that you can see the difference.
Bonds are caught in a sort of tug-of-war between those who are viewing the surge in crude and liquid energies as having an inflationary impact or at least feeding into inflationary expectations and those who view the same event as a sort of tax on economic activity that will curtail both business profits and consumer spending and act as a drag on overall growth.
Throw on top of that the "safe haven" trade due to unrest in the MIddle East and North Africa, or MENA as some have aptly named it, and you have all the ingredients for a volatile mix of yo-yo like action.
If that were not bad enough, you then get apparently conflicting comments coming from some of the various Federal Reserve governors concering whether or not QE will be extended beyond June or perhaps even curtailed prematurely.
It is enough to make a bond trader decide to become a fishing guide on a nice quiet lake somewhere!
Here is the daily chart including today's action. You can see that the bonds have temporary stalled out near the top of what was the former seven week trading range from December 2010 - February 2011.
You might note that I am using the June 2011 contract for the analysis versus the Continuous contract chart because that one includes the transition from the March Contract to the June contract as the most active month which gives a bit of an exaggeration to the downside move. I am going to post both of them so that you can see the difference.
