Forex Trading News
Dollar, Euro, Pound & Yen

00:21 Friday 25 June, 2010

Keeping a close watch on gold, with Abhay Deshpande, First Eagle Funds Co-Portfolio Manager.

00:12 Friday 24 June, 2010

The journey to successful investing in the Asia-Pacific begins with the realization that the region is so vast and varied that no single investment theme or market can suit all, say experts.

Spanning a seven-hour time difference between Wellington and Karachi, the region's 15 biggest stock markets collectively have a capitalization of about $16 trillion and are based in countries home to more than half the world's population.

These nations not only have different demographics and levels of economic development, they are also governed under different political systems -- ranging from China's one-party communist rule to a multi-party coalition administration in India, the world's largest democracy.

The universe of stocks is just as diverse. It includes shares of cash-rich mobile operators to leveraged chipmakers and infrastructure developers to giant resource and automobile firms whose fortunes ride on global economic cycles, as well as defensive utility and consumer stocks that outperform in falling markets.

00:05 Friday 25 June, 2010

Warren Buffett, arguably the world's most famous investor, went shopping for Tesco shares earlier this week, adding to his stake in Britain's dominant supermarket retailer.

A disclosure released to the London Stock Exchange Thursday showed Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway added nearly 2 million shares in Tesco to take the group's stake past the 3% threshold. The shares were purchased on Tuesday,

Buffett's increased stake comes just two weeks after the company announced its succession plan, with the company tapping insider Philip Clarke to replace the respected Terry Leahy as chief executive next March.

22:19 Thursday 24 June, 2010

The Fed acknowledging a slowing economic pace, with Todd Colvin, MF Global.

22:11 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Oil giant BP's decision to halt dividends until next year has come as a blow for equity income managers in the U.K., but fund managers and strategists say there are appealing, if limited, alternatives in Britain to choose.

Dividend payouts in the U.K. took a hit with BP's recent decision to suspend payments, with the oil giant which is battling to clean up a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico accounting for around 12% of total U.K. payouts.

The dividend yield -- calculated by dividing dividend per share payouts by share prices -- on the FTSE 100 index now stands at around 3.22%, according to data compiled by FactSet. That's down from 3.31% at the start of the year.

"It's obviously not good news. It means that the dividend has gone down in absolute terms," said Colin Morton, lead manager of the Rensburg U.K. Equity Income Trust.

Morgan Stanley's U.K. equity strategists listed high-yielding companies due to pay dividends at the same time as BP.

They include Shell, drug makers AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, publisher Reed Elsevier, utility Scottish & Southern Energy and telecom BT Group.

These companies tend to be on the defensive side of the market, generating lots of cash but relatively low earnings growth.

22:05 Thursday 24 June, 2010

U.S. stock futures were pointing to opening losses Thursday on worries about the economy, retaining losses after the release of jobless claims and durable-goods orders data.

Though off lows of the session, S&P 500 futures fell 5.7 points to 1,081.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 11.5 points to 1,862.50. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 44 points.

A combination of weak housing data and cautious remarks from the Fed on Wednesday led to slight moves for major stock market indexes, a fall in the dollar and gains for Treasury bonds.

"Unless the U.S. extend the [home buyer tax] credits (quite possible), the next two or three months of U.S. housing data will be a fascinating case study of how private demand looks in the post credit crisis world," said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank.

15:19 Thursday 24 June, 2010

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The Australian dollar seized the spotlight in Asian currency trading Thursday, falling back after rallying earlier as the country's new leader raised hopes that a controversial mining-tax proposal will be modified.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stepped down Thursday in favor his deputy Julia Gillard, who will become the nation's first woman leader as her Labor Party heads into a new election.

Gillard called for a truce between the government and the mining industry regarding the planned tax, which would impose a 40% tax on miners' profits, beginning on July 1, 2012.

"If Gillard is able to engineer a diplomatic outcome quickly, it would be a short-term positive for AUD [the Australian dollar], but until then, there is simply too much uncertainty," said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada, in a note to clients Thursday.

14:11 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Gillard has a big "juggling act" ahead of her and she will have to find a middle path, says Matthew Sherwood, head of investment market research at Perpetual. He shares his views on Australia's new PM with Olivier Desbarres, director of FX strategy at Credit Suisse and CNBC's Oriel Morrison.

14:06 Thursday 24 June, 2010

The U.S. dollar stayed on the defensive on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reiterated its pledge to keep rates low, while the Australian dollar gained after the country's ruling party chose a new prime minister.

"Clearly this is a positive for the Australian dollar and stocks in the short and medium term," said Su-Lin Ong, a senior economist at RBC Capital Markets.

"It removes the political uncertainty that had been growing and would have only got worse. We assume Gillard will negotiate on the mining tax and produce a watered-down version."

14:02 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Asian stocks turned higher on Thursday despite a weaker start following news the Federal Reserve acknowledged that the U.S. economic recovery is faltering. Australian shares pushed higher after a change in leadership.

The nation's first female leader, former deputy premier Julia Gillard, was handed power in an effort to avoid election defeat later this year. Gillard said she is looking for consensus over the proposed mining tax and hopes to end the uncertainty over the controversial tax.

Australian shares rose 0.7 percent early, led by miners on hopes an agreement can be reached over the government's proposed mining tax.

11:14 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Which is the bigger threat? Vince Reinhart, former director at the FOMC; Jim Lacamp, of Macroportfolio Advisors; Jim Iuorio, of TJM Institutional Services; Lee Munson, of Portfolio Asset Mgmt.; and the CNBC news team discuss.

11:08 Thursday 24 June, 2010

The removal of Kevin Rudd as Australia's prime minister is unlikely to change the prospects for the government's mining tax, one of the more vocal critics of the plan said Thursday.

Tony Sage, chief executive of Cape Lambert Resources Ltd. (CFE.AU), said that Labor's new leadership team of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan were wedded to the tax.

"Wayne Swan is the architect of this tax and he has been virulently opposed to any compromise, so it would be a big back-down for him personally. Gillard is from the left and was never a favorite of the mining industry," he said.

09:25 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Oil prices may rise to $86 a barrel by the middle of this decade, representing an increase of nearly $10 a barrel, or about 13%, from current levels, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

The average import price will likely increase from $77 a barrel this year to $86 a barrel by 2015, according to the latest price assumptions made by the Paris-based IEA.

The agency warned, however, that concerns remain over the potential for a return to greater market volatility. Also, there are uncertainties within the physical oil market, especially regarding the true pace of demand growth in emerging economies.

"Global economic issues, especially EU fiscal problems, and broader financial market activity look set to remain key influences on oil price volatility in the short and longer term," the IEA wrote in its latest report looking at the medium-term outlook for the oil and gas markets.

08:29 Thursday 24 June, 2010

By year end, Adrian Foster, Head of Financial Markets Research, Asia Pacific at Rabobank, expects the yuan to appreciate by just 2% from its current levels versus the dollar.

08:24 Thursday 24 June, 2010

The dollar weakened against the euro and yen Wednesday as the Federal Reserve reiterated its pledge to keep interest rates low for an extended period and struck a cautious tone on the U.S. economy.

Low interest rates should diminish the appeal of dollar-denominated assets, especially as the global economy starts to recover.

The Fed also softened its view on the U.S. economy in its statement, noting pockets of weakness in certain sectors and and warning against volatile financial markets given the euro zone debt crisis.

"It's dovish. There's no rate hike expected for the foreseeable future," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York. "The Fed is concerned about threats to growth, not threats to inflation. The longer the Fed keeps kicking the can down the road, the less positive this is for the U.S. dollar outlook."

08:21 Thursday 24 June, 2010

The euro is a flawed construct and Germany's budget savings policy is making it harder for other countries in the currency bloc to regain competitiveness, billionaire investor George Soros said on Wednesday.

Soros said the euro was an incomplete currency from the start as the European Union's Maastricht Treaty established a monetary union without a political union.

"The euro is a patently flawed construct," Soros, who earned $1 billion in 1992 by betting against the British pound, said in the text of a speech for delivery at Berlin's Humboldt University.

08:17 Thursday 24 June, 2010

The dollar turned notably lower versus the euro on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve turned less positive in its assessment of the U.S. economic outlook.

Also, the British pound gained against the U.S. dollar and euro after minutes from the Bank of England's latest interest-rate meeting showed one member wanted to raise rates. Also, Moody's Investors Service said that the U.K. budget is supportive of the country's Aaa rating and stable outlook.

08:13 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. shares fell late Wednesday as the housewares retailer's quarterly forecast fell short of Wall Street's projection, while Dell Inc. issued a sales outlook that was in line with analyst projections.

Bed Bath & Beyond shares fell 5% to $39.40 after the company said it expects second-quarter earnings of 59 cents to 63 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently expect earnings of 64 cents a share.

Ahead of the PC maker's yearly analyst meeting on Thursday, Dell said it expects fiscal 2011 revenue to rise 14% to 19% from $52.9 billion in 2010, driven in part by "the refresh of PCs in commercial and public segments," the company said in statement. Analysts, on average, currently expect sales to rise 16% to $65.18 billion.

Dell also said fiscal 2011 adjusted operating income will increase by 18% to 23% from 2010. Operating income was reported at $1.43 billion for fiscal 2010. Cash flow from operations "will be greater" than net income for the current year, added Dell.

Late-traded shares of Dell were off 2 cents to $13.80.

08:07 Thursday 24 June, 2010

Federal Reserve officials retained a pledge to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low for an “extended period” and signaled that Europe’s debt crisis may harm American growth.

“Financial conditions have become less supportive of economic growth on balance, largely reflecting developments abroad,” the Fed’s Open Market Committee said in a statement today in Washington. Central bankers cited slowing inflation and said the recovery is “proceeding,” altering April language that the economy has “continued to strengthen,” while reaffirming they foresee a “moderate” pace of growth.

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