EURUSD at 4 month lows…
It seems the realization that i) Cyprus mattered, ii) If Europe slumps then US will be infected (no matter how clean the asset-gatherers believe the shirt to be) is impacting markets globally once again. A slew of horrible data overnight following yesterday’s US data disappointments (following US earnings bellwether misses) is finally (now at quarter-end) having some impact on the euphoria. European stock markets are dropping rapidly with Spain and Italy down 5 to 6 % this week now. Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese bond spreads have blown back wider (Spain yield back over 5%) by 30 to 40bps this week alone and EURUSD is getting monkey-hammered breaking back below 1.2800 – its lowest in over 4 months. European (and US) banks are also in trouble with the former now negative year-to-date. US Treasuries are well bid on this safe-haven flow (down 6 to 7bps on the week) and Swiss and German 2Y bond yields are negative once again (with the latter more negative as the ‘safety’ of offshore financial centers seemed less than the core of Europe).
