New Zealand’s two-speed economy poses election dilemma for ruling National party  

The day began like many others over the past several weeks. Bonds hadn’t moved much overnight, but were paying some attention to slightly higher oil prices. 10yr Treasury yields were still in the familiar September range between 4.93% and 5.01%, and there was limited economic data on tap that threatened to upset the apple cart….

Brian Johnson, the White House nominee to become permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), told U.S. senators on Thursday that he would keep an “open mind” about bureau staffing levels but repeatedly declined to distance himself from Acting Director Russell Vought’s call to shut the agency down. The former deputy director of…

As the semiconductor industry evolves in 2026, investors are weighing the stability of diversified software against the dominance of mobile connectivity. Choosing between Broadcom (AVGO -1.88%) and Qualcomm (QCOM -0.61%) requires understanding which approach offers better value today. Collapse AVGO & QCOM: Performance Comparison Key Financial Metrics AVGO – Broadcom $354.73 –1.88% (–$6.81) QCOM –…

A trader recently asked: “Why trade Bitcoin? What’s it gonna do, 2x, 3x? These days stocks can do that. So what’s the point?” It’s a reasonable question, but it misses something fundamental about trading: leverage. Traders don’t necessarily need Bitcoin, gold or a stock to double in price to achieve a substantial percentage return on…

EUROPEAN SESSION In the European session, we don’t have much on the agenda other than the French trade balance. The data won’t change anything for the ECB, so the market reaction will be muted.  The focus remains on French bonds after the recent surge in the OAT-Bund spread to the highest level since the European…