GLOBAL ECONOMICS AND POLITICS

Leo Haviland provides clients with original, provocative, cutting-edge fundamental supply/demand and technical research on major financial marketplaces and trends. He also offers independent consulting and risk management advice.

Haviland’s expertise is macro. He focuses on the intertwining of equity, debt, currency, and commodity arenas, including the political players, regulatory approaches, social factors, and rhetoric that affect them. In a changing and dynamic global economy, Haviland’s mission remains constant – to give timely, value-added marketplace insights and foresights.

Leo Haviland has three decades of experience in the Wall Street trading environment. He has worked for Goldman Sachs, Sempra Energy Trading, and other institutions. In his research and sales career in stock, interest rate, foreign exchange, and commodity battlefields, he has dealt with numerous and diverse financial institutions and individuals. Haviland is a graduate of the University of Chicago (Phi Beta Kappa) and the Cornell Law School.

 

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UNITED KINGDOM- GETTING POUNDED © Leo Haviland, January 10, 2012

As the fifth largest economy in the world and as a major center of international finance, the United Kingdom is not alone. It remains entwined with the long-running worldwide economic crisis. Although challenges to the British economy intertwine with those confronting the Eurozone, they do not duplicate these. England’s financial problems are not as severe as Greece’s, but they are not minor; England’s present situation and near term prospects do not look as strong as Germany’s. The British Pound will continue to depreciate over the next few months. This decline parallels that of the Euro FX. Bearish trends in the Pound, like those in the Euro currency, portend or confirm weakness in worldwide equities and commodities.

The Euro area currently is almost 16.4pc of the broad real trade-weighted dollar (“TWD”). It was 18.6pc in 2001. The Pound is a comparatively modest part of the TWD. The United Kingdom in 2012 (and 2011) is about 3.5 percent of the broad real TWD (compare 2001’s 5.6pc). Currency trading generals nevertheless closely monitor the cross rate between the US Dollar and the British Pound.

The Pound arguably has been in a major bear pattern for some time. The crucial plateau during the worldwide financial crisis period was attained 11/9/07 around 2.116. Although marketplace history is not marketplace destiny, keep in mind the popular chant, “weak US dollar equals strong US stocks, strong US dollar equals weak US stocks”. This British Pound top versus the dollar occurred about a month after the S+P 500’s major high on 10/11/07 at 1576. Important resistance for Sterling is about 1.665 (see the 4/28/11 high, adjacent in time to the S+P 500 pinnacle at 1371 on 5/2/11 and the Euro FX’s 1.494 5/4/11 summit versus the dollar). Also note around 1.700 (see the 8/5/09 level; compare the later timing of the Euro FX high at 11/25/09 at 1.514). The 10/28/11 top was about 1.615.

The Pound versus dollar cross rate settled around 1.543 at the end of last week, close to the 1.538 low of 10/6/11. The October 2011 level is beneath 1.563 (a fifty percent rally from the all-time low close on 2/26/85). The 1.500 level (about a ten percent drop from the 4/28/11 top) probably will be tested and broken. Though it is distant from today’s price, the key bottom around 1.430 (see the 5/20/10 low) eventually will be neared and perhaps challenged. Noteworthy additional Pound support is around 1.350 to 1.380. The 1/23/09 intraday low was about 1.350, the 3/9/09 close about 1.376 (Euro FX final cross rate low versus the greenback was 3/4/09 at 1.246). Recall the major low in the S+P 500 on 3/6/09 at 667. A 20pc fall from 1.665 is 1.332.

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United Kingdom- Getting Pounded (1-10-12)