Tsipras tells Merkel ‘Greece has made enough sacrifices for the euro’

Greece’s defiant Prime Minister has told Angela Merkel it is Europe’s job to do “their part” to keep his crisis-hit country in the eurozone.

Meeting on the sidelines of a European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Alexis Tsipras is reported to have told the German Chancellor his debt-addled nation has made enough sacrifices to satisfy the demands of its creditor powers.

Are the dollar’s carry trade days numbered?

The video unfortunately cannot be posted here due to compatibility issues, but can be found in the link to the source, if interested.

Traders borrowing U.S. dollars to fund investments in other currencies should beware, with analysts expecting the greenback to strengthen and advising a shift to borrowing the euro instead.

“U.S. rates and the U.S. dollar may get a pop from an expected jump in April inflation,” Barclays said Monday in a note titled “Carry on, but don’t fund with USDs.”

Over the medium term, Barclays expects the U.S. inflation risks are to the upside, making it likely the greenback will continue to strengthen. Barclays expects the U.S. dollar index (DXY) to rise 5 percent by year end, with a 7.3 percent rise over 12 months.

Euro plummets after ECB warns currency zone may need more support

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi says Japanese-style stagnation possible amid high unemployment and falling inflation

The European Central Bank sent the euro tumbling on world markets after it warned that the 18-member currency zone may need further support to prevent a Japanese-style period of stagnation.

The ECB president, Mario Draghi, said persistently high unemployment, falling inflation and difficult lending conditions were harming the recovery, and the ECB stood ready to use all the tools available to maintain confidence and growth.

How to Prepare Your Portfolio for Geopolitical Turmoil

Although both items need to be constantly looked at (50/50), the fundamental data lately is seemingly overriding the technical data. Observing geopolitics on a regular basis shows you the big picture where you can use inductive reasoning to hammer out the specifics in planning your future, be it from an investment standpoint or personal.

Had anyone asked back in January what kind of risks you thought might be giving financial markets a jolt by mid-year, odds are that you would have talked about the Federal Reserve’s intentions with respect to quantitative easing, the outlook for economic growth and whether S&P 500 companies are delivering the kind of earnings that analysts had been expecting.

Perhaps, given recent history, you might have thrown out an additional concern: That some unforeseen event in Spain or Italy might buffet the Eurozone and spill over into North American markets—after all, that has become an almost routine summertime occurrence.