XRP price recovered most losses and rallied toward $2.75. The price is now facing hurdles near the $2.70 zone and might start another decline. XRP price started a strong upward move above the $2.60 level. The price is now trading below $2.70 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a new connecting bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.710 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair might start a fresh increase if it clears the $2.780 resistance zone.  XRP Price Recovery Faces ResistanceXRP price started a recovery wave from the $1.75 support zone, like  and . The price gained pace for a move above the $2.00 and $2.25 resistance levels.The bulls pumped the price above the $2.50 and $2.550 levels. However, the bears remained active below the $2.80 level. A high was formed at $2.780 and the price is now correcting gains. There was a move below the $2.62 level.The price dipped below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1.750 swing low to the $2.780 high. The price is now trading below $2.70 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.On the upside, the price might face resistance near the $2.70 level. There is also a new connecting bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.710 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. The first major resistance is near the $2.780 level. The next resistance is $2.80.(Click on image to enlarge)A clear move above the $2.80 resistance might send […]

January 2025 got off to a strong start for the dividend paying companies in the U.S. stock market, as they delivered a net positive month for their shareholding owners.The single number that best summarizes the month is +27, which is the net amount by which favorable dividend changes outnumbered unfavorable changes.That balance was tipped strongly in favor of favorable changes such as dividend increases and extra (or special) dividends paid during January 2025. The combined number of these favorable changes was 230, which is 30 higher than what was recorded in January 2024.The number of companies announcing unfavorable changes like dividend decreases and omissions (or suspensions) also rose year-over-year, but only by a total of three firms. The total number of unfavorable changes was 18 in January 2025, just three more than in January of a year earlier. The net change in the year-over-year changes therefore works out to be +27 (the difference between the 30 more favorable changes less the 3 more unfavorable changes).All the month’s favorable and unfavorable changes are listed and totaled in the following table. Dividend Changes in January 2025    Jan-2025  Dec-2024    MoM  Jan-2024    YoY Total Declarations 3,720 5,374 -1,654 ▼ 3,120 600 ▲ Favorable 230 246 -16 ▼ 200 30 ▲ – Increases 178 128 50 ▲ 154 24 ▲ – Special/Extra 52 111 -59 ▼ 46 6 ▲ – Resumed 0 7 -7 ▼ 0 0 ◀▶ Unfavorable 18 10 8 ▲ 15 3 ▲ – Decreases 18 10 8 ▲ 15 3 ▲ – Omitted/Passed 0 0 0 ◀▶ 0 0 ◀▶ The following  visualizes the monthly counts of […]

Bullish view Buy the GBP/USD pair and set a take-profit at 1.2600. Add a stop-loss at 1.2375. Timeline: 1-2 days.  Bearish view Sell the GBP/USD pair and set a take-profit at 1.2400. Add a stop-loss at 1.2600. (Click on image to enlarge)The GBP/USD exchange rate rose slightly as trade tensions eased and as traders waited for the upcoming Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision. It moved to a high of 1.2500, up by over 3% from its lowest point this year.The GBP/USD pair rose after the recent trade war fears eased. Donald Trump inked deals with countries like Canada and Mexico in which they will negotiate a wide-ranging trade deal in good faith. He also wants these countries to help the US with the illegal migration and fentanyl crisis. Therefore, the GBP/USD pair is rising as traders anticipate a deal in the coming weeks.The GBP/USD pair also rose after the US published weak economic numbers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of job openings in the US dropped from over 8.15 million in November to 7.6 million in December. These numbers were weaker than the median estimate of 8.01 million.ADP will release the private payroll numbers later on Wednesday, while the BLS will release the official nonfarm payroll (NFP) numbers on Friday. Economists expect the ADP report to show that payrolls increased by 148k in January from 122k a month earlier.These job numbers are important as they will help the Fed when delivering the next […]

The newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed up by Elon Musk, is tasked with reducing government waste and increasing efficiency and productivity. The big question bond investors are keying on is how effectively DOGE can reduce the deficit. Tracking DOGE savings is now easy. As we share below, the US Debt Clock shows a running total of cumulative DOGE savings. Thus far, in less than a month, DOGE has saved $56 billion, as shown below (box in the upper left of graphic).Musk’s goal from the onset was to save the government $1 billion per day. However, he is on pace for $2 billion or more daily. Let’s extrapolate his recent success to put the data into proper context. If DOGE can save $2 billion per day, the government can save about $700 billion annually. Accordingly, the fiscal year 2024 deficit of $1.8 trillion would be reduced to a much more manageable $1.1 trillion. To appreciate such savings, the Department of Defense spends roughly $800 billion a year. Equally important, if DOGE makes serious inroads toward deficit reduction, bond yields will likely decline, further cutting government deficits.Savings become more challenging over time. Accordingly, we suspect that $1 billion a day is more realistic. While half of the current run rate, a billion a day would create measurable savings, which should, on the margin, reduce interest rates. What To Watch Today Earnings(Click on image to enlarge)Economy(Click on image to enlarge) Market Trading Update Yesterday, we discussed the  that rocked the markets. […]

Image Source:   At Tuesday’s close, the Dow Jones Index (US30) was up 0.30%. The S&P 500 Index (US500) added 0.72%. The Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) was up 1.26%. Despite China imposing new tariffs on US coal, liquefied natural gas, crude oil and farm equipment in response to Washington’s 10% duties on Chinese imports, market sentiment remained cautiously optimistic. Hopes for a détente on trade increased after President Trump agreed to delay the imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico for at least 30 days. Meanwhile, the JOLTS report showed that there were fewer job openings in the US in December than expected, and manufacturing orders fell sharply. Thus, the market continued to bet on multiple Fed rate cuts this year, supporting the position of rate-sensitive assets.The Mexican peso held near 20.36 per US dollar, supported by US President Trump’s decision to postpone the imposition of 25% tariffs on Mexican imports, easing fears of economic turmoil and dampening risk sentiment that limited demand for the US dollar.Equity markets in Europe were mostly down yesterday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed higher by 0.66%, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) gained 1.37%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed negative 0.15%. The European Union is seeking to defuse a looming conflict with the US over steel and aluminum exports that is set to erupt next month. However, early indications are that EU officials have failed to make good contacts in the emerging US administration, so the Eurozone is preparing […]