Your Dollar At Work
Revised economic data from the Labor Department showed that productivity in the last quarter was stronger than originally calculated and increased three times as fast as in the first quarter of this year. Productivity was up from an estimated 5.3% to a 5.7% annualized pace, adding even more credulity to the notion that the Fed has engineered a soft landing that cools the economy but keeps growth steady while at the same time, muzzling inflation.
Compare US economic vitality to the European picture. German Chancellor Schroeder is calling for a weaker monetary unit (euro) to support exporters and ostensibly, export-driven economic revival in the region. Schroeder and like-minded Eurocrats are at odds with European Central Bankers who want to strengthen the euro and eradicate looming signs of inflation. The impasse implies there may be political meddling in the formulation of continental monetary policy, and currency traders do not like the confusion nor the potential breach of central bank sovereignty.
These are the factors driving the euro FX
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The world remains unconvinced that OPEC will make any policy changes that will materially effect the supply deficit that currently stands anywhere between 25% and 40% below stockpiles levels from one year ago. From the Momentum-5 List, October crude oil
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In stock index futures, JP Morgan
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Finally, traders continue to trade off the weather in the grains. Soybeans are down 10 and corn is making good on a Turtle Soup Plus One Sell setup.