Why In The World Are We Working?

Thursday was another day that left everyone wondering what exactly they were supposed to be doing at work.

I don’t even know why the Western world bothers opening markets in the week between Christmas and New Year’s day. Especially considering cryptocurrencies and FX are always available for those who need to sate their trading appetite.

Stocks did manage to rise in the U.S. with the Dow closing at a new record. If the Dow holds on to a weekly gain, this will be the first time since 1954 that it’s risen in each of the last six weeks of the year:

The dollar was down for a second day (and for the seventh day in nine). It’s sitting at a one-month nadir.

This is shaping up to be the worst year for the dollar since 2004. Which means this is a great time to remind you about this quote from an April 12 interview with Trump conducted by the Wall Street Journal’s presidential fluffer-in-chief Gerard Baker:

I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me. Look, there’s some very good things about a strong dollar, but usually speaking the best thing about it is that it sounds good.

Got that? The dollar was “getting too strong” because “people have confidence in Trump” and “usually speaking” the best thing about a strong dollar is that it “sounds good.”

Well “usually speaking,” Trump’s approval rating is about 38% (which doesn’t “sound good”), and so when you combine that with the President’s logic about what was behind dollar strength earlier this year, it makes sense that this has been the worst year for the Bloomberg dollar index since data started in 2004.

But again, that’s just “usually speaking.” Maybe you have an “unusual” take.

Treasurys pared this week’s gains, but obviously today’s moves look like a blip compared to Wednesday’s rally. With all the focus on the curve, we thought this was a good time paraphrase Deutsche Bank’s Aleksandar Kocic.