After five weeks of uninterrupted growth, Asian markets are taking a breather. The regional index fluctuates around zero, the euro weakened slightly but remains close to 1.29, oil is below 100 dollars, at 98-odds, and gold, which has always been sensitive to anything and everything everything gets stronger.
This time the focus is on the outcome of the tug-of-war between Greece and private creditors. Who have made a proposal, as usual, 'ultimate'. But a failure of the negotiations is in nobody's interest and an agreement will be found. More importantly, the 'deep current' of the business cycle is accelerating. The 'la' was given by America, as has been argued for some time in these columns, and some timid signs of awakening are beginning to manifest themselves in Europe as well. The US GDP for the fourth quarter of 2011 (the data will be communicated this Friday) is growing at 3%, accelerating compared to the previous quarter, and the confidence indexes in Germany are improving, while the waters are calming down for government bond yields in Italy, Spain and France.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-23/oil-prices-euro-fall-as-europe-leaders-meet-on-budget-rules-iran-embargo.html
