WANTED: AUGUST LIFELINE FOR TOURISM August conjures up images of beaches and sunshine but it may not bring much respite to travel and tourism stocks. Battered by lockdowns, tourism has lagged a broader market recovery, with airline, hotel and leisure shares 20%-50% [...]

LIRA LOW August can be a tricky time for markets. It was the month Russia defaulted (1998), China devalued the yuan (2015) and BNP Paribas kicked off subprime meltdown by freezing three of its funds (2007). Plenty could go wrong this August [...]

TALE OF TWO CURRENCIES The euro suddenly looks unstoppable, hitting 21-month highs above $1.16 after the European Union set aside differences and agreed a COVID-19 recovery fund. This signal of solidarity, combined with monetary and budget stimulus, could propel the currency to [...]

EUROPE INC We knew Q2 earnings would be dire but the hope was a) they might turn out to be better than feared and b) companies could offer guidance on the outlook. So while expectations are for European Q2 earnings to slump [...]

EUROPE: FINAL COUNTDOWN Southern European bonds and the euro have rallied hard in the two months since France and Germany mooted a 750 billion-euro ($848 billion) post-COVID-19 recovery fund. On July 17-18, European leaders meet to hammer out details. But differences remain [...]

THE SECOND HALF After finishing the first half of 2020 on a high, bulls have charged into the remaining six months on promising news of a vaccine and data showing 4.8 million U.S. jobs created in June, after 2.7 million [...]