Advertisement
Advertisement

Comey Testimony Disappoints

By:
Bob Mason
Updated: Jun 11, 2017, 07:42 UTC

It was a late night and the markets were holding on to the unknown and the press delivered. How would it have been possible to have had an investigation

James Comey

It was a late night and the markets were holding on to the unknown and the press delivered. How would it have been possible to have had an investigation without substance?

The world actually suggested that an impeachment was the most likely scenario, but why?

So, while the world was up in arms, there was a degree of control that seemed to have been lost on the markets going into Thursday’s testimonial. As an analyst, the question is not only simple but fundamental, how is it possible to be ignored.

The world expected a storm and Comey decided to bottle it. We do need to speculate over the influence of the White House, but while I put pen to paper, it ultimately created a fundamental flaw in rational.

While the markets rampaged, testimony has delivered nothing other than an expected distancing and the outcome was nothing less than a disaster, but Comey has persisted in dismal fashion, the propaganda outplaying the market risk that sent the markets into the red through the first half of the week.

Do we really need to absorb more nonsense or will the markets just decide that enough is enough? I don’t recall the chance of an impeachment, but I do like the naming and shaming that weighed heavily on the tycoons of the past.

The U.S president called on the Director of the FBI to make certain decisions and the outcome was certainly evident in market sentiment, but with the combination of Trump and the agencies, was it as surreal as the administration may suggest.

If we wrangled for testimony to bring down the house, we would have failed, the White House and the administration playing goat to the ongoing investigations, but in all seriousness, to sit and put an end to trading to call it a day is somewhat remarkable.

Comey’s talked of a U.S President having a chilling effect, but if we were to compare the FBI Director before being pushed out, both Trump and Comey would have stood side by side, the only difference being the green around Trump’s edges and apparent requests to call it a day on certain investigations.

We could have speculated, but Comey at least delivered his hourly rate and the price paid was nothing less than boring, Oliver North’s testimony all those years ago delivering more on market expectation. In the end, the panic has been unjustified, but  may deliver at the appropriate time, the main event having been Comey, now shifting to the UK General Election and beyond.

This report was hinged on the events that passed through Capitol Hill, but with the former FBI Director having dished up some dirt on the U.S administration, it would be hard to follow up with more, despite the best efforts of the bears, supporting the Dollar.

Unsurprisingly, the EUR was on the slide following Draghi’s dolcit tones, down 0.42% at the time of the report, though ultimately, it wasn’t just Draghi to deliver, but also sentiment towards the U.S, the Comey testmony and the Dollar, the markets now defying the odds.

Did the hype justify the means, more than likely.

At the time of the report, the EUR stood heavily in the red, whilst market risk aversion eased some of the appetite for the safe havens late in the day.

In the end, the world will be a better place, but it will be reliant on an end to the nonsense that accompanies the innocent. Has Wallsteet turned a corner? Highly unlikely, but with Trump safe for now we will shift back to the FED, due to at least surprise the markets next Wednesday.

At the time of the report, the Dollar spot index stood up 0.26% at 97.002, while the pound and the EUR struggled and with just cause, the markets needing more than doves and a pickup in political risk to spook what could and should have been something more..

About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

Did you find this article useful?

Advertisement