Sovereign debt woes continue to be the bane of this rally. At the end of April the S&P Rating Agency downgraded Greece’s debt to “junk” status, which accelerated the steep sell-off in the euro and sent it down to its 2008 lows! This sparked a world-wide panic sell-off which sent stocks plunging. In addition, Spain and Portugal’s debt was also downgraded which put pressure on a host of capital markets. Italy and Iceland are the two nations which analysts believe are also dealing with ominous debt levels. All of this helped the US dollar enjoy one of its strongest gains against the euro in over a year. Since November, the greenback has rallied smartly and jumped above its 50-day moving average (DMA) and 200 DMA lines. As expected, the stronger dollar sent US stocks and a slew of commodities (i.e. dollar denominated assets) lower as investors continue to debate our economic future.