Month: August 2013

By WallStreetDaily.com

We just experienced a pretty news-heavy week, with company earnings, economic reports and the turmoil in Egypt reaching a boiling point.

So I thought I’d review how some of the stocks I’ve mentioned recently fared.

Let’s get right to it…

~ SeaWorld (SEAS)

I recommended that we take a “wait-and-see” approach to the SeaWorld IPO. You’re welcome. The company went public on April 18, raising $245.4 million. And it wouldn’t surprise me if initial investors asked for their money back. In the first earnings report since going public, the company missed profits by 24%, and its stock sold off 8% in two days. Making matters worse, SeaWorld projects that it will fall short of the $1.5 billion in revenue that analysts estimated for 2013. The company places part of the blame on higher ticket prices and wet weather. Unless the price falls under the $27 IPO level, I wouldn’t touch it.

~ Wal-Mart (WMT)

I touted Wal-Mart as a back-to-school play earlier this month. And in many ways, Wal-Mart is a gauge for the overall health of retail. So when it reported lower-than-expected sales and earnings – and gave a pessimistic outlook for a full year – its stock fell 2%. Granted, so did the rest of the market because of imminent moves by the Fed to reduce stimulus. The following day, we discovered that the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment slipped to 80.0 from 85.1 for July. So perhaps Wal-Mart is, indeed, a microcosm of the overall retail sector. Either way, if consumer spending doesn’t meet expectations in September and into the holidays, we could be in for a long winter.

~ Emerging Market’s ETF (FM)

I brought frontier markets to your attention because of their diversification and lack of correlation with developed countries. Well, as you know, today’s global stocks can fall like dominoes. When one area of the world crashes down, it tends to take the others with it. Indeed, all three major indices sold off during a two-day period, and so did the iShares Emerging Market’s ETF (EEM). On the other hand, the iShares Frontier Market ETF hardly flinched. So it still makes sense to save a small spot in your portfolio for them.

~ Bitcoin

Last month, I told you to avoid bitcoins at all costs. Recent news confirmed my suspicions. Reports have surfaced that bitcoin wallets on Android are vulnerable to theft because of problems in a component that generates secure random numbers. Plus, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S Department of the Treasury has issued subpoenas to about 24 companies in its investigation of the virtual coin. Again, current investors should be squirming. Don’t fall for yet another hoax.

~ Egyptian Pound

The Egyptian pound was also in my crosshairs last month. Well, the Egyptian government declared a month-long state of emergency after clashes between security forces and Muslim Brotherhood supporters. All told, 525 died, including 43 police officers. Now, if that’s not enough to scare you away from investing in any Egyptian pound scam, this ought to do the trick: Analysts at Societe Generale say that they “keep a bearish stance on all Egyptian assets despite the central bank’s attempt to stabilize the Egyptian pound, and also expect a further re-pricing in Egyptian Eurobonds.” Again, stay away!

Ahead of the tape,

Karen Canella

The post Heavy News Week Rocks the Boat appeared first on  | Wall Street Daily.

Article By WallStreetDaily.com

Original Article: Heavy News Week Rocks the Boat

Article by Investazor.com

Monday was a pretty chill day for trading. There were not that many economic indicators published and the FX major currencies maintained their trend.

EURUSD remained stable around 1.3340 after a rally fueled by the Bundesbank announcement that they see a recovery for the European Union economy. USDJPY tried several times to remain above 98.00, but it seems that investors are still buying the Japanese yen. The current support sits at 97.00 and a daily close under this level might trigger further appreciation for the Japanese currency. AUDUSD has been in a rectangle for the past week. Its support is around 0.9080 while the resistance is situated at 0.9215. A break outside this box could signal the next move for the aussie. Cable broke 1.56 with the US dollar and seems to be in a steady uptrend. It would be advised to keep an eye over the economic calendar to anticipate the short term corrective waves.

The economic calendar will start to get crowded for the rest of the week.  Next on the list to be published are the following:

–          Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes and CB Leading index for Australia;

–          Speech from governor Wheeler of RBNZ, Inflation Expectations, Visitor Arrivals and Credit Card Spending for New Zeeland;

–          CB Leading Index, Foreign direct investments and HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI for China;

–          Wholesale Sales, Retail Sales and Core Retail Sales and CPI with core CPI for Canada;

–          CBI Industrial Order Executions, Second estimates GDP, BBA Mortgage Approvals and Prelim Business Investments for Great Britain;

–          German PPI, German Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI, German final GDP and Consumer Confidence for the Euro Area;

–          Existing Home Sales, Crude Oil Inventories, FOMC Meeting Minutes, Unemployment Claims, Flash Manufacturing PMI, Jackson Hole and New Home Sales for the USA;

The post What to Expect for the Forex Market This Week? appeared first on investazor.com.

By www.CentralBankNews.info Here’s today’s Central Bank News’ link list, click through if you missed the previous link list. The list comprises news about central banks that is not covered by Central Bank News. The list is updated during the day with the latest developments so readers don’t miss any important news.

By The Sizemore Letter

Jeff Reeves and I take a trip around the world, giving our thoughts on American, European and Chinese equities.

From The Slant:

There’s a lot of frothiness right now in U.S. stocks as equities continue to push higher despite earnings and revenue remaining challenged.

Charles Sizemore, editor of the Sizemore Investment Letter, says he’s pretty neutral on U.S. stocks as a result. And that means it might be prudent to look overseas for opportunities right now.

A look at valuations in the U.S. stock market makes it clear that a lot of the “easy money has already been made,” Charles says. That’s not to say he’s bearish on the U.S., of course … just not impressed with the hope of continued upside.

On the other hand, Europe appears to be undervalued based on earnings. And more importantly, as the Federal Reserve cuts back on its stimulative efforts there is a chance that Europe will be the place investors look to for more central banking assistance. After all, says Charles, the Fed can’t get any looser with policy even if it wants to, while the ECB has more wiggle room in regards to monetary policy.

But what about China?

Well, China’s growth is still impressive at 7.5% annually based on recent GDP estimates … but that admittedly is much reduced from previous years and even expectations a few months ago. Charles says he is cautiously optimistic on the region after so much negativity has been priced in, but certainly not as optimistic on a China recovery as he is on a European one.

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London Gold Market Report
from Adrian Ash
BullionVault
Monday, 19 August 09:05 EST

WHOLESALE GOLD edged back from last week’s two-month closing high on Monday morning, recording its best London Gold Fix since 18th June above $1375 per ounce.

 World stock markets slipped, with Indonesia dropping 5.5%, as major government bond prices also fell, driving interest rates higher.

 Ten-year US Treasury yields rose to 2.86%, a fresh two-year high.

 Alongside the gold price, now some 16% above late-June’s two-year low and recovering nearly all that month’s plunge, industrial and agricultural commodities also slipped back from their recent rally.

“The rest of the precious complex is starting to confirm the price action in gold,” reckons Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analyst MacNeil Curry, pointing to the 13% rise in silver prices last week – the best Friday-to-Friday since 2008 according to BullionVault data.

 Secondly, Curry adds – and forecasting a short-term rally in the gold price to $1410 or $1450 per ounce – “the rampant unwinding” of gold investment through the giant SPDR Gold Trust is now “stabilizing” after the fund shed 20% of its bullion between April and July.

 During the second quarter hedge-fund manager John Paulson halved his leading position in the New York-listed SPDR Gold Trust (ticker: GLD). That one-million ounce exposure was re-opened, however, through a series of derivative contracts according to a “source” quoted by the Financial Times.

 Last week saw the GLD add bullion for the first week out of 33 so far in 2013, growing 0.4% from the previous Friday’s four-and-a-half-year low of 911 tonnes.

 “If ETF holders aren’t selling and other holders aren’t selling then the price will have to rally to curb some of this jewellery and small bar and coin demand,” says Matthew Turner at Australia’s Macquarie Bank, noting the greater than 50% jump in global gold jewelry, coin and bar demand reported for the second quarter by market development organization the World Gold Council.

 “[Gold] has generated a buy signal on the weekly chart,” says the latest technical analysis from London market-maker Scotia Mocatta, “with [last week’s] close above former July weekly high of 1348.”

 “Gold is currently lightly overbought,” said long-time bull, wealth manager Marc Faber to CNBC on Friday.

 “About 10 days ago, gold mining shares became incredibly cheap in terms of gold. [But] I have a preference for physical gold owned in a safe deposit box outside the United States.”

 Data released late Friday showed speculative traders in US gold futures raising their net bullish position – as a group – by a massive 18% in the weekending last Tuesday.

 “Is gold overdone on the upside?” asked Tocqueville Gold Fund manager John Hathaway, also on Friday.

 “It was ridiculously oversold…If you take a longer view, the rationale for being in gold is the prospect of monetary debasement.”

 Former SocGen strategist and long-time gold advocate Dylan Grice, now at London-based investment company Edelweiss, writes that “Money is the primary toy of today’s naive interventionists. They will play with it until they break it.

 “Now consider gold. In ten years’ time, gold bars will still be gold bars. In fifty years too [and] in a thousand years from now, and [with] roughly the same purchasing power.”

 Looking ahead to the Denver Gold Forum in four weeks’ time, “We’d encourage shorter-term investors to consider getting long” of gold, says a recommendation from analysts at investment bank J.P.Morgan, noting the metal’s typically strong performance in September.

Adrian Ash

BullionVault

Gold price chart, no delay | Buy gold online

Adrian Ash is head of research at BullionVault, the secure, low-cost gold and silver market for private investors online, where you can buy gold and silver in Zurich or Singapore for just 0.5% commission.

(c) BullionVault 2013

Please Note: This article is to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it.

By HY Markets Forex Blog

Gold prices hit a two-month high as Gold futures extended gains on Monday. The yellow metal extended gains were assisted by the weak US data and last week’s rise in the world’s biggest gold-backed exchange traded fund SPDR Gold Trust.

Gold Prices Extend Gains on Increase In SPDR Holdings

Gold futures rose 0.26% higher at $1,374.60 per ounce at the time writing, while silver lost 0.19% at $23.280 per ounce at the same time. Earlier today, Silver reached a three-month high at $23.605 an ounce.

The globe’s largest gold-backed ETF SPDR Gold Trust, posted an increase of 0.4 in holdings to 915.32, its highest increase since November 2012. Volume of the holdings in SPDR fell below 1,000 tonnes in June, lowest in over four years.

According to reports, this year the fund has seen approximately $19 billion in outflows, which has weighed on metal prices.

Analysts that attended the India Gold Convention last week are predicting precious metals could reach $1,405 an ounce by the end of the year. The World Gold Council said that the overall second-quarter gold demand dropped to its lowest value in over three years. Demand in gold dropped 12% and was down 23% in dollar terms, while the demand in jewelry remain strong, hitting a 37% high in tonnage terms.

The Investment Company Paulson & Co cut out 53% of its stake from the SPDR Gold Trust in the second quarter because of the lower bullion prices.

Economic data’s expected and released have been closely monitored by investors to gauge when the U.S Federal Reserve would begin to scale back on its bond-buying program later this year.

An economic data released last week showed that the jobless claims dropped from 15,000 to 320,000 in the week ending August 10, the US Department of Labour reported.

The US central bank’s monthly bond-buying program has helped gold prices to reach its highest record in the past years to improve and maintain the labour market. The bank’s Policymakers stated earlier this year that if the unemployment rate continuous to drop, they would consider when it would start to scale back on its $85 billion monthly bond-purchasing program.

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The post Gold Prices Hit Two Month High appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

By HY Markets Forex Blog

Asian stocks started the week mixed, with another day of highly volatile trading while investors continues to worry over predictions that the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back on its stimulus program by September.

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold its upcoming Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for September 17-18, where traders are hoping to get possible hints of it plans for the stimulus program. Policymakers of the US central bank will decide whether to scale back its bond-buying program in the meeting.

Asian Stocks movers and shakers

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.79% closing up 13,758.13, while the broader Topix added 0.57% at 1,149.13.While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.04% higher at 22,527.55 and Chinese Shanghai Composite edged 0.90% higher to 2,087.11 showing a boost in the country’s economy.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 was seen closing 0.03% lower at 5,112.50 after highly volatile trading. The South Korean KOSPI index edged 0.13% lower to close at 1,917.64.

Ferronickel maker Pacific Metals were seen rising at 7.92%, while the watches manufacturers Citizen Holdings edged 2.49% lower. The China Resources Power lost 3.21% during the trading session.

Exports in Japan increased by 12.2% in July after a rise of 7.4% in June, while imports jumped by 19.2% leaving the third-largest economy with a trade deficit of $10.5 billion.

The continuous rebound in the country’s exports may show that the third-largest economy is boosting, almost on the same track as the major global economies such as the US and Europe.

China Trading

The incident of the unintended trade that was executed by the Chinese broker firm Eyerbright Securities in the last session on Friday, sent the Chinese benchmark Shanghai index 5.6% higher, which later dropped rapidly at market close in losses. The accident lead to inflated transactions summing $3.79 billion, while the final estimated transactions totaled $1.18 million.

According to the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission, the trade error was caused by the system defects in the firm’s trading computer. The firm may face extra disciplinary actions from regulators according to the stock watchdog.

Interested in trading Asian Stocks Online?

Visit www.hymarkets.com and start trading today with only $50 and receive a 20% bonus on your deposits until September.

The post Asian Stocks Mixed On Fed Doubts appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

The rising bond yields in the US continues to worry investors. Last week alone the ten year bond yield jumped 25 basispoint making investors nervous.

The S&P 500 index dropped by over two percent last week making it the worst week this year.

Senior Strategist Ib Fredslund Madsen looks at whats in store for investors this week.

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