Week Opens With Markets Showing Safe Haven Bias
Mati Greenspan | Nov 20, 2017 06:00AM ET
No doubt the blockchain innovation is currently revolutionizing many aspects of technology, especially finance. It's about time too.
One thng to consider is the way that the old institutions are adapting quickly and now being forced to innovate. For example, Lloyds Bank in the UK has just partnered up with MasterCard to offer a new service which allows their clients to store their money in physical gold and comes complete with a debit card with which they can use that gold for day to day purchases.
Now, such an innovation would have certainly been possible and very welcome 10 years ago but there was a distinct lack of incentive on the side of the financial institutions to make it happen. Now that bitcoin is coming for their lunch, the major banks and payment processors around the world are dusting off old ideas to try and catch up.
Today's Highlights
Safe Havens
Merkel's Breakdown
Calling for $10k
Please note: All data, figures & graphs are valid as of November 20th. All trading carries risk. Only risk capital you're prepared to lose.
Market Overview
The week has opened showing a bit of a safe haven bias. The Nikkei 225 has fallen 1% and the opening in Europe is all red.
The tax reforms in the US don't even seem to be on the minds of European investors this morning as each market really has their own problems.
Diplomatic talks in Germany seem to have fallen apart over the weekend as Chancellor Angela Merkel's bid to form a government seems to have failed. Angela's role has now been reduced to "acting chancellor" and the country might well be headed for new elections.
This news comes as a very sharp slap in the face of stability in the EU. As the longest-serving leader on the continent, Merkel is seen as a beacon of stability, a beacon that has just been smashed.
The Dax 30 has opened with quite a large gap down. Though the gap has mostly been covered already, we can probably expect more volatility in the German markets as the situation develops.
Get The News You Want
The Euro is also showing some nice volatility this morning. The breaking news last night caused it to drop against the USD but for some reason the recovery is quite strong this morning.
Gold is also holding up nicely as a safe haven. After seeing a pleasant ramp up on Friday afternoon, the yellow metal is holding nicely this morning.
The GBP/USD is also seeing a lot of action this morning with several influencing factors. It's being rumored that Theresa May could be gearing up to make the EU a better offer on the so-called "Brexit Bill."
At the moment, Europe is asking for €60 Billion and May has offered €20 Billion. If they can close the gap a bit it could put quite a positive spin on the negotiations.
In addition, Philip Hammond is preparing to release the UK's annual budget this Wednesday. Expectations are increasing that he'll put on a good show. The Pound Sterling is now at its highest level since the BoE meeting on November 2nd.
Cryptotrading
The Crypto-markets are performing swimmingly today. The weekend showed some incredible gains and Bitcoin is now above $8000 per coin. Just about all of the top cryptos have been flying over the past week as the industry continues to show outstanding growth.
The @Cryptofund in eToro has now doubled since it was created in June.
The new market, Bitcoin Cash, will be added to the copyfund on the first of December according to its share of the market at that time.
Wishing everybody a very successful week ahead.
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@Matigreenspan
eToro, Senior Market Analyst
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