Exiting difficulties give illiquid Scandis limited appeal as a safe haven October 18, 2011 WITH no end in sight for market volatility, options are dwindling for investors seeking safe haven currencies. Six weeks ago, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) made the bold move of putting a floor under the euro-Swiss franc exchange rate at SFr1.20. When it announced the move, the SNB said that it would protect the franc [...]
FAITH IN EU SUMMIT IS MISPLACED October 18, 2011 THIS week the focus in the currency market is squarely on the EU summit scheduled for 23 October, but the event itself may prove to be anticlimactic and could serve as a perfect sell- the-news moment even if the Eurozone officials manage to produce a reasonable plan to deal with the sovereign debt crisis. Over [...]
THE TIPSTER October 18, 2011 The rally in sterling from recent lows has hit the skids in the last few days, with sterling-Japanese yen playing the technical levels beautifully again. After topping out almost exactly on the 50-day simple moving average at ¥122.47 and just above trend-line resistance going back to the April highs of ¥139, it has pulled back [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS October 18, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Scalp dollar-yen and short Kiwi dollar-dollar Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week I had a mixed bag last week with my short euro-sterling hitting its stop at its new resistance, while sterling-dollar hit its initial target. We are seeing [...]
Take a binary bet on currency pair movements with GFT’s latest offer October 18, 2011 GFT’S founder and chief executive Gary Tilkin is in bullish mood. This week, his firm launches its latest innovation, a platform for binary trades, where traders can simply make yes/no predictions about whether a financial event will happen. The platform covers foreign exchange, but also popular indices and commodities. “It’s an idea I had a [...]
Global standards are set to provoke continental shifts in accounting rules October 18, 2011 HEAD OF ACCA UK IN THE eye of another economic storm, the issue of whether the world will take a step closer to having one set of accounting standards may not be at the top of most executives’ minds. Yet, in less than a month, the way in which companies around the world report their [...]
Lack of plan to fix Euro debt crisis hits banks and miners October 17, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index closed lower yesterday, giving up early gains, as miners and banks went in to reverse after hopes for an imminent solution to Europe’s debt crisis were dashed by comments from Germany’s finance minister. Wolfgang Schaeuble played down heightened expectations that European governments will resolve the region’s sovereign debt crisis at a [...]
Fear gauge up as US stocks plunge October 17, 2011 US stocks suffered their worst loss in two weeks yesterday after comments from Germany’s finance minister caused investors to fear Europe’s solution to its debt crisis may not come fast enough. The S&P index had risen for two straight weeks for the first time since July, riding a wave of euphoria built on optimism that [...]
Shock margin hikes can hurt commodity traders October 17, 2011 WHILE looking at trends in chart patterns is always a useful exercise when dealing with commodities, it is important that it is not the be all and end all of a trader’s strategy. Of course there are global macro influences that can drive commodity prices – copper being driven as a proxy for infrastructure building, [...]
CHINA FACING WALL IN HUNT FOR GROWTH October 17, 2011 INVESTORS have placed considerable faith in China over the past few years. Many remain convinced that the country’s growing middle class (estimated to be around 300m people) is ready to step in and take up the slack as US and European economies slow. But while China’s economic growth is likely to continue to outstrip that [...]