The Dollar Extended

The dollar extended its winning streak against the Japanese yen to four days and gained on the British pound and other major currencies as U.S. equities declined Friday, taking the wind out of the sails of investors who had been piling into riskier assets. The dollar also rose for a third straight day against the euro, which had touched a 14-month high earlier this week. The greenback's gains stemmed from traders reversing bets that the dollar would continue falling, said analysts at Action Economics. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, rose to 75.488, up from 75.047 in North American activity late Thursday. "The rally in risk assets looks like it is stalling and people are thinking it's an overstretched market," said Brian Dolan, currency strategist at Forex.com. "We all just have to take a step back every now and then." The dollar rose to the highest in a month against the Japanese currency, recently fetching 92.10 yen, up from 91.36 yen on Thursday. The euro traded at $1.5004, compared to $1.5023. The pound dropped about 1.9% against the dollar, pulling back after an unexpected drop in gross domestic product in the United Kingdom raised concerns about the possibility of further quantitative-easing measures. Both currency and stock markets shrugged off a Friday report showing resales of U.S. houses jumped 9.4% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million, the highest in more than two years and more than analysts' predicted. "As we close in on the end of the period in which one can successfully close on their home in time to qualify for the first-time home buyers' credit, a tick higher for the month is not surprising at all and entirely within reasonable expectation levels," said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak, in emailed comments. U.S. stocks also extended a decline after the data, signaling to currency traders a reduction in risk appetite -- something that's tended to support the dollar for many months. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX), down 1.4% in afternoon action, is poised to end the week nearly flat despite many companies reported earnings that beat expectations. For its part, the greenback is poised to close the week lower for a third time, with the Dollar Index falling to the lowest level since August 2008. The euro has also had a good week, rising past the psychologically important $1.50 level to the highest in 14 months. Bucking that trend, the dollar is poised to gain for a third week on the yen after reaching the highest level since mid-September. Pressure on the pound Byond the big three currencies, the pound plunged after data showed the U.K. recession had unexpectedly extended into a sixth straight quarter. Data showed that the U.K.'s GDP dropped 0.4% in the third quarter, compared to expectations that it would rise 0.1%. Sterling's weakness reflected expectations that the Bank of England may have to continue with its asset-purchasing program and that interest rates will remain low for a longer period. "With just under two weeks to go until that decision, today's dismal GDP reading will certainly tip the market consensus odds from a pause in quantitative easing to an increase in quantitative easing, and this is likely to weigh on the pound considerably," said Stephen Gallo, head of market analysis at Schneider Foreign Exchange. There had been speculation ahead of the GDP data that the central bank could soon start to withdraw some of its monetary stimulus. "With the Bank of England set to publish its inflation report and re-assess quantitative easing in November, an extension of the asset purchase facility is on the cards," said Charles Davis, senior economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Davis added he expects asset purchases to reach 250 billion pounds, up from the current level of 175 billion pounds, and for U.K. interest rates to remain at 0.5% through 2010 and into 2011. The pound traded at $1.6309, down for the first week in three. At the same time, it was sharply lower against other major currencies including the euro.

Argentine Bonds Were Mixed Friday As Markets Digested News

Argentine bonds were mixed Friday as markets digested news that the government plans to offer a new swap deal to the holders of defaulted debt. The benchmark peso-denominated bond fell 1.92% in price terms to ARS102 ($26.70), bringing the yield to 11.99%. The dollar-denominated Boden 2012 rose 0.47% in price terms to ARS318.50, to yield 12.13%. On Thursday, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said legislation will be sent to Congress on Monday that would exchange up to $20 billion in defaulted bonds. The bill would suspend a law that forbids the renegotiation of defaulted debt. To exchange the bonds, the government is planning to reopen a debt swap that was completed in 2005, though the terms of the new offer are expected to be worse. Investors will have to accept a discount of at least 65% of face value to participate in the new transaction, Boudou said, adding that the government would like to see at least 60% of the outstanding defaulted debt included in the reopening. Stocks fared poorly on Friday, in line with losses on Wall Street, which slumped due to declining commodities. Argentina's Merval Index slipped 0.58% to close at 2,295.88 points. The peso climbed to 3.8200 to the dollar from 3.8225 on Thursday. The Central Bank stepped into currency markets heavily throughout the week to prop up the greenback. The government bought dollars to sate strong demand for pesos as the dollar declines against most of the world's currencies and investors sought local currency to buy Argentine government debt.

Leaders from Germany's Center-Right Parties

Leaders from Germany's center-right parties on Saturday announced a raft of policies that will guide their new coalition government. Including some EUR24 billion in tax cuts and plans to extend the lifespan of Germany's nuclear power plants, the policies foresee a significant shift from the outgoing grand coalition Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats shared with the center-left Social Democrats. The parties also agreed to extend the lifespan of nuclear power plans and move the responsibility for banking supervision to Germany's Deutsche Bundesbank central bank. Some key points of the agreement: TAXES: -Parties agreed on EUR24 billion in income tax cuts starting in 2011. -The coalition agreed on a simplification of tax brackets and to confront so-called cold progression, in which taxpayers end up in higher tax brackets even though their real, inflation-adjusted incomes aren't growing through pay raises. -Parties agreed to amend the business taxation system from Jan. 1, 2010, by easing companies' ability to deduct interest expenses and losses from their corporate tax bill. -Parties will explore ways to strengthen holdings in Germany; reforming rules for deducting losses and cross-border taxation of company profits among options to be explored. -Inheritance taxation will be changed by lowering the tax burden for siblings and their children and by amending rules to make the passing-on of businesses more "crisis-proof." -The allowance paid for children will be raised by EUR20 per child and the tax-free family allowance will be increased to EUR7,008 next year. BUDGET: -Tax revenues are to be used to help keep non-wage labor costs stable, by paying around EUR16 billion to the federal labor agency and around EUR4 billion to the public health-care system next year. -Parties agreed on eight "golden rules" for budget policy with the aim of limiting new debt and spending. The rules include more power for the cabinet when setting up the draft budget, implementing Germany's constitutional debt cap rule from 2011, committing to keep the rise in government spending below the rate of gross domestic product growth, and banning any extra spending on top of existing budget and financial plans. FINANCIAL MARKETS: -The Deutsche Bundesbank central bank will be put in charge of banking supervision, at the expense of financial services watchdog BaFin, which is currently sharing the oversight with the Bundesbank. -Parties will give priority to respecting the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact and respecting the independence of the European Central Bank and Bundesbank. -Parties aim to set stricter capital requirement rules for banks and establish regulation of all financial market products, actors and markets. -The coalition will call for changes in compensation for financial sector workers by linking compensation more strongly to the long-term success, and forcing pay cuts in a difficult economic situation. -Parties want to prevent the moral hazard of systemically crucial institutions by launching suitable legal instruments for a restructuring and winding-down procedure in order to either liquidate a systemic company of the financial sector that got into trouble in a market-sensitive way, or to stabilize it before it gets into insolvency. -The country's private equity is to be boosted by creating a "common attractive venture capital market" and abolishing "unnecessary hurdles" to the German REITs market. -Parties will examine whether to launch a unified and standardized securitization law to set a transparent standard. -Coalition will promote efforts to set up a European rating agency. ENERGY: -Parties agreed to extend the lifespan of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants, effectively abandoning a nuclear phase-out scheduled for 2021. The government will negotiate conditions of the extension with utilities, particularly on how windfall profits from keeping plans open can be spent. -Calling nuclear energy a "bridge technology," the parties preserved a ban on building new nuclear power plants in Germany and said nuclear power will remain in use until "renewable energy can reliably replace it." -Parties will aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. -Within the next year, parties want to draw up new goals for the percentage of power to be drawn from renewable sources and those from traditional outlets. -Setting up a single electricity transmission grid network operator, or Deutsche Netz AG. LABOR MARKET: -The parties oppose a general minimum wage and will review existing minimum wages in specific sectors. They also advocate a legal ban on "immoral" wages, defined as one-third below average wages in a given sector. TRANSPORTATION: -The parties plan a step-by-step privatization of rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG "once capital market conditions support this." The also plan promoted greater independence for and increased competition among operators on the nation's railways. The current grand coalition government called off the planned partial privatization of Deutsche Bahn last autumn due to bad market conditions. HEALTH INSURANCE: -Injecting around EUR4 billion budget into the public health-care system next year and boosting competition in the system. -Setting up a commission that will work on a reform of the health fund, which pools fixed-rate health-insurance payments from employers and workers. For now, the fixed insurance premiums, currently set at 14.9% of workers' gross pay, will stay in place. But in future, insurers will have more leeway to set their own premium levels. -Keeping extra payments from individuals at 1% of income that insurers can demand if the insurers' costs resulting from medical treatment exceed their intake from the health fund.

Greenback ended on Thursday

Greenback ended on Thursday near the lows of the year across the board, with the exception of the Yen. Stocks fell in Asia and in Europe but in Wall Street equities rose posting important gains. The surge in stocks weakened the Dollar that moved away from intra-day highs and ended near the lows of the year.

Corporate earnings and an increase in the Leading Indicators helped stocks surge during the American session weakening the Dollar. EUR/USD fell to 1.4945 during the Asian session but from there started to rise at a slow pace and erased previous losses. The pair finished a few pips below 14-month high at 1.5025.

The ecPulse.com analysis team affirms: “The U.S stocks closed in a green zone due to strong optimism spread within the stock market as a result of cheerful and better-than forecasts earnings reported from huge and known U.S corporations such as Traveler's Cos. to Mc Donald's Corp, boosting hopes accordingly that the crisis is actually close to an end, whereas the DJIA managed to breach the 10,000 barrier to the upside.”

GBP/USD managed to recover after falling to 1.6485 (intra-day low). The pair approached to the resistance zone at 1.6640. USD/CHF peaked at 1.0125 during the European session but failed to hold and regained the downside. The pair fell almost a hundred pips from the highs of the day finding support at 1.0040, a few pips above yesterday lows.

Similar situation applies to currencies tied to commodities. Dollar rose sharply the first half of the day but then failed to hold and pullback below the opening level. AUD/USD tested levels below 0.9200 but finished the day at 0.9270. NZD/USD fell momentarily below 0.7500 but then recovered rising to 0.7600.

For the first time of the week the Dollar did not fall to fresh low for the year across the board.

The Yen continued to lose ground across the board, falling to a one-month low against the Dollar and Cable and to a 2-month low to the Euro.

Friday,Asian Shares Grew Higher

Asian shares were higher Friday after better-than-expected earnings boosted Wall Street, with Australian stocks in the lead. South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor though failed to get much of a lift from its third quarter report. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.0%, with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 0.4% and Korea's Kospi Composite up 0.3%. New Zealand's NZX-50 was 0.3% higher. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 20 points in screen trade. "Obviously there were some good results overseas," said Patersons senior private client adviser Chris Blair. "U.S. companies still need stronger revenue to back up the share price momentum, but the bulls are winning at this stage." Leading the charge in Sydney were Westpac, up 2.0% and BHP Billiton, up 0.8%. Retail conglomerate Wesfarmers jumped 5.3% after news that first quarter food & liquor sales rose 7.3% on the year, with total sales up 6.1%. But Woodside Petroleum fell 1.5% after third quarter production dropped 5.0% on year and sales declined 40%. It also suffered a significant setback to its efforts to secure gas supply for the expansion of its Pluto project, with two potential suppliers opting to funnel gas to a Chevron project instead. Shipping stocks were leading in Japan with the Topix marine transport subindex up 1.6%, helped by a higher Baltic dry index. "Earnings-related catalysts may lead the market today as well as exporters as worries over the strong yen are receding for now," said Yoshinori Nagano, senior strategist at Daiwa Asset Management. Mitsui O.S.K. rose 2.3% and Kawasaki Kisen gained 2.1%. Korean stocks were pulled higher by car makers, with Hyundai Motor rising 2.9%, while Kia Motors added 2.9% before its third quarter results later Friday. Hynix was only 0.5% higher after news the world's second-largest producer of computer memory chips by revenue swung to a net profit of KRW246.3 billion, versus a net loss of KRW1.67 trillion a year ago. The result was lower than expected - a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts had forecast a net profit of KRW352.9 billion. Still, "demand for dynamic random access memory chips will likely remain solid and corporate demand for PCs is expected to revive next year partly due to the (push) to replace old ones with (computers to take) Windows 7," said Lee Sun-tae at Meritz Securities. In New Zealand, trading volumes were described as healthy, though analysts said there were few cues. "It's a dull, drab market," Craigs Investment Partners broker James Porteous said. Leading the gainers was jewelry retailer Michael Hill International, rising 3.0%. PGG Wrightson fell 2.9% ahead of a capital raising, despite associate Pyne Gould late Thursday completing the second leg of a NZ$267 million capital raising. Better risk appetite was the theme in the foreign exchange market, with the euro briefly hitting its highest level since August 13 against the U.S. dollar, touching $1.5051. It was more recently at $1.5037, from $1.5031 late in New York. The single currency rose initially to Y137.61 against the yen - its best level since August 13 - before coming back to Y137.55, from Y137.20 in New York, with the U.S. dollar at Y91.50, from Y91.28. Dollar weakness extended to other currencies, with the British pound hitting $1.6676, its highest level since September 14, and Y152.56 against the yen, its best point since September 11. "In the mid- and long-term, the dollar's falling trend will likely remain intact," said Yuji Saito, Societe Generale's FX group head. Lead Japanese government bond futures were lower, at 138.36 points, down 0.02. Spot gold rose 40 cents from New York, to $1,060.20 a troy ounce. "Gold prices will continue to be influenced heavily by U.S. dollar movements, in our opinion," HSBC analyst James Steel said. HSBC currency strategists were targeting the euro to soon reach $1.5160, with gold as a result to remain well bid. LME three-month copper was $25 higher from the London kerb, at $6,610 a metric ton. Triland analysts said a pattern of copper rallying, then backtracking on profit-taking showed "a clear tension with participants not feeling comfortable with such a rally." Nymex front-month crude oil futures were up two cents at $81.21 a barrel on Globex.

Australian imports fell

A price index of Australian imports fell 3.0% in the third quarter of 2009 from the second quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Friday. The decrease in the import price index was mainly driven by the appreciation of the Australian dollar against all major trading currencies, as well as lower prices paid for general and industrial machinery and equipment, the bureau said. These were partly offset by rises in prices for petroleum, petroleum products, and related materials The price index for exports fell 9.6% in the third quarter from the second. The decrease in the export price index was mainly due to falls in prices received for coal, coke and briquettes, and for metal ores and metal scrap, the bureau said. The appreciation of the Australian dollar also contributed to the fall. The falls were partly offset by higher prices for nonferrous metals, petroleum and petroleum products. The export price index fell by 20.7% over the year to the third quarter, the largest annual decrease since the data were first reported in the third quarter of 1974, the bureau said.

Weakening Columbian Peso

The Colombian peso Thursday weakened ahead of the Central Bank's monetary meeting, to be held on Friday, as investors expect the board will take steps to limit the peso appreciation. The Colombian peso weakened to 1,916.60 pesos to the dollar, from COP1,895.6 on Wednesday. "Foreigners were the main sellers as they expect the bank may decide to put limitations on the entry of foreign capitals in the country to limit the demand for pesos," Julian Cardenas, a market analyst with local brokerage Corredores Asociados, said. Last week, Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said the Central Bank's seven-member board, where he sits, will discuss the possibility of taking measures to limit the peso appreciation. "With those comments and the market reaction they triggered, Zuluaga has left no choice to the bank but to start buying dollars," Cardenas said. The benchmark IGBC stock index fell 0.7%, to 11,008.88 points. Shares of state-controlled power company Isagen SA (ISAGEN.BO) fell 0.7%, to COP2,095, while the shares of state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol SA (ECOPETROL.BO) fell 1.3%, to COP2,635. On the debt market, meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 2020 Colombian peso-denominated bond rose to 8.619% from 8.596% on Wednesday.

Ski Season Approaches

As the 2009/2010 ski season approaches, research from the Post Office has shown that the overall cost of skiing has fallen in France and the US.
Due to continued economic uncertainty, a weak pound, and the rise of airline fuel surcharges, the number of Britons taking skiing holidays has significantly fallen. In the season 2008/09 numbers fell to just over one million people, a 13% decrease on the previous season.
As a result of this some ski resorts, notably in France and the US, have cut the overall cost of their products and services in order to attract skiers to their resorts.
According to the Post Office Ski Resort Report 2009, which compared the projected costs of a six-day lift pass and ski equipment hire alongside essentials such as meals and alcohol, it found that combined costs will fall in certain resorts in France and the US by 11%.
Other countries, however, have increased their prices considerably – with Norway upping costs by 26% and Finland and Germany by 23%. The most expensive countries to ski in are Canada, Switzerland and the US, whilst the cheapest are Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy and France.
France remains a good choice for many skiers, with a lift pass in the French resort of Courchevel costing £129.95, while a pass in the neighbouring Swiss resort of Verbier will cost nearly twice that, at £205.99.
A spokesperson for Alpine Elements, a company that specialises in high altitude ski holidays throughout the French Alps, said: “It’s good to see Courchevel trying to curb the effects of the economic downturn by enticing skiers with cheaper prices. The slopes are still there and the snow is still thick.”
Alpine Elements offer a variety of ski holidays to Courchevel and various other resorts throughout the French Alps. They also offer discounts for group ski holidays, ski lessons for beginners and skiing insurance cover.

$1.6 billion (£1bn) Net Income through Google

Google has reported a 7% rise in third quarter revenues, reporting a record $1.6 billion (£1bn) net income, compared to just $1.3bn for the same period in 2008.
Revenue for the quarter was $4.38bn, which was ahead of analysts’ expectations of around $1.3bn.
A large amount of revenue comes from inside the US, where Google is headquartered; however, UK revenue also contributed a healthy amount, with a percentage share of 13% for the quarter.
Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, said: “Google had a strong quarter – we saw 7% year-over-year revenue growth despite the tough economic conditions.
“While there is a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us and now feel confident about investing heavily in our future.”
One of the big winners for Google in the three months to 30 September 2009 was its revenue through its partner sites, which through AdSense, raised $1.8bn, or 30% of total revenues, and Google-owned sites, which generated revenues of $3.96bn, or 67% of total revenues. These represent increases of 7% and 8% respectively compared to 2008.
Earlier this week, the search engine announced that Arthur Levinson has resigned from his position on Google’s Board of Directors with immediate effect. Levinson is also on the board of Apple, and reports suggest this is the reason for the announcement as the two companies have become increasingly competitive in recent years. Google CEO Schmidt, quit his role on the Apple board two months ago, citing similar reasons.
Google employs nearly 20,000 full-time workers across its worldwide base, and is highly regarded as the number one search engine globally.
Its shares rose by 20 points on the Nasdaq stock exchange today.

25% increase to the congestion charge along with London Travel Fares

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced that London travel fares will rise in 2010, along with a 25% increase to the congestion charge.
Oyster card pay-as-you-go bus journeys are to rise from £1 to £1.20, the Oyster pay-as-you-go Zone 1 tube fare will increase from £1.60 to £1.80 and the price of a seven-day bus pass will jump from £13.80 to £16.60.
Overall, bus fares are to go up by 12.7% and Tube fares will rise by 3.9%. The Mayor said he had protected free and concessionary fares for London’s elderly, young people and those on low incomes – meaning that 40% of bus passengers will continue to travel free or at a substantial concessionary rate.
He also set out changes to the operation of London’s Congestion Charge Scheme, including plans to make it easier to pay and avoid penalty charge notices through the introduction of payment on account in 2010. However the standard charge of £8 will rise by 25% to £10.
Making clear that his approach to fares and investment would bring stability to TfL’s financial position, Mr Johnson said: “Nobody wants to make an announcement like this, especially when Londoners are feeling the effects of the recession. It is not a decision that I have taken lightly. Indeed, I have been persuaded of the need for fare rises only after ensuring that every efficiency possible, at least £5 billion in total, is being made at TfL.”
It is understood that the higher fares will raise an extra £125?million a year, and the increase in the congestion charge a further £15 million – but TfL will lose £50?million when the western extension is scrapped.
The cuts to services and changes to TfL priorities will save £1.36?billion over the next three years, however it is looking to achieve £5?billion of savings overall.
The price rises on public transport will take effect in January.

£1.2 Billion Could be Saved a Year

UK businesses could save £1.2 billion a year by switching to internet-based telephone systems, according to research from Britain’s first independent web-based phone company.
Cloud Net, the company behind the research, also claims that thousands of jobs would also be created as a reduction in technological costs pave the way for job security.
A detailed analysis of the UK’s 10 million traditional fixed line users. According to the study, the costs currently amount to around £2.5bn in line rent and calls, from a variety of resellers, plus the mounting costs of equipment rental.
Cloud Net, says its new third generation Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offers switchboards to subscribers and low-cost line rental, and is being hailed as a major breakthrough in telecoms.
Subscribers pay around £6.50 a month for switchboard phones which operate through their broadband system and reportedly provide “crystal clear” sounds.
Cloud Net Chairman, David Hill, said: “There is no reason whatsoever for companies now not to use internet-based telephones as the quality is far superior to anything else on the market and offers all the services of traditional land-lines without the hassle.
“Our research has shown that businesses in Britain could save millions of pounds by switching to the VoIP system. There are ten million users across the UK and the savings would be enormous, giving industry and commerce a huge economic boost.”
Cloud Net launched its new service in September and has plans to cover the whole of the UK within two years.

Colombian Stock Index Rose

The Colombian stock index rose Friday on investors' expectations the central bank may further cut interest rates in a bid to slow the peso appreciation. The benchmark IGBC stock index rose 0.7% to 10,942.50 points. "Investors bought stocks as some of them expect the country's central bank may cut interest rates," said Cesar Tovar, market analyst with local brokerage Nacional de Valores. Lower interest rates make companies' financial costs fall. On Thursday evening, Colombian Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said the central bank will evaluate whether to start buying dollars on the spot market to tame the appreciation of the peso. He said the bank will evaluate taking other measures. Shares of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana SA (GRUPOSURA.BO) rose 1.8% to 23,200 Colombian pesos ($12.58). Shares of state-controlled telephone company Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota SA (ETB.BO), or ETB, rose 3.6% to COP901. The Colombian peso strengthened to 1,843.5 pesos to the dollar, from COP1,846 on Thursday. The yield on the benchmark peso-denominated government bond maturing in 2020 fell to 8.603% from 8.748% on Thursday.

Argentina's Stock Pulls Back

Argentine stocks pulled back Friday as investors took profits following the new 2009 high set by the Merval Index earlier this week. Argentina's Merval Index shed 0.79% to close at 2,207.28 points. Despite the profit-taking, prices partially rebounded near the end of trade, marking continued investor interest in local shares, said Dionisio Corneille, head of the brokerage bearing his name. There were also some big gainers despite the general losses. Electricity transmission company Transener Cia. (TRAN) surged 8.85% to close at ARS1.23 ($0.32) on expectations of solid second quarter earnings and a repositioning from other service companies, which had left Transener behind during the recent rally, Corneille said. Telecom Argentina S.A. (TEO, TECO2.BA) jumped 1.53% to ARS13.25 following news late Thursday that the company paid off the last $352 million owed on a $1.9 billion loan extended in 2005. Telecom paid off the debt five years ahead of the payment plan agreed with creditors. Meanwhile, bonds posted moderate gains on continued momentum following government talk of resolving the ongoing conflict with the holders of defaulted debts and resuming relations with the International Monetary Fund. While government officials say they are looking to reach a deal, investors are keen to see the actual steps. Some opted to take profits due to the lack of progress, Corneille said. Goldman Sachs said Friday: "It is now imperative that the authorities move without much delay from market-friendly rhetorical statements to genuine good-faith steps to deliver on some of those promises. That outcome would preserve the current market goodwill and could also be the harbinger of additional positive market gains and sovereign credit rating upgrades." The benchmark peso-denominated bond rose 0.82% in price terms to ARS97.80, to yield 12.46%. The dollar-denominated Boden 2012 rose 0.62% in price terms to ARS307.40, to yield 14.32%. There was strong pressure on the dollar again Friday, forcing the government to buy $200 million to keep the peso from strengthening. The Central Bank pumped over $500 million into the local foreign exchange market this week to support the greenback. The peso fell to 3.8225 to the dollar on Friday from 3.8200 on Thursday.

Argentina's Industrial Output Fell Sharply

Argentina's industrial output fell sharply in September on the year, indicating that the an economic recovery is still a ways off. Industrial production fell 10.5% from the same month a year earlier but rose 1.1% on the month, the think tank Orlando J Ferreres & Asociados, or OJF, reported Friday. Year-on-year output has now declined each month for the past year, according to OJF. That puts accumulated January through September output down 9.5% from a year earlier. Still, September's increase in the month-on-month data was the third of its kind in a row, indicating that the industry's doldrums seem to have bottomed out. OJF said results for the rest of the year will likely improve because they'll be compared with data from late 2008, when the global financial crisis was just starting to have an impact on Argentina. Moreover, a solid recovery in Brazil, Argentina's top trade partner, as well as a "calmer financial situation," should help the sector through next year, OJF said. The think tank's estimates coincide with other private sector estimates that indicate output has fallen sharply since the beginning of the global crisis. But the data clash with official government figures that show only a minor slowdown in production. The national statistics institute, Indec, will release official industrial output data on October 23. Indec last reported that August output declined 1.7% on the year but was up 0.6% on the month. Economists here routinely discard the reliability of official statistics, saying the data are tainted. Government officials deny the charges.

USD/CHF very low

Despite falling on Friday, the Swiss Franc ended the week with sharp gains against the Dollar. USD/CHF finished below 1.0200 but far from intra-week lows that lie at 1.0117 (15-month low). The pair has fallen in 5 out of the last 6 weeks. USD/CHF is still under pressure and the downside bias has a strong support at a downtrend line in daily charts. On the upside has a key resistance level at 1.0230/50, a break above could send it higher. Against Cable, the Swiss fell sharply on Friday. GBP/CHF extended the rally and finished above 1.6600 at a two week high. The pair rose 450 pips in the last two days.

U.S dollar versus Euro & Japanese

The U.S. dollar advanced versus the euro and Japanese yen on Friday as data showed gains in foreign funds flowing to the U.S. and weakness in consumer confidence spurred selling of stocks. The dollar and British pound rebounded from recent lows scored the previous day as traders reversed bets that the dollar will fall further, and U.S. equities declined, easing pressure to continue selling the greenback. "Going into the weekend, today's sell-off in the Dow provides players with a convenient excuse to take profit on short U.S. dollar positions and reload for next week," Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at The Bank of New York Mellon, wrote in emailed comments. The U.S. dollar index (DXY) rose to 75.584, up from 75.480 in North American trade late Thursday after sliding to a series of 14-month lows earlier in the week. The dollar bought 90.82 yen, up from 90.59 yen, giving up bigger gains earlier in the session. The euro traded at $1.4903 versus the dollar, down from $1.4933 after failing to breach the psychologically important $1.50 level. Reducing the attractiveness of equities and supporting the dollar, a report showed U.S. consumer sentiment pulled back more than anticipated this month. The University of Michigan/Reuters index fell to 69.4 in early October from 73.5 in September. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch expected, on average, for the index to read 72. That followed a report showed U.S. industrial production jumped 0.7% last month, topping expectations. Capacity utilization rose to 70.5% in September from a revised 69.9% in August, also higher than anticipated. "These diverging signals highlight the recent uncertainty" over whether third-quarter growth can be sustained, analysts at Action Economics wrote. "The downside risks as we approach year-end are clear." An earlier report from the U.S. Treasury Department showed foreign investors nearly doubled purchases of U.S. assets in August. Foreign official buyers sold more short-term assets and bought long-term securities. Private investors in other countries bought more U.S. equities and favored longer-term assets of all types, indicating more preference for riskier assets than Treasurys, noted foreign-exchange analysts at Barclays Capital. Gains in stocks and other indications of investor willingness to make more aggressive investments over the last several months have been detrimental to the dollar, as its safe-haven status is no longer desired. "Our overall assessment is that these numbers remain mediocre but are not nearly as negative as the July release," Barclays analysts wrote in a note. Focus also returned to the lack of fluctuations in the Chinese yuan, a day after the U.S. Treasury repeated its previous finding that China was not formally manipulating its currency. The People's Bank of China set the yuan's official rate 6.8270 against the dollar Friday, according to reports, down slightly from 6.8267 Thursday. The yuan is allowed to fluctuate on 0.5% on either side of the official daily rate. China's foreign-exchange policy risks "unwinding" some of the progress made in reducing global trade imbalances during the financial crisis, the U.S. Treasury said Thursday in its latest report on foreign-exchange trading. Weekly move The dollar index is still headed towards a second weekly loss, sliding more than 1% from last Friday. The yen has seen a roughly 1% increase since last Friday. The shared euro is still up about 1.4% versus the dollar this week. With much vocalization about the fall in the dollar's value, some analysts and policy makers alike point to the still orderly decline that has left the dollar index down 7% this year, which is not abnormal given the reversal of investor's need for safety in the credit crisis and a readjustment of imports and exports as consumer demand has slowed. "No policy maker is going to argue for a weak dollar," said Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said Friday, according to news reports. Recent movement in the dollar "has to do with trade adjustment." Euro breather August trade data for the euro zone showed the 16-nation region swung to a larger-than- deficit with the rest of the world. The figures come amid rising unease among euro-zone officials and businesses over the strength of the euro, which fell slightly against the dollar to $1.4903 on Friday. From a technical standpoint, the euro remains "slightly overbought," versus the dollar, wrote Nicole Elliott, a technical analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank. Nonetheless, a "weekly close above $1.4800 would confirm that the next leg of the (euro) rally has started," she said. British pound The battered pound was the biggest winner among major currencies, continuing to power higher versus the euro and the greenback a day after a Bank of England policy maker signaled satisfaction with the impact of the central bank's quantitative-easing strategy. The British pound gained ground versus the dollar rising to $1.6355, up from $1.6270 Thursday. The euro slipped 0.8% versus sterling to 91.11 pence. The British currency has advanced 2.6% this week against the dollar. Traders said the remarks by Paul Fisher, the bank's director of markets and member of the Monetary Policy Committee, were sufficient to trigger an explosive round of short covering. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released last week showed a historic build-up of short positions against British pound futures, noted analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman. "The fundamentals for the pound are still negative, with interest rate differentials favoring other currencies," they wrote. "Next week's minutes of the Bank of England meeting may also reinforce the fragile nature of the economic recovery, and the likelihood of rates remaining at this low level for some time." Others cautioned that betting against the pound in the midst of a run of unexpectedly strong third-quarter earnings report by major banks could prove perilous. "We would caution against being short GBP [selling the British pound] when U.S. bank earnings are again generally beating expectations, as markets treat GBP as a proxy for the performance of the financial sector," said Adam Cole, global head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets in London. "Our short-term models also continue to show GBP heavily oversold relative to short rate expectations and bank stocks, consistent with other evidence that short-GBP is a seriously overcrowded trade currently," he wrote in emailed comments.

Mexican stocks snapped

Mexican stocks snapped a 10-session winning streak and closed lower Friday as investors took advantage of earnings concerns and U.S. stock losses to book profits. The market's IPC index of leading issues closed down 0.9%, or 291.43 points, at 30,726.30. Volume was a moderate 212.8 million shares worth 6.3 billion pesos ($481 million). In the U.S., several disappointing earnings reports and a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading overshadowed above-estimate industrial production data for September, and stocks moved lower. The Dow Jones Industrials closed down 0.7%, just shy of the 10,000 mark reached this week for the first time in a year. Carlos Hermosillo, an equities analyst at the Vector brokerage, said that showing provided an excuse for selling after 10 consecutive sessions of gains in the local market that pushed the IPC up 8.5%. The extended rally ahead of the bulk of Mexico's third-quarter reports suggests earnings won't be bad, and the market will probably take a break to see if expectations are confirmed, he said. IPC heavyweight America Movil (AMX, AMX.MX) L shares fell 0.7% to MXN31.53, and cement company Cemex (CX, CEMEX.MX) CPO shares fell 3.2% to MXN17.44. Construction company Cicsa (CICSA.MX) B-1 shares gave up early gains and fell 1.7% to MXN8.09. Cicsa said it will carry out MXN3.68 billion in construction work on a toll road concession won Thursday by infrastructure company Ideal (IDEAL.MX). Both firms are controlled by billion Carlos Slim. The peso recovered from early losses against the U.S. dollar, but still closed weaker at MXN13.1050 compared with MXN13.0775 Thursday. Earlier Friday, the currency weakened as far as MXN13.18. RBS Securities said in a report that congressional approval of the government's 2010 budget proposal, which calls for higher taxes to offset lower oil revenue, could push the peso/dollar rate towards MXN12.60 in the near term. "Failure to approve the tax measures would likely trigger ratings downgrades," RBS said. Political parties in the lower house of Congress are expected to work over the weekend on the income side of the budget with the aim of passing it early next week. The final shape of the budget depends to a large extent on the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which is expected to support some if not all of the government's tax proposals. In its monthly monetary policy meeting, the Bank of Mexico on Friday left the overnight rate at 4.5%, saying it expects inflation to continue easing as the economy pulls out of recession. The central bank said gross domestic product probably expanded nearly 3% in the third quarter from the second quarter. That would mark an end to a string of four consecutive quarters of sequential contraction as Mexico suffered its deepest recession in decades.

U.S. Dollar Advanced

The U.S. dollar advanced versus the euro and Japanese yen on Thursday after a trio of positive U.S. economic data reports failed to boost equities into positive territory, supporting the greenback. The U.S. currency had been lower in European and Asian trading, a day after Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed back above the 10,000 level for the first time in a year. Benchmark U.S. stock indexes declined in early trading, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average claimed 10,000 for the first time in a year. "Following Wednesday's sharp gains on Wall Street, the equity market may take some profits today, in spite of the better economic data," said analysts at Action Economics. The dollar index (DXY), a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, traded at 75.515, compared to 75.513 Wednesday. It rose as high as 75.765 earlier. The euro bought $1.4913, from $1.4915 in North American trade late Wednesday. In earlier trading, the dollar gained to have the euro buy as little as $1.4862. Rising equities have spelled weakness for the U.S. dollar as investors abandon the former safe haven for riskier assets. Still, some analysts expect the dollar to recover in coming months as the U.S. economy resumes growing. The dollar bought 90.47 Japanese yen, up 1.3% from 89.47 yen on Wednesday. The U.S. dollar bought 1.0303 Canadian dollars, up from C$1.0277 late Wednesday. The dollar index hit a 14-month low on Wednesday and has fallen by around 15% from its 2009 peak as investor's willingness to hold more risky assets have prompted world equities to rally since March. That's also pushed the euro toward the psychologically important $1.50 mark versus the U.S. dollar. The U.S. Labor Department said the number of people filing for state unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 514,000 in the week ending Oct. 10. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected initial claims to fall to about 510,000. "The initial claims data continue to point to a slowdown in the rate of job losses and confirm that the economy is in a recovery," said analysts at RDQ Economics. "However, the level of initial jobless claims is still some 100,000 above the level that we associate with net job creation." The U.S. consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September. The core CPI -- which excludes volatile food and energy prices -- also increased 0.2% last month. The increases were a tenth of a percentage point higher than expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Also, New York Federal Reserve Bank said manufacturing activity in the New York area improved at the fastest pace in five years. "The first batch of U.S. numbers were unambiguously positive, helping to keep the fire going" in currency markets, Kathy Lien, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading, wrote in an email. The dollar index gave up some of the gains following a report that showed manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's region expanded at a weaker-than expected pace in October. The Philly Fed index declined to 11.5 this month from 14.1 in September. Pound, Aussie dollar Also drawing attention in currency markets, the British pound earlier climbed 1.5% versus the dollar. The pound also jumped versus the euro, sending the shared currency down 1.8%. Paul Fisher, an official with the Bank of England, signaled satisfaction with the impact of the central bank's money-creating quantitative easing program that has weighed on the nation's currency. Analysts said the remarks led to speculation the BOE could pause the program in November. The pound jumped to $1.6236 from $1.5975 late Wednesday. A spate of recent comments from global finance officials concerned about the weakening dollar has failed to lift the greenback as investors bet major central banks won't back up their remarks by buying dollars. Earlier, the Australian dollar rose to a 14-month high after Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens reportedly implied in a speech that more interest-rate increases were coming. "If we were prepared to cut rates rapidly, to a very low level, in response to a threat but then were too timid to lessen that stimulus in a timely way when the threat had passed, we would have a bias in our monetary-policy framework," Stevens said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Advices About Empty Homes Insurances

Where you own a house and you know that the property is going to be empty for more than a period of thirty days then you must check your current home insurance policy to see if your home is still covered. Most home insurance companies will not provide cover for houses that are empty for periods of more than thirty days, For this reason you will require the services of a specialist insurance broker or an insurance company that specialise in empty home insurance policies. An empty property insurance policy will ensure that your home has sufficient protection against a myriad of risks whilst your property is unoccupied.
Many different insurance companies provide policies for empty homes but finding the one to suit your requirements can be tricky. Not all the insurers will offer full cover on an empty home insurance policy. Some will omit theft or malicious damage from the cover. Others might not provide cover for say, a water leak within the property from a burst pipe. The important thing to remember is that you may be offered a cheap unoccupied property insurance quote, but does it provide all the cover that you may need. You certainly do not want to find out that you are NOT covered at a claim stage for something that you thought you were insured for.
Brokers and agents that specifically specialise in providing insurance cover for empty homes are probably the best port of call. Not only will they provide you with all the options but also they will provide advice and best methods in securing you unoccupied home from risks such as theft and water leaks. Also get the empty property insurance provider to email or post the full quote details to you so that you can check the terms and conditions thoroughly.
As a property owner you will be aware that having a valuable asset must be insured with the correct insurance cover in place. Try to obtain a few different quotes to assess the market. Again not all empty home insurance prices will be the same as the level of cover provided can differ considerably.

Complex Unoccupied Insurance

Currently the uk insurance Market is saturated with insurers offering a range of property insurance policies ranging from a standard home insurance to complex unoccupied insurance. The temptation is to succumb to the big comparison sites and obtain premiums and terms in the hope that the results will meet your needs. An example of this practise would be a property owner obtaining a standard home insurance for an empty premises under the impression that the unoccupancy clause of 30 or 60 days will cover their property, pending tenants. This clause is designed more for the existing owner occupied policyholder who is merely away on holiday or other temporary reason. Insurers would take a dim view of a property empty at inception of the policy, especially where the property is not furnished sufficiently for normal habitable use. Of the insurance broking fraternity, there are specialist agents who have access to specific policies that cover a variety of risks including bed and breakfast concerns. Cover can also be arranged on a short term basis in some instances but ask for quotations including insurance premium tax (IPT) and any fees. Beware that short term policies do not reflect the annual premiums offered.
Also, be sure to ask the interest rate if the premium is financed for you by direct debit payments.
Active Insurance is a leading provider of landlords insurance and unoccupied home insurance for UK property owners.

Stock Markets Among Asia

Most Asian stock markets ended lower Monday, with Hong Kong and Australian shares declining in thin trade as jittery investors locked in profits ahead of a string of key U.S. corporate results. Chinese stocks reversed some of their hefty gains from Friday on concerns about a deluge of share supply, while Indian and Singaporean stocks advanced following robust economic data. China's Shanghai Composite, which jumped 4.8% on Friday, slipped 0.6% to 2894.48. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.9% to 21299.35, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.3%, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4%, while Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.4%. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Conita Hung, head of equities at Delta Asia Financial Group, said Hong Kong stocks were taking a breather. "I think it's just an adjustment after recent gains, I don't expect the market to turn around...If the U.S. dollar continues to fall, I expect the market to gain further on fund inflows," said Ms. Hung. In Hong Kong, shares of Aluminum Corp. of China fell 2.6% and Cnooc gave up 0.9%, shedding some of their recent gains. In afternoon trading, India's Sensex gained 2.3% and Singapore's Straits Times Index advanced 1.1%. The rise in Mumbai was helped by news that India's industrial production grew by 10.4% in August from the year-earlier month, beating estimates. Automobile and consumer stocks advanced, with Maruti Suzuki rising 2.8% and Mahindra & Mahindra up 2.8%, while cigarette maker ITC gained 3.7%. "India's industrial sector is back and back with a vengeance," HSBC's senior Asian economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde wrote in a report. "Inevitably, the strength of the release will raise concerns that the Reserve Bank of India will move rates higher when it meets on 27 October...we continue to expect the first cash reserve ratio hike to come in early 2010, with policy interest rates increasing from the April to June quarter." The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures contract reversed an early fall to rise 51 points in screen trade recently, after the DJIA added 0.8% Friday. "Markets are focused on the earnings season out of the U.S.," said Macquarie Equities adviser Brad Gordon. "This will provide the next leg of leads for all markets and investors are keenly looking out for the results." Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China advanced in early Hong Kong trading on expectations of better third-quarter results as well as news that Central Huijin Investment, the domestic investment arm of China's sovereign wealth fund, intended to raise its stakes in them. But the stocks came off their highs in line with the broad market. ICBC fell 0.3%, CCB dropped 0.5% and Bank of China shed 0.7% in Hong Kong. Shanghai-listed shares of ICBC rose 0.4%, while CCB ended flat bank of China slipped 0.3%. In Sydney, shares of National Australia Bank dropped 1.9%, after Credit Suisse labeled banks as expensive compared with industrial stocks. Shares of Crown jumped 6.1% after a large parcel of stock was purchased at a premium late Friday, prompting speculation that billionaire part-owner James Packer could be building his stake in the casino company ahead of a potential privatization. Several technology stocks were higher in Taiwan and South Korea after a positive pre-weekend showing by their U.S. peers. Hon Hai Precision Industry rose 0.8% and Inotera Memories gained 6.9% in Taipei, while Hynix Semiconductor rose 1.8% in Seoul, after IBM added 3.0% and Intel climbed 1.5% Friday. Korean steelmakers and refiners dragged down the Seoul market on worries over their third quarter performance. SK Energy slumped 9.9%, Posco dropped 0.7% and Hyundai Steel lost 1%. In foreign-exchange markets the dollar was mixed against major currencies. It was recently buying 90.28 yen from 89.83 yen in late New York trade on Friday, while the euro was at $1.4758 from $1.4734 and 133.23 from 132.34 yen. The Singapore dollar declined against the U.S. dollar following the Monetary Authority of Singapore's decision to keep its neutral stance on the local currency policy despite raising its economic outlook for the year. The greenback was recently buying 1.3977 Singaporean dollars, from S$1.3950 just before the statement was released. Spot gold was at $1,056.40 per troy ounce, up $7.50 from its New York close. After the yellow metal lost some ground on Friday, "long liquidation and profit-taking could extend precious metals' losses in the near term," said HSBC's James Steel. But he added that the bullion rally "still appears essentially intact." Crude oil futures for November were recently up $1.11 at $72.88 per barrel on Globex.

International Leaders to Keep Rescue aid Flowing

Latvia's coalition government Monday agreed to find spending cuts required by international lenders to keep rescue aid flowing to the crisis-struck Baltic country, a spokeswoman for the state chancellery said. In an extraordinary cabinet meeting, ministers reached "a conceptual agreement" for fiscal 2010 cuts of 500 million Latvian lati ($1.04 billion) by raising revenues by LVL180 million and cutting expenditure by LVL320 million, Zanda Sadre told Dow Jones Newswires. "It is obvious that Latvia will fulfill its obligations to international lenders," Finance Minister Einars Repse told reporters after the meeting, his press spokeswoman Diana Krampe confirmed. Further details, such as possible revenue-raising tax increases and areas of spending reductions, would be discussed at a yet-to-be-scheduled meeting later this week, Sadre said. "The ministry of finance will coordinate this government decision and corresponding additional fiscal consolidation measures with the International Monetary Fund," she added. Latvia had said previously that it would meet its 2010 budget deficit target of 8.5% of gross domestic product with LVL325 million ($676 million) in cuts - LVL225 million of which would come from spending reductions and LVL100 million through tax increases. The cabinet's decision to rein in spending further follows strong words of warning last week from European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia and from Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg that additional payments on the country's EUR7.5 billion bailout package will be held back if spending plans aren't further curtailed. Almunia is set to visit Riga on Tuesday. The E.U. and Sweden are key contributors to an IMF-led emergency loan put together late last year as Latvia slipped into economic crisis. The Baltic state's economy is expected to contract by a drastic 18% this year. Borg had said Latvia's planned cuts of LVL325 million for 2010 fell well short of its commitment under rescue loan terms, revised this summer, to lower next year's spending by LVL500 million. Hard hit by the global financial crisis, Latvia has already been forced by lenders to take harsh austerity measures in 2009's budget, slashing LVL500 million in cuts that pushed public sector wages sharply lower. Agreeing on more places to cut or ways to increase revenue for next year - an election year - has proven difficult for Latvia's five-party governing coalition, led by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis. Dombrovskis has warned that further belt-tightening will impair the country's economic recovery effort, but vowed last week to do what's necessary to keep rescue program on track.

AUD/USD counted amongst high

The Aussie has set back its previous losses against the Greenback during the European session after bouncing at 0.8980, intra-day low, to break MA55 hourly chart at 0.9035 and reach daily high level at 0.9075. Currently the pair is trading around 0.9060/70, recovering its previous losses and reaching 0.30% above today's opening price at 0.9040.According to TJ Marta, analyst at The Overnight Express, the pair is Consolidating: “AUD/USD (0.9065) is up slightly overnight, holding near new high since Aug ’08 established Thursday. Technical resistance for AUD/USD exists at 0.9090 (Oct 8 high) and 0.9275 (May ’08). Support lies at 0.8570 (Oct 2 low), 0.8545 (Sep 14 low) and 0.8478 (Aug high). AUD/USD has correlated most strongly with equities (S&P 500, positive) and commodities (CRB, positive). The correlation with gold (positive) is slipping.”

USD/JPY back to Old gains

The Dollar has been unable to break 90.35/45 resistance against the Yen during the European session and USD/JPY has fallen around 65 pips from 90.45, 2-week high at 90.45, to trade below 90.00, close to 89.80.Currently the pair is trading 0.05% higher than opening price action at 89.70 to the current 89.75/85.Valeria Bednarik, FXstreet.com collaborator, comments that pair seem to be back on the previous downtrend channel: “Pair failure to break above 90.35/45 strong resistance area, and quickly come back to 90.00, completing a pullback to the daily descendant trend line pair attempt to break earlier today. Pair needs to close daily candle above 90.10 to confirm such break and had chances to extend the upside. With hourly indicators turning lower, does not seems likely for next sessions. Clearly above 90.70 area, not seen also today, will confirm some upside continuation.”Bednarik provides us with her levels: “Support levels: 89.80 89.60 89.20. Resistance levels: 90.10 90.40 90.80”We can remain that Nicolle Elliot, Senior Technical Analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank, commented this morning on her expectations with a lower pair on the back of a Dollar oversold: “Having realised we were not going to break lower, dollar/yen is now testing trendline resistance. Bearish momentum has almost disappeared but then the US dollar is no longer oversold. Prices are likely to hold above 89.00 this week, with rallies probably stalling around 91.00/91.60. These are seen as selling opportunities for another downside re-test later this year.”
FXStreet.require('registerajaxCAGTabulat.js');

Bike Sales Increase

The Association of Cycle Traders in the UK reports that sales at its members increased by 3.7% in August 2009. The association also states that the financial crisis isn’t harming the UK specialist cycle trade at all; in fact it is contributing to further increases in sales. This holds big promises for UK’s Cycle Show 2009 which will open its doors next Thursday for trade visitors.
During the first eight months of 2009 year to date sales growth is 4.6% compared to the same period of 2008, says the Association of Cycle Traders. And also results for September 2009 are looking promising, as it states on http://cycles.actsmart.biz: “Whether its pre Cycle Show fever or general market bravado, everyone appears to be talking up September's performance and the weather was certainly conducive to a good cycling month.”
UK’s Cycle Show 2009 will open its doors next Thursday, October 8 and is on this day only open for trade and press. According to the organizers the 2009 Cycle Show has more exhibitors, more talks from industry experts and more previews of 2010’s cycling trends. 2008 was a record year for the Cycle Show with 3,409 trade visitors out of a total of well over 20,000 visitors. UK’s Cycle Show takes place at Earls Court, London and offers next to a wide variety of exhibitors, test tracks, seated arena, BMX street course, a showcase arena and a cycling retail zone. The show is from 9th-11th October open to the public.

Web Videos Business

Whereas the YouTube paradigm is amateurs doing interesting things with cameras, the newspapers’ Web videos are professional journalists operating like amateurs in the best old-fashioned sense. One of the Times’s new Web-video stars, David Carr (as the jolly-noir, movie-tasked Carpetbagger), recalls that when the Times’ video operation started fifteen months ago, his bosses said, “ ‘Let’s give it a whirl.’ Which is the exact opposite of the Times’ usual DNA. ‘Let’s give it a whirl’—that’s not something that comes up a lot.”At their best, the newspapers’ online videos are, minute for minute, superior to TV news.
As I write, CNN is airing a live press conference by Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer and a loop of Smith vamping, while a significant breaking news story—the U.S. claim that Muqtada al-Sadr has left Iraq for Iran—is running in tiny type across the bottom of the screen. Given the dumb-and-dumber choices, I can easily imagine newspapers’ Web-video portals becoming the TV-journalism destinations of choice for smart people—that is, in the 21st century, the dominant nineteenth-century journalistic institution, newspapers, might beat the dominant twentieth-century institution, TV, at the premium part of its own game.
The medium is too new and unsettled to have anything like a best-practices rule book. Everyone is making it up as they go along. And a few of the on-the-fly inventions are awesome. The most attention-getting MSM Web video so far was the very meta one posted last month by the Times about a Washington Post columnist—the slickly produced, thirteen-minute-long “Hi—I’m Art Buchwald and I just died” obituary.
The Times’ and the Post’s strikingly different Web-video paths are illustrative of this flux moment. At the Times, the strategy is to merge operations with the regular newsroom, and convert as many of its journalists as possible to part-time videography. But the Post and washingtonpost.com remain distinct entities—a sore point for some people on the Web side. The Times highlights its several fresh daily videos prominently on the home page; the Post hides them beneath a tiny, generic “Photos & Videos” button.
The quality, of course, is all over the map. An amateur spirit is exciting, but amateurism in action is … not necessarily so. I get no added value from watching A. O. Scott and Ben Brantley deliver abridged versions of their written-for-print reviews. Washingtonpost.com’s extemporaneous version, a nervous editor interviewing wooden film critics, could be a public-access cable clip. Often, the Times reporters’ videos are like tentative, so-so versions of TV-news spots, unremarkable sound bites interlarded with scripted blah-blah boilerplate.
The lessons seem obvious: Don’t do Web video if you don’t have anything interesting to show, and don’t compete with TV unless you can do something they can’t or won’t. In other words, use the medium.

Surprise optimism in the Bank of Canada

The Canadian dollar rose to new 12-month-plus highs Friday, as the currency's recent momentum was augmented by unexpectedly strong September employment figures and surprise optimism in the Bank of Canada's most recent business outlook survey. The U.S. dollar was trading at C$1.0428 at 3:39 p.m. EDT (1939 GMT), from C$1.0439 at 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) and C$1.0510 late Thursday. The Canadian dollar rallied to new 2009 highs in the immediate wake of early news that the Canadian economy created a net total of 30,000 jobs in September, considerably stronger than the 5,000 expected by analysts and modestly better than the 27,500 jobs gained in August. The nation's unemployment rate also moved down to 8.4% from 8.7% in August. The currency then extended its gains to the brink of the C$1.0400 figure following the release of the central bank's outlook survey for the third quarter, which revealed firms facing easier credit conditions for the first time in two years and expressing much greater optimism regarding future sales prospects. The Canadian dollar's intraday high at C$1.0411 Friday was its strongest level since Sept. 29 of last year, according to EBS via CQG. The currency also vastly outperformed most other widely-traded currencies Friday as the U.S. dollar staged a week-ending rally, a divergence in performance that contributes to a generally optimistic tone for the Canadian dollar into next week and the potential for follow-on gains closer to the parity level with the U.S. dollar. "People are buying riskier assets, the high-yielding currencies are attractive, the carry trade is back on, and the U.S. dollar is being used as a funding currency," said chief currency strategist Shaun Osborne of TD Securities in Toronto. "It all points, I think, to quite a bit more outperformance for the Canadian dollar, even in the very short-term." Canadian financial markets will be closed Monday for Canada's Thanksgiving Day holiday. These are the exchange rates at 3:39 p.m. EDT (1939 GMT), 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), and late Thursday. USD/CAD 1.0428 1.0439 1.0510
EUR/CAD 1.5351 1.5404 1.5551
CAD/JPY 86.15 85.01 84.18

Brazilian real gaining High in 13-months

The Brazilian real closed a tad stronger to hit a 13-month high against the dollar Friday, despite the greenback's strengthening against other major currencies. The real closed at BRL1.736 to the dollar in trading on the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange, or BM&F, stronger than Thursday's close at BRL1.739. The real benefited from continuing foreign investor confidence in Brazil, which continues to invest strongly in local equities as the economic recovery firms. The Brazilian Central Bank intervened around midday to buy dollars on the spot market at BRL1.7395 to reduce liquidity. Brazil's government has plans to set up a new sovereign fund to invest dollars bought on the spot market, local business daily Valor Economico reported Friday. The sovereign fund would be invested in Brazilian treasury bonds, according to the report. The Finance Ministry had no immediate comment on the report. The central bank has been buying dollars at regular spot market auctions since May in order soak up excess investment dollars on the local market. The dollars go into reserves, which totaled $227 billion last Wednesday. Meanwhile, interest-rate futures contracts were mostly higher Friday as investors on the BM&F were slightly skittish. The most actively traded contract, that of January 2011, closed at 10.47%, slightly higher than Thursday's close at 10.45%. The contracts reflect investor expectations about annualized interest rates at future dates. Brazil's financial markets will be closed Monday for a public holiday and will reopen Tuesday.

EUR versus USD

FXstreet.com (Córdoba) – The Euro has recovered part of previous losses against the Dollar and is holding above 1.4700. EUR/USD fell earlier to 1.4671, posting a fresh intra-day low. Form there the pair started to recover and the upside found resistance at 1.4720. EUR/USD is still moving with a downside bias for the session. Despite being traded 0.57% below today’s opening price, the Euro is consolidating a weekly gain of more than a hundred pips. The ecPulse.com analysis team affirms: “So far, the green Benjamin continues on strengthening slightly against the majors; the euro and the royal pound, after that the Fed Chairman; Bernanke, proclaimed that interest rates will be raised once that the economy of the U.S shows strong signs of a recovery. As a result, the euro-dollar is plunging slightly and may plummet further to the downside according to the one-hour stochastic oscillator.”

Canada Strggles for Lots of New Net Jobs

Canada creates 31,000 net new jobs; 92,000 of them full time, loses 61,000 part-time ; exponentially stronger than expected US trade deficit narrows to $30.7 bln in August from 31.9 bln in July; better than expected Canada posts C$2 bln trade deficit in August Japanese PM Hatoyama: Employment situation to worsen; more measures needed BOC autumn business survey upbeat Canada's Harper: Still concerned about US economy Elliot Wave's Prechter: Dollar has bottomed; will rally next year or more; Equity market to fall substantially below March lows S&P 500 rises 0.6% to 1071.50 US bond yields rise sharply 10-year yield 3.38% Gold slightly lower at $1049; oil rises 0.6% to 72.27 The Canadian dollar was the star of the show today, extending its rally versus the dollar. The greenback fell as low as 1.0411 after shockingly strong Canadian employment data and an upbeat BOC business survey.We close at 1.0420. Most of the other majors gave some ground against the dollar, particularly the pound. Cable broke to the downside today after rejecting key resistance at 1.6120 just yesterday. Heavy selling by institutional investors and disappointment over Cameron's speech breaking no new ground at the Tory conference yesterday spilled over into today.We slipped as low as 1.5827 and close around 1.5840. 1.5768 is key near-term support. EUR/USD range-traded in choppy fashion around 1.4750 in early New York before breaing to the downside late in the European session. Chinese bids at 1.4700 were filled in on the way to 1.4674 lows. China was spotted buying again near the lows and prices lifted to 1.4720 late, which is now a resistance level. AUD/USD fell with EUR/USD with some pre-weekend profit-taking the prime driver. Chinese bids helped slow the decline in the 0.9020/25 area. 90.13 was the low and we close at 0.9040. Great weekend everyone!

Argentina Gains & Takes Profit Heavily

Argentine bonds ended a week full of heavy gains and heavy profit-taking, closing mixed Friday amid anticipation of a deal with the International Monetary Fund to resume Article IV reviews. Meanwhile, stocks hit a new 2009 high on the back of positive earnings sentiment for U.S. companies on Wall Street. Argentina's Merval Index jumped 0.92% to close at 2,169.04 points. Banco Macro (BMA, BMA.BA) led the charge among the Merval components, rising 4.29% to ARS9.97 ($2.60), while Tenaris (TS, TEN.MI) jumped 3.35% to ARS3.35. ($0.87). Bonds lacked direction Friday and trade was muted as investors hesitated to take a position ahead of the long weekend and the lack of clarity regarding agreement with the IMF, Research for Traders said in a market note. Markets will be closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday. The benchmark peso-denominated bond slipped 0.05% in price terms to ARS100, to yield 12.11%. The dollar-denominated Boden 2012 added 0.48% in price terms to ARS314.50, to yield 12.92%. A deal with the IMF would be a key first step for Argentina to regain access to international credit markets shut since the 2001 sovereign-debt default. The country appears ready to allow the review of its economy and policies under the Article IV consultations, which are carried out regularly on every member of the IMF. Argentina needs to sign up to an economic program with the IMF if it wants to reschedule $6.7 billion in defaulted debt owed to the Paris Club group of nations. The country is also trying to settle the conflict with the holdouts who refused to accept terms of the 2005 swap and hold about $20 billion in defaulted bonds. Argentina's recent indication that it might seek to resolve outstanding debt issues and return to the international capital markets could eventually improve the outlook on its B3 government bond rating, Moody's Investors Service said Thursday. Argentina's government bond rating is one of the lowest of any country rated by Moody's due to the hangover from the default and unconventional economic policies. "While no single factor will, by itself, lead to an upgrade, resolution of these long-standing issues will go a long way towards reducing current credit concerns to the extent that they are reflective of an enduring effort to make policies more predictable," Moody's said. The apparent shift to more market-friendly policies has already fueled a sharp rebound in bonds. "There is still a great interest among savers in Argentine bonds, as demonstrated by the currency inflow to the country," Research for Traders said. "The medium-term sovereign bond outlook remains positive." The peso rose to 3.8300 to the dollar, from 3.8350. The dollar came under pressure all week as investors sought pesos to purchase government bonds.

Friday,stocks fall for Columbia

Colombia's stocks fell Friday as nervous investors are pocketing gains as the index approaches record highs. The benchmark IGBC stock index fell 1% to 11,181.44 points. The index had gained 6.2% in the month to Thursday. "Investors are nervous because the stock index has gained more than 40% so far this year, while the economic situation is still very weak," said Jorge Zuniga, a market analyst with local brokerage Asesores en Valores. The economy contracted 0.5% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2008, but some analysts say it has likely touched bottom and is heading for a timid recovery in the closing months of 2009. The most-traded shares Friday were the preferred shares of Bancolombia SA (CIB) as they fell 2.1% to 20,060 ($10.86). The price fell as a result of the arbitrage with Bancolombia's New York-listed shares, which lost value in peso terms as the Colombian currency has appreciated strongly in the past days. The peso appreciated to COP1,847 to the dollar on Friday from COP1,858 on Thursday. The peso hit its strongest level since Aug. 12, 2008. The yield on the benchmark peso-denominated government bond maturing in 2020 rose to 8.769%, from 8.764% on Thursday.

Further Decline Probable for AUD

The Australian dollar was the weakest of the major currencies last week, and a bearish engulfing candle on the daily AUDUSD charts on October 1 suggests further declines could be in store. Since the Australian dollar still tends to move with other risky assets, traders should look for any fallout from the release of the G7 statement over the weekend. Though the statements don’t usually signal any sort of groundbreaking new biases, there are lingering concerns that there may be a more pronounced focus on currencies, and more specifically, US dollar weakness. Such a move would likely lead the US dollar higher, and thus, AUDUSD lower, on speculation of a coordinated intervention effort. Later in the week, the Australian dollar is going to encounter two of its most market-moving reports: a rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the net employment change.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is anticipated to leave their cash rate target unchanged for the sixth straight month at 3.00 percent, and the Australian dollar may only respond to a change in the bias of RBA Governor Glenn Stevens’ monetary policy statement. As it stands, Credit Suisse Overnight Index Swaps (OIS) are pricing in a 22 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate hike during this upcoming meeting, and 175 basis points worth of hikes over the next 12 months, which is generally in line with what we’ve seen since early August. It was actually in early July when the RBA’s bias shifted from dovish to neutral, as Stevens removed a line from his statement noting that “scope remains for some further easing of monetary policy.” As long as we see these RBA statements continue to provide progressively optimistic outlooks, the markets are likely to remain in favor of large rate increases over the next year. However, if the RBA starts to signal a more cautious tone, this sentiment could shift very quickly and lead the Australian dollar lower.
On Wednesday, the net employment change for the nation is anticipated to fall for a second straight month, this time by 10,000. As a result, the Australian unemployment rate is projected to edge up to a 6-year high of 6.0 percent from 5.8 percent, but this isn’t so bad when compared with other regions like the US, the UK, and the Euro-zone where unemployment has reached 26-year, 12-year, and 10-year highs. Regardless, the net employment change is similar to the US non-farm payrolls report in that the results are notoriously difficult to predict and thus, prone to providing “surprising” news that can trigger volatile moves in the Australian dollar.