General Forex News

The worries about the inflation are containing the market sentiment currently after the rising of China CPI of march to 5.$% while it was waiting to be 5.1% from 4.9% in January and February after easing in last December to 4.6% from 5.1% in November and Chinese PPI of march to has increased to 7.3% from 7.2% in February which shows continued inflation pressure over the producing level too which can increase the probability of increasing the interest rate by PBOC again after raising it 3 times since the charismas after asking its banks to increase its liquidity reserves 6 times last year for containing the inflation pressure which some of it has resulted from the Fed's adopted quantitive easing policy which is weighing negatively on the greenback driving up the prices of the commodities and energy while it is till looking to the fed that it is too soon to end this policy as what has been said a...

Equities Most Asian markets ended moderately lower on Monday. The Nikkei slid .5% to 9720, thanks to a downgrade of Japanese automakers by Citigroup. Nissan, Toyota and Honda all fell more than 2%. The Hang Seng lost .4%, and the Kospi eased .2%. Australia’s ASX 200 was a notable exception, rallying .6% as shares in mining giant BHP Billiton jumped 3.8%. Chinese trade data showed a trade deficit thanks to commodity imports, fueling investor demand for miners. European markets also ended lower. The Dax fell .2%, and the CAC40 slumped .6%. Hochtief, a construction service company tumbled 9.5% after cutting its outlook. The FTSE closed down fractionally, as gains in miners largely offset other losses. US markets ended mixed, as the market shed early gains. The Dow closed flat after rising 64 points earlier, while the Nasdaq and S&P both dropped .3%. Oil companies fell steeply as the price of US crude dropped 3%. Denbury Resources fell 5% and Anadarko Petroleum slumped 4.3%. Level3 announced...

The cable has come under pressure again after the release of UK manufacturing productions of March which have come unchanged from February while the market was waiting for increasing by .5% from .9% in February and also the industrial productions of March have come weaker than expected easing back by 1.2% while the market was waiting for increasing by .4% from .3% in February and these weak data come after the recent declining of UK PMI manufacturing index which has fallen in March to 57.1 from 61.5 in February while the market was waiting for 60.9 which shows that there can be harder times in the case of further rising of the commodities and energy prices. The cable has been boosted this week by the rising of UKPMI service index of March which rose to 57.1 from 52.6 in February while the market was waiting for just 52.9 and it was 53.5 in January from 49.7 in December which shows that...

Equities The Nikkei fell 1.1% to 9615, as investors once again returned to concerns following the deadly earthquake and tsunami. Elsewhere in Asia, the Kospi rallied .7% to 2130, a new record close, and the ASX 200 rose .3%. Chinese and Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday. In Europe, the Dax and CAC40 both ended flat, while the FTSE slipped .2%. Energy companies rallied as Brent Crude crossed the $122 mark. Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s debt rating one notch, further weighing on the country’s ability to raise money in the bond markets. US markets ended flat, while the VIX fell below 17. Texas Instruments made a $6.5 billion cash offer for National Semiconductor. National Semiconductor rocketed 71% on the news, and the semiconductor sector as a whole rallied. In other merger news, Merck announced plans to purchase Inspire Pharmaceuticals, an ophthalmology company. Treasuries and Commodities Bonds fell, as the FOMC minutes revealed growing concern about low interest rates amongst Federal Reserve board members. 10-year notes...

What does our economic future hold? Great question, right? Is our economy truly rebounding as much as our equity markets may portend or are we riding high predominantly due to government stimulus similar to an economic anabolic steroid? Is our future as bleak as the numerous and sundry doomsayers would proclaim? Does it appear as if our economy has a split personality or is operating in two different realms? Do you often wonder what others—especially those in Washington—may be seeing if the economic landscape in your backyard remains very challenging? I continue to believe our overall economy is and will continue to operate with a ‘walking pneumonia’ type condition. The massive debt burdens at all levels of our economy continue to serve as a drag and inhibit any sort of truly robust rebound. Let’s navigate and take the pulse of Rick Davis of Consumer Metrics Institute which captures real time discretionary online consumer activity.  Rick and his team recently put forth a fabulous...

Equities Asian markets mostly rose on Monday, buoyed by optimism following Friday’s strong US jobs report. Leading the region, the Hang Seng rallied 1.5%, while the Nikkei rose just .1%, unable to hold on to sizable early gains. The Kospi slipped .25% after hitting a new record high earlier in the day. In Europe, stocks rallied early on merger news, but surrendered those gains late in the day. The FTSE ended up 7 points to 6117, while the CAC40 fell .3%. Chemical companies rallied 1.2% on news that Solvay made an offer to takeover Rhodia, sending Rhosia shares up 48%. US markets traded in very narrow ranges. The Dow rose 23 points to 12400, its highest close in years, while the Nasdaq and S&P closed flat. Omnivision Technologies slumped 7.4% on rumors that Apple may use Sony components in its camera phones, in place of those previously supplied by Omnivision. Semiconductors stocks as a whole fell, with AMD down 3%, and Nvidia down 3.6%. Treasuries...

Equities Most Asian markets rose on Friday, although the Nikkei slipped .5% to 9708, surrendering earlier gains. In Korea, the Kospi rallied .7% to its highest ever close of 2121, and the Hang Seng jumped 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite bounced 1.3% thanks to upbeat PMI data. In Europe markets rallied strongly, as the FTSE climbed 1.7%, and the Dax soared 2%. A strong payroll report from the US encouraged investors, as did a statement from Ireland’s finance minister that bond holders would not suffer losses from the country’s financial woes. US markets rose more modestly, with the Dow gaining 57 points to 12376, and the Nasdaq rising .3%. Non-farm payrolls showed a gain of 216K jobs, far better than the 191K analysts had expected, while unemployment dipped to 8.8%. GM shares jumped 4.5% after announcing that auto sales rose 11.4% in March. Offce Depot shares sank 9% on news it would restate earnings for the year, and Logitech tumbled 19% after cutting...

Markets Stocks gained at the start of the quarter after jobs news that gave investors more confidence the U.S. recovery is underway. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped almost 100 points towards a new high for the year after the blue-chip index posted the best first quarter percentage gain since 1999. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also jumoed and the CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell below 17. DJIA (March 27- April 1) Forex If we were to do an objective technical and fundamental analysis of the Euro, it would be a bit hard to argue for or even to predict a bullish outlook from the data and headlines we have seen over the past few weeks. The economic docket is lacking for influence altogether. Far more influential are the daily hitsto  the region’s financial health. From downgrades, to fiscal miscues, halted progress towards fixing underlying issues with the monetary union have crowded out the headlines. Still, the Still,...