Archive For "April, 2010"

Most Asian currencies are continuing to deliver better investment returns than their respective stock-market indexes this year, as the strength of the region’s economic recovery is attracting fund inflows.

Recap: Welcome to another Friday PipHutters! I took a double lot short position yesterday at 1.3265 on a 2h doji with a stop-loss trailing down on the outside of falling resistance (orange line below) and a eventual target back down to 1.3175 for 90 pips. I closed out half of that position at 1.3225 for 40 pips with the remaining lot running risk-free.

Daily Outlook: Looming over the Euro we have the credit downgrades of Greece, Spain and Portugal from earlier this week (which drove the price down over 200 pips). On top of that Moody’s yesterday said that unless Greek aid became less “fragmented” – referring to Germany’s reluctance to publicly and vocally commit – more downgrades would be coming. Such downgrades would undoubtedly push down the EUR/USD.

Reflecting that on the charts the pair is currently caught within two bearish channels – one visible easily on the 1h and 4h charts (orange lines on chart below) and the other is visible on the daily charts and higher (blue lines below). Given this combination of fundamentals and technicals I will continue to look for opportunities to sell.

I have a hunch that smart money will look to shed risk going into the weekend, meaning EURUSD losses, to limit exposure to any bad Euro news over the weekend.

Trading Idea: It is Friday and, as usual, I most likely will not open any new positions today. I do still have my short from 1.3265 open targeting 1.3175 now. If I was looking to reset or add to my short position my primary trade would be to short in the resistance zone of 1.3275-1.3300 (around the falling orange resistance line on chart below) with targets at 1.3255, 1.3225, 1.3200 and 1.3175 (for 100-125 pips profit).

Happy pipping all and check your email this weekend for a new function I’m rolling out called “trading groups”! As always, never trade more than you can afford to lose and always be smart. If I had to give one word of advice to beginning traders it would be to trade less, less less. You don’t need to be in the market all the time and nor should you be -  be selective, be patient and take good setups with good risk/rewards only.

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After two losing sessions, Canada’s main stock market index closes 1% higher on Thursday, boosted by higher oil prices and solid corporate earnings from Canadian companies.

President’s picks would appear to give Fed chief Ben Bernanke a firmer grasp on the course of interest rates.

The euro gains ground on hopes that Greek officials, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund will soon nail down an agreement on a multiyear rescue package for the debt-strapped country.

After two losing sessions, Canada’s main stock market index gained 1.1% on Thursday, boosted by higher oil prices and solid corporate earnings from Canadian companies.

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The cost of insuring Greek and Portuguese government debt fell sharply Thursday. The Greek credit default swap spread narrowed to 625 basis points from around 809 on Wednesday, according to Markit. That means it would now cost $625,000 a year to insure $10 million of Greek debt, compared to $809,000. The Portuguese CDS spread narrowed to 308 basis points from 327. Both spreads had widened sharply on Wednesday, a day after Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s credit rating to junk and also downgraded Portugal.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen to be the vice chairman of the Fed’s board of governors. At the same time, Obama nominated Peter Diamond, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Sara Bloom Raskin, the Maryland state banking regulator, to the two vacancies on the seven member Fed board. The Senate is likely to confirm the nominees. If confirmed, the Fed board would be at full-strength with all seven board member seats filled for the first time in almost four years. Yellen is considered one of the most-influential Fed officials on the economy and interest rate policy. Neither Raskin nor Diamond have much monetary policy experience. Diamond is an expert on Social Security and pensions. Raskin is an expert on bank regulations.

European financial markets breathed some relief Thursday, with Greek government bonds rebounding and bank shares soaring amid hopes a multi-year rescue package for Greece will soon get the green light.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The Brazilian real gained strongly against the dollar Thursday after Brazil’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rates late Wednesday to 9.5% from the historic low of 8.75%. The real is 0.8% higher against the dollar, with one dollar buying 1.73 reals. The Bovespa stock index rose 1% to 67,330.