GBP/USD: Pound, above 1.4900

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) – The Pound has posted a 150 pip rally so far to reach an intra-day high at 1.4917, approaching yesterday’s high at 1.4950.In case of further climbing above 1.4950, the Pound would get on the track towards 1.5065 (Apr 16 high), above there, 1.5080. On the downside, support levels might lie at 1.4855/70 and below there 1.4820 and 1.4765.GBP/JPY has appreciated from levels around 14600 ahead of European session opening to levels right at 148.00 at the time of writing. Next resistance levels stand at 148.15 and 148.80. On the downside support levels might lie at 147.00 and 144.70.
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QUOTE

With the technical analysis for currency trading, you note it as short-term (intraday). For example, with the euro, your comment is:1,5717. EUR USD broke 1,5700 resistance. EUR USD is in a consolidation after the last bullish movement. Bollinger bands are flat. ForexTrend daily (Mataf Trend Indicator) is in a bullish configuration. 1H, 4H ForexSto (Modified Stochastic) indicate a bullish pressure on EUR USD. The price should find a resistance below 1,5740. If the resistance is broken then the target will be 1,5850.Is the bullish pressure on euro just for that day (4/4) or a longer term, say several days to one week? I am just euro as an example. I would like to know how to interpret your forex analysis in general

Momentum Trading with the Wave and Chart Patterns

It was only after I embraced market cycles that I truly began to understand what to do with all the "lines and levels" I had learned to draw on my charts. Early on as I began teaching myself to trade in the late 1980's to early 1990's, there were not many books available to read about the subject of charting. I found myself gravitating towards price (instead of news) because my mother was a bit of a market timer (although not trained nor conscious that she was indeed market timing).

Forex: EUR/GBP falls close to 89.00 key level after good CBI data

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - EUR/GBP has fallen close to 0.8900 level after a better than expected CBI retail sales data. Since the early European morning, EUR/GBP has lost around 60 pips from 0.8971, intra-day low, to 0.8910. Currently the pair is trading around 0.8910/20 after rising 0.07% so far today from opening price at 0.8909.CBI retail sales have posted a balance of +3 in April from -44 in March, which could indicate that the consumption slump has hit its bottom in the UK.. April’s sharp increase has been a positive surprise, as market consensus was for a -40 balance.Yesterday, the pair lost 1.32% from opening price at 0.9025, reaching 0.9056 as maximum and 0.8882 as minimum, to close the day at 0.8907.

Weekly Commodity Update

Keeping it real!
With Crude Oil and Gold being in the spotlight this week, especially against purchasing news out of china, we still need to keep our feet firmly planted on the ground as we take a look at the facts.
Looking at the raw data on Crude Oil provided by the EIA, it is very hard to be supportive of a bullish price action for the near term. Crude Oil, Distillate’s, Gasoline and Propane stocks all reflect a much higher cyclical average than previously seen for this time of the year. This is underpinned by above average production level and Crude Oil days of supply.

Transparency as a guiding principle

By focusing exclusively on its client's interests, Pictet & Cie has made transparency its guiding principle. The Bank executes all trades on its clients' behalf directly on open markets and therefore ensures they enjoy competitive prices. Pictet & Cie has decided to keep transaction costs transparent and to dissociate itself from the market making system, where the spread between the buy and sell prices can be used to mask a bank's commission charges. Our clients therefore know the exact price or rate obtained via the correspondent, as well as knowing how much the transaction cost them. In order to ensure that its client's long-term interests are as closely aligned as possible with those of the Bank, Pictet & Cie intends to continue doing business independently, in the best private banking tradition.

TopNews Team

Neeta Aurora has done Master of Arts (Economics) & MBA from Delhi University. Neeta worked as a junior analyst at Religare Securities for 1 year before joining TopNews. Neeta has attended workshops from Technical experts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Neeta Aurora manages Analyst View Section and Stock Trading category on TopNews. Neeta remains in contact with various technical experts to get the latest recommendations for specific stocks.
Shilpa Mahapatre manages Stocks and Forex section on TopNews. Shilpa has done Masters in Management Studies from Mumbai Univesity. Shilpa worked for two years with Shalini Infosys, Dadar, Mumbai. She joined TopNews in April, 2007. Shipla has recently started her own blog which offers course guide for students.

kinds-of-forex

Spot Market. Currency spot trading is the most popular foreign currency instrument around theworld, making up 37 percent of the total activity (See Figure 3.1). The features of the fast-paced spotmarket are high volatility and quick profits (as well losses). A spot deal consists of a bilateral contract whereby a party delivers a specified amount of a givencurrency against receipt of a specified amount of another currency from a counterparty, based on an agreedexchange rate, within two business days of the deal date. The exception is the Canadian dollar, in whichthe spot delivery is executed next business day. The two-day spot delivery for currencies was developedlong before technological breakthroughs in information processing. This time period was necessary tocheck out all transactions' details among counterparties. Although technologically feasible, thecontemporary markets did not find it necessary to reduce the time to make payments. Human errors stilloccur and they need to be fixed before delivery.

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EUR/USD Daily Commentary

The EUR/USD has really deteriorated since Friday after falling below previous April lows. The EUR/USD fell into a rapid decline from here, and is presently trading back below the highly psychological 1.30 level.
Though 1.30 has been broken, we wouldn't be surprised to see some support around this area as investors take advantage of oversold conditions and hesitate leaving 1.30 behind. Serious damage has been inflicted upon the Euro in reaction to dissent among the ECB.

Hot News

German banks are burdened with 853 billion euros in so-called toxic assets, according to estimates by Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported today. Investor sentiment, as measured by the ZEW indicator, came out much better than expected at 13.0 (versus consensus expectations of 2.0), up sharply from last month (-3.5). Production prices fell by 0.7% in March from FeThe RIKSBANK cut its key interest rate by 50 bps to 0.50%.The Bank of Canada has cut its key overnight interest rate by 25 bps to 0.25%.The UK consumer price index came out in line with consensus, up 0.2% in March from February and up 2.9% year on year. The RPI weighed in at -0.4% from the same period last year (the first time the indicator has been negative since 1960), while March RPI-X came out 0.2% higher from February and is up 2.2% from 12 months ago.bruary and are down 0.5% from 12 months ago.

saudi-currency

Banknotes

In 1953, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) began issuing Haj Pilgrim Receipts for 10 riyals [1], with 1 and 5 riyals following in 1954 and 1956, respectively. These resembled banknotes and were initially intended for use by pilgrims who exchanged foreign currency for them. However, they became widely accepted in Saudi Arabia and largely replaced silver riyal coins in major financial transactions. Consequently, the Monetary Agency began issuing regular banknotes for 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 riyal in 1961, with the Pilgrim Receipts being demonetized in 1964.
500 Riyal notes were introduced in 1983. 20 and 200 riyal banknotes were issued in 2000 to commemorate the centenary of the founding of what became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SAMA has announced that a new series of banknotes bearing the face of King Abdullah will be issued starting in April, 2007.
A popular trick amongst Saudi school children is to place a rolled 20 riyal note over a 200 riyal note. The two notes bear portraits that are identical, with the exception of the angle of the head. An amusing question is asked, e.g. "Will Hussein ever be rich?". By inserting a pencil into the rolled 20 riyal note and moving it back and forth, a simple animation effect is created and the king appears to shake his head.

[edit] Fifth issue
On May 20, 2007, "the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, pursuant to article (4) of the Saudi Currency Law, issued under the Royal Decree No. (6) and dated 1/7/1379H." announced the fifth domination of the Saudi Riyal that features King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz's picture on all notes except the 500 riyal, which features the late King Abdulaziz Al Saud. The 100 and 50 riyal notes were released on May 21, 2007. The 10 and 5 riyal notes followed on June 2007, then the 500 riyal followed on September 2007, and finally the 1 riyal note completed the series on December 2007. It is expected by the SAMA that the fourth (current) series will take approximately two years to phase out, although a complete removal of the current series require more than two years since the fourth series has been in circulation for well over 20 years. The fourth series which feature late King Fahad's picture will remain legal tender under the Saudi Arabian monetary law. The new series will have the latest and most advanced security system to prevent from counterfeiting and other similar activities.

Dollars - The most best

The dollar (currency code USD) is the unit of currency of the United States. It is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. The U.S. dollar is divided into 100 cents.Adopted by the United States on July 6, 1785, the U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions. Several countries use the U.S. dollar as their official currency, and many others allow it to be used in a de facto capacity. In 1995, over US $380 billion were in circulation, two-thirds of which was outside the United States. By 2005, that figure had doubled to nearly $760 billion, with an estimated half to two-thirds being held overseas, representing an annual growth rate of about 7.6%. However, as of December 2006, the dollar was surpassed by the Euro in terms of combined value of cash in circulation. The value of Euro notes in circulation had risen to more than €610 billion, equivalent to US$802 billion at the exchange rates at the time.

Weak Dollar? Currency, at 10-Year Low, May Fall More (Update2)

May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Anyone who says the dollar is weak after it fetched a record-low $1.3681 against the euro and the fewest pence against the pound in 25 years is expressing a euphemism.
The currency may decline at least another 10 percent by the end of 2008, say

USE NEW DOLLAR COINS

If you would be so kind, our government would like you to use these new dollar coins insted of dollar bills.
Yes, you read that right.
And would you like to know just why you're going to do this?
To save the planet.
The madness continues below the fold.


Coins last longer than bills, y'see. Less re-minting means less energy expended and a longer, happier life for our planet as a result.
Gosh, any fool could have figured that out. If you didn't, then you're not just any fool!
Here's the article, and we quickly note there are just a few tiny little problems with this otherwise brilliant plan:
There isn't a vending machine or arcade game or slot machine or toll booth or coin changer or coin counter in the galaxy that can handle them. And this isn't just a matter of tinkering with the machine to accommodate a new size of coin. The entire guts would have to be replaced, and in the case of coin counters and the like, that's the whole machine.
Although it seems like a small thing, when it comes to actually getting them into circulation and getting people to use them, the lack of a place for them in cash register drawers is a huge obstacle. You certainly aren't going to mix them in with the other coins or you won't be able to just grab the customer's change by feel. They'll end up in the little 'extra' slot along with the checks, which means they won't be handed back out as change to the customers, and it's bye-bye 'into circulation.'
By measurement, they're approximately 1/16" larger than a quarter. That's about this > <>

Animated Money 1.0

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Falling dollar bills stock photo

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U.S. Economy Reports Push Down the Australian and NZ Dollar

The Aussie and the kiwi lost ground against major currencies as producer prices and retail sales fell in the United States, changing the speculations about the global crisis that «the worst is behind us».
The world’s largest semiconductor company, Intel, reported less significant earnings in their first quarter results as the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.7%. These results destroyed the rumors that, in the beginning of the week, were indicating an eventual improvement in America’s economy, which could confirm hopes that the international crisis scenario would be already in a process of melioration.
After the bullish rally which occurred during the past few days, analysts said that a correction process for the AUD and NZD could be expected, mainly taking into consideration the weakened U.S. retail sales data. Being the news from U.S. not the only factor that forced the Aussie and the kiwi down, commodity prices also showed a fall, creating all the necessary conditions for profiting with the major currencies traded with the AUD and NZD.
The AUD/USD traded at 0.7199, falling more than 80 pips in the intraday comparison. The NZD fell even more against the USD, being the pair traded at 0.5782 from yesterday’s level of 0.5880. The NZD/JPY was traded at 57.29, a significant decline from 58.65.

Italy Indus Group Signs Wage Deal Without Main Union

2nd UPDATE:Italy Indus Group Signs Wage Deal Without Main Union (Adds background details.) ROME -(Dow Jones)- Italy's largest industrial lobby, Confindustria, and most of its unions will forge ahead with the signing of an accord to overhaul the national wage system, but without the country's largest union Cgil, a spokeswoman for Confindustria said. The long-awaited deal, which will be signed in Rome at 1700 GMT, should help boost lagging labor productivity at a time when the economy is mired in a recession. Cgil has more than 5 million members. In January, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government reached an accord with all Italian unions, except Cgil, tying salaries more closely to productivity at a company level. The accord, which replaces an outdated system in place since 1993, will apply to private and public-sector workers. A spokesman for Cgil said the union has no intention of signing the deal. Italy's government has said it will forge ahead with the changes even without Cgil's approval. Economists say this is the kind of measure that Italy needs and can afford as the country is unable to spend its way out of the recession because of its huge public debt, the largest in Europe. The Bank of Italy said Wednesday public debt rose in February to EUR1.71 trillion, its highest level ever. Tax revenues fell to EUR25.22 billion in February from EUR27.9 billion in the same period a year earlier, a sign Italy's gross domestic product is falling. Bank of Italy's latest figure on 2008 debt-to-GDP is at 105.8%, much higher than the European Union's 60% target. Italy's share of world exports, a key driver of economic growth, has been falling steadily over the past decade due to higher labor costs and lower labor productivity rates compared with those in Germany, the world's biggest exporter. Poor labor productivity is a big part of Italy's problem; Italian workers are the least productive among the 30 developed nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Although the overhaul is unlikely to provide immediate relief to the economy, which is expected to contract over 2% in 2009, it lays the ground for stronger results later on, economists have said. Due to its huge debt, the Italian government's ability to raise spending to boost the economy is limited. Rome is concerned a big fiscal boost would backfire, leading to higher government bond yields that would raise borrowing costs further. Web site: www.confindustria.it -By Sofia Celeste, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 697 66923; sofia.celeste@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=ZoEQ9VJtYzxGsJmjLFOE1Q%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.