22nd March 2012- Daily market analysis by Tim Lewis

Tim Lewis is a Corporate Dealer at Currencies Direct UK, lends us his expertise on a daily basis. Foreign Exchange (FX) Market analysis is a daily market overview and commentary. Budget Reveals Few Surprises Chancellor George Osborne announced the next budget yesterday with very few surprises amongst the changes. He described the budget as one that “unashamedly backs business” as he endeavours to increase growth over the coming years. Corporation tax is being cut to 24% with further 1% cuts for the next 2 years while the top rate of tax is being reduced from 50% to 45%. These moves were said to send a “strong signal that Britain is open for business”. The other main change on individual tax is the increase in tax free allowance to £9205 from 2013, a move which the Lib Dem part of the coalition have been strongly arguing for. Obviously, these tax breaks must be paid for and the main income will come from the closing of various tax loopholes which the Chancellor described as “morally repugnant”. There are also the much talked about taxes involving the mega rich with stamp duty rising from 5% to 7% on houses over £2 million. Overall, the budget was uneventful event for Sterling as most of the changes were similar to the expectations. The more important release yesterday came at 9.30am in the form of the latest minutes from the Bank of England MPC meeting 2 weeks ago. As expected, the members voted 9-0 to keep interest rates unchanged at the current levels of 0.5%, but the …
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Coast To Coast AM March 14 2012 – China, Oil, & Economic Warfare Part 1

Guests: James R. Norman China, Oil, & Economic Warfare: On Wednesday’s show, journalist James R. Norman argued that the US and its allies use the price of oil as an economic weapon. The oil economic war against the Soviet Union worked so well in the 1980s, that this strategy is now being employed against “our other big geopolitical enemy,” China, which currently imports more oil than the US, and is much less able to pay for it, he outlined. The thinking in Washington is, it’s going to slow things down for China, and could put a crack in their political system, he continued. Other aspects of the economic war the US is waging with China are on the front page of the paper almost every day– with fights over trade actions, interest rates, and currency levels, he noted. The whole Chinese business model is based on predatory trade practices, and that’s why the world is ganging up on them, Norman said, adding that China is facing large amounts of unemployment and social unrest, and their banks are sitting on huge assets of non-performing loans. Norman estimated that the actual cost of oil is between – a barrel, but when US citizens shell out a gallon at the pump, it’s collateral damage or the price we pay to engage in an economic rather than physical war with China. Companies like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley are the economic warfare equivalent of a carrier battle group, because they are able to project power– that’s why financial restrictions were …

Coast To Coast AM March 14 2012 – China, Oil, & Economic Warfare Part 2

Guests: James R. Norman China, Oil, & Economic Warfare: On Wednesday’s show, journalist James R. Norman argued that the US and its allies use the price of oil as an economic weapon. The oil economic war against the Soviet Union worked so well in the 1980s, that this strategy is now being employed against “our other big geopolitical enemy,” China, which currently imports more oil than the US, and is much less able to pay for it, he outlined. The thinking in Washington is, it’s going to slow things down for China, and could put a crack in their political system, he continued. Other aspects of the economic war the US is waging with China are on the front page of the paper almost every day– with fights over trade actions, interest rates, and currency levels, he noted. The whole Chinese business model is based on predatory trade practices, and that’s why the world is ganging up on them, Norman said, adding that China is facing large amounts of unemployment and social unrest, and their banks are sitting on huge assets of non-performing loans. Norman estimated that the actual cost of oil is between – a barrel, but when US citizens shell out a gallon at the pump, it’s collateral damage or the price we pay to engage in an economic rather than physical war with China. Companies like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley are the economic warfare equivalent of a carrier battle group, because they are able to project power– that’s why financial restrictions were …

Complete Hearts Episode 4

As she drove away I turned to my house. I loved it here. I cherished it. I work so hard on the outside appearance that everyone thinks the inside looks better, but they’re completely wrong. I come in to trash, clothes, and just random things scattered everywhere. Great. My dad has been out of town for awhile and my mom sick, so I’m pretty much the mom of two girls and three boys, though I feel responsible for living where we are. I got a scholarship for the highschool I go to and they also promise a four year scholarship for college if my grades stay the same. So I moved from America to here in the UK, pretty much living independently until my dad got a job offer here so he took it do we could all be together, which I appreciate, but I feel guilty like they have up their normal lives to come and adjust to mine. I had been working hard on the exterior of the house, trying to make it as American as possible. I finally opened up the door and after saying a few hellos, I went up to my room to take a breather. My room is one of my favorite places to be at. It has a little music corner where my keyboard and guitar are placed, then a little study area in the opposite corner where my books usually are. My room had all really light colors with most of it white with a few things that reminded me of my American home. We lived in Texas, so we were more of a country type of family which we all enjoyed. Our extended families have farms or ranches which always made family reunions …
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The trillion dollar question: is the US economy resurgent or dependent?

Professor Iwan Morgan, head of US Presidency Centre, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London; author, The Age of Deficits Phil Mullan, economist; business transformation director, Easynet Global Services; author The Imaginary Time Bomb Martin Wolf, associate editor and chief economics commentator, Financial Times; author, Fixing Global Finance Chair: Angus Kennedy, head of external relations, Institute of Ideas; chair, IoI Economy Forum During the final two thirds of the twentieth century, the US and the dollar reigned supreme in the world. But now, as each year passes, economic power shifts more and more away from the US, and from the West in general, to China and the rest of the emerging economies. So have America’s straitened economic circumstances undermined its claim to a leadership role in global institutions? For a time it appeared the US economy had come through the Western Financial Crisis better off than most other advanced economies, but confidence in its ability to keep recovering is now low, with some fearing a double-dip recession. Unemployment remains around 9% and annualised growth rates for 2011 look to be under 2%. Wages for the vast majority of non-government workers dropped in April to lower than they were in the recession. And house prices are 33% lower than in 2006. There are signs of resurgence in manufacturing output, but pessimists point out that neither domestic nor foreign consumers have the spare cash to buy American …
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20th March 2012 – Daily market analysis by Alistair Cotton

Alistair Cotton is a Corporate Dealer at Currencies Direct UK, lends us his expertise on a daily basis. Foreign Exchange (FX) Market analysis is a daily market overview and commentary. Market Remains Quiet In Build Up To Budget It was a quiet day across the markets yesterday, with most of the major currencies trading in tight ranges due to a lack of any major news or data releases. Today is likely to be similar, data wise only UK CPI later this morning is of note. Inflation is expect to continue its slow decline back towards the Bank of England’s two per cent target, the recent run up in oil prices in very unlikely to show in the data for at least a couple of months. Most of the headlines this week will focus on Wednesday’s budget. The Chancellor’s hands are tied fiscally so he looks set not to change the overall government fiscal position, in which case Sterling should remain relatively unaffected unless the Bank of England minutes, also released on Wednesday. Surprise the market. Alongside the budget, the government credit scheme will not include HSBC according to reports today because the structure of the program was not commercially viable given their business model (HSBC is deposit funded rather than wholesale funded). The announcement will come as a blow to the government because HSBC make up around 15% of the market for lending to SME’s however all of the remaining large commercial banks are participating with the aim to reduce the cost of lending to small …
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Larger Euro Zone Bailout Fund

www.forexconspiracyreport.com – Larger Euro Zone Bailout Fund Now that the Greek bailout is in place EU officials are considering a larger Euro Zone bailout fund to deal with the likes of Italy and Spain. Published figures of €500 Billion indicate a fund four times the size of the recent Greek bailout cash infusion. According to press reports a final decision on creating a larger Euro Zone bailout fund have been put off for a month. Considering off again and on again nature of negotiations with Greece this sort of delay is no surprise. Forex traders have profited from long or short positions on the Euro for the last couple of years as Euro Zone news releases have indicated alternating good and bad news about the debt dilemma melodrama. The current bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, has been used to provide financial relief for Portugal, Ireland, and Greece. However, the fund is likely too small to help the larger economies of Spain and Italy. In addition to anteing up more money Euro Zone officials will likely change the temporary nature of the current bailout fund and name the new permanent fund the European Stability Mechanism. The issue of a larger Euro Zone bailout fund is a touchy one in countries such as Germany. Germany has the largest economy in the European Union and has anted up the most bailout money. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has led the way, along with the French, in gaining support for a rescue of Greece and pushing for changes …
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13th March 2012 – Daily market analysis by Phil Ryan

Phil Ryan is a Corporate Dealer at Currencies Direct UK, lends us his expertise on a daily basis. Foreign Exchange (FX) Market analysis is a daily market overview and commentary. Markets looking for direction Following an indifferent Asia trading session overnight where Japan kept interest rates at 0.1%, the market now awaits key data from the Europe and the US to drive sentiment for the rest of the week. The Greek debt swap deal has certainly added to this lack of direction providing little motivation to the markets yesterday. The deal that amounted to a swap of £149bn worth of bonds for a mix of new instruments ranging in maturity from 11 to 30 years had a relatively low uptake leading to bond yields from 14-19 %, the highest in Europe. It appears the market is sceptical about this latest attempt by the Greeks to fend off their inevitable default and thus is looking for higher yields over shorter periods. The Euro continues its resilience at currently trades at 1.3142 against the Dollar. Elsewhere in Europe today we have the German ZEW survey where we get an insight into medium term forecasts about Germany’s finances. Over to the US and the Greenback should not be concerned by tonight’s FOMC meeting. We may see the Dollar rally if Fed Chairman Bernanke is slightly more positive in his statement with further support from increasing theories that the Fed will begin on some form of sterilised QE shortly. This coupled with expected stronger retail sales and positive …
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