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By MoneyMorning.com.au

You’ve been reading the paper online.

And you’ve just started shopping online.

Like it or lump it, the only photos your adult children show you are the ones they post on social media platforms. They’d never think of printing them out for you to stick on your fridge.

And you suspect your six year old grandkid is a genius because they just debugged your computer for you.

Technology is everywhere.

Perhaps up until now you’ve been reluctant to invest in it.

After all, in Australian there are limited technology stocks to choose from

Pure tech or internet companies are hard to come by.

I mean, there are established internet businesses you can invest in like Seek Ltd [ASX:SEK ] or carsales.com Limited[ASX: CRZ]. Even the newcomer to the tech sector Freelancer Limited [ASX:FLN] could be an option.

Aside from those, technology investment opportunities in Oz are far and few between.

This means, if you’re keen to invest in tech firms, you really need to look at the American market.

But this poses its own problems.

Technology stocks in the US are far more volatile than Australian companies. This means as an investor, you need to be prepared for more risk.

And even then, what companies do you start with?

There are mature tech stocks like Microsoft [NASDAQ:MFST], Cisco [NASDAQ:CSCO] or IBM [NYSE:IBM]. Or social media stocks like Facebook [NASDAQ:FB] and Twitter [NYSETWTR].

And who wouldn’t want a few Apple [NASDAQ:APPL] or Google [NASDAQ: GOOGL] shares in their portfolio?

The thing is, many tech firms in America are very expensive. And because of restrictions on international broking accounts, you may have to use a larger amount of capital for one trade. Essentially leaving less to spend elsewhere.

However if you do want to invest in tech stocks, perhaps you should consider investing in a technology exchange traded fund (ETF) in the US. Some of which pay a dividend…

The advantage of investing in an ETF is it gives you exposure to companies you might not normally have thought of buying before.

Look at it this way.

By choosing a few ETFs you can easily gain exposure to not only the old-school stocks of technology like Microsoft, Intel, Cisco…but also access the social media craze without making a speculative punt.

Let’s have a look at your options.

But first, let me remind you that any investment in American ETFs will expose you to currency fluctuations in the Aussie dollar. This adds to your risk, and will affect your profits or losses, depending on whether the exchange rate moves against you or in your favour.

The four I’ve picked to show you today offer exposure to a variety of tech stocks.

Let’s start with the ETF that offers a good base of technology shares.

The First Trust Exchange Traded Fd VI [NASDAQ: TDIV], includes some of the biggest and most stable technology companies in America. The top three company heavy weights are IBM, Cisco and Apple. The next big three companies are Qualcomm [NASDQ:QCOM], Oracle [NYSE:ORCL] and Hewlett Packard [NYSE:HPQ].

Out of all of the technology driven ETFs, this is the least volatile. And it pays a 2.40% dividend. The TDIVs main focus is the captains of the US tech industry, and it has a minimal exposure to micro tech stocks.

Next to consider is the Technology SPDR [NYSE:XLK]. This one is about as volatile as the TDIV, and pays a slightly lower dividend of 1.80%

However, over 30% of the ETF is dedicated to Google, Apple and Microsoft. Basically, if you want access to Apple and Google stocks without forking over an entire pay cheque to end up with just two shares, this might be the ETF for you.

While investing in the pillars of the US tech industry is tempting, it’s hard to ignore the riskier, but potentially more profitable social media companies.

If you don’t mind having your heart in your throat every time the US market trades, there’s the Global X Funds Social Media ETF [NASDAQ: SOCL].

All of the social media giants are here. Facebook, Linked In [NYSE:LNKD], Yelp [NYSE:YELP], Google, and Twitter are all in top ten constituents of this ETF.

An added bonus is that half of the ETF is based on American social media companies, and the other social media firms come from Europe, Japan and China. Meaning your exposure isn’t limited to the American market.

But fair warning — this is a volatile ETF. It has outperformed the other ETFs I’ve mentioned today, but that performance comes with higher risk. So far this year, SOCL is down 9%. But in the previous 12 months it rallied a massive 38%.

Finally, there’s also a way you can ride the current enthusiasm behind cloud technology. In fact, I’ve declared it’s the ‘year of the cloud’ in America because of the nine cloud-based companies debuting on the market this year.

So if you want exposure to the cloud computing industry, perhaps look at the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II [NASDAQ:SKYY].

Aside from Facebook featuring in the top ten, the companies with the biggest weightings in this ETF aren’t well-known in Australia.

But that’s okay. They’re all big names in the US global cloud computing industry.

Now one of the advantages with ETFs is their constituents are reviewed quarterly. This means some of the companies with an IPO this year may end up getting a look in.

As you can see, all four of the ETFs I’ve discussed today have outperformed the S&P/ASX200 in the past year.

Click to enlarge

I’ve only mentioned four today, but overall there are 42 tech ETFs to choose from in the US market.

And unlike some of the individual companies I’ve covered today, these tech ETFs are trading between US$15–$36. This makes them a far more affordable option than say Apple or Google on their own.

So which is the ETF for you? Well that all depends on the risk you’re willing to take. XLK and TDIV are the more stable of the four, as they are made up of tech giants that form the foundation of the US tech industry. Plus they offer an income stream through their dividends.

The SOCL and SKYY ETFs are weighted towards the new, riskier firms in the tech sector. There’s no income, but these are the new companies that are shaping the future of the internet and technology. They’re the second generation of tech stocks. And if you can stomach the risk, they have the potential to hand you much bigger gains.

Shae Smith,
Editor, Money Weekend

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By MoneyMorning.com.au

By CentralBankNews.info
    Colombia’s central bank raised its benchmark intervention rate by 25 basis points to 3.50 percent in what the central bank described as a “prudent” move to pull back on its expansionary policy now to avoid a sharper tightening of monetary policy in the future.
    The rate rise by the Central Bank of Colombia was not widely expected by financial markets and the bank said future policy decisions would depend on new information.
    But given the long time it takes for monetary policy decisions to affect inflation and growth, the central bank said its “board considered it prudent to increase the intervention rate by 25 basis points.”
     Colombia’s central bank had held rates steady since April 2013 after cutting them by 100 basis points in the first quarter of last year.
    “The (central bank’s) board considers that the current macroeconomic stability and the convergence of inflation towards the long term goal support a current position of a slightly less expansionary monetary policy,” the bank said, adding that a “gradual and timely” adjustment of its policy would reduce the need for sharp adjustments in the future and ensure macroeconomic stability.

    Improving growth and rising inflation had led most economists to first expect a rate rise in the coming months.
    Colombia’s headline inflation rate rose to 2.51 percent in March, the fourth consecutive month of rising consumer prices, and the central bank said the gradual convergence of inflation to its midpoint 3.0 percent target had led to lower real interest rates, with growth in total credit accelerating slightly in March, driven by commercial and mortgage loans.
    The bank added that inflationary expectations still revolve around the 3 percent level.
    Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product expanded by 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 from the third quarter for annual growth of 4.9 percent, down from 5.4 percent.
   Last year, Colombia’s economy expanded by 4.3 percent, up from 4.0 percent in 2012, and in March  the central bank forecast growth this year between 3.3 percent and 5.3 percent, with 4.3 percent the more likely outcome.
    “The macroeconomic forecast indicates that domestic demand will continue to grow steadily and the economy will approach full use of its production capacity in 2014,” the bank said.
    Capital inflow to Colombia has been improving recently, in line with a general decline of risk premiums of several emerging economies, which has led to an appreciation of currencies against the U.S. dollar, the bank said.
    Last week Colombia’s finance minister, Mauricio Cardenas, said the central bank had been speeding up its dollar purchases due to the rising peso.
    In March the central bank extended its dollar-buying program for the second quarter by up to $1 billion. The central bank has been intervening in foreign exchange markets for more than two years to keep down the peso and aid its export industry.
    The peso depreciated gradually through 2013 and fell sharply from mid-January through mid-March. Since then it has rebounded, but is still down 0.7 percent this year, trading at 1943.4 to the U.S. dollar today.

    http://ift.tt/1iP0FNb

Technical Sentiment: Bearish

Key Takeaways
• CAD/JPY range broke towards the downside;
• Immediate support is located at 92.25;
• Gloves come off below 92.25 where volatility will inevitably increase.
On 14th April CAD/JPY completed a 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement for March-April bullish swing. The technical bounce was short lived however, and the pair entered a perfect range between 92.57 and 93.27, with multiple confirmations for both levels. The potential of the range break-out may be severely limited by April’s Low.

Technical Analysis

Usually, a perfect range formation should not be taken too lightly, especially when price finally breaks outside its boundaries. Yet when all things are considered, CAD/JPY bearish break-out should be treated with extreme caution, as traders may be looking to test the 92.25 support before launching back up.

Price crossed below the 50-Day Moving Average and the 200 Simple Moving Average on the 4H. The real confirmation for a bearish continuation will come on a break and consolidation below 92.25, 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement and April’s Low. This would open the way lower, towards 91.20 and ultimately 90.64.

Stochastic is entering oversold territory on 1H, 4H and Daily. A second Fibonacci bounce at 92.25, preferably coupled with bullish price action signals, would immediately bring back the bullish factor and target 93.25 as a result.

Support levels: 92.25; 91.20; 90.64.
Resistance levels: 92.56; 93.25; 93.89; 94.86.

*********
Prepared by Alexandru Z., Chief Currency Strategist at Capital Trust Markets

By CentralBankNews.info
    Mexico’s central bank maintained its policy rate at 3.50 percent, as expected, saying it was closely following inflationary expectations, including the slack in the economy, and the effect of this on its monetary stance relative to that of the United States.
    The Bank of Mexico, which cut its target for overnight rates by 100 basis points in 2013, said inflation has been declining since the second half of January, as it expected, resulting in a downward revision of inflationary expectations for the current year to below 4 percent while long-term expectations have remained stable.
    Overall, the central bank said the balance of risks to inflation were unchanged since its previous meeting in March, while “the outlook for global economic growth has improved marginally, overriding certain downside risks.”

By CentralBankNews.info
    Russia’s central bank raised its key policy rate by another 50 basis points to 7.5 percent due to rising inflation and said it did not intend to lower the rate in coming months to ensure that inflation remains below 6.0 percent by the end of the year.
    The Bank of Russia, which raised its rate by 150 basis points on March 3 in response to volatility in financial markets from investors’ nervousness over the conflict with Ukraine, said the probability of inflation exceeding the bank’s 5.0 percent target for 2014 had increased substantially, mainly due to the larger-than-expected impact of a depreciation of the ruble on consumer prices.
    The central bank also said Russia’s economy will continue on a downtrend this year with limited boost to activity from the ruble’s depreciation.
    Earlier this month, the central bank said the economy would probably expand by less than 1.0 percent this year and the finance minister said growth may be around zero, days after the Economy Ministry lowered its growth forecast to 0.5 percent from a previous 2.5 percent due to lower demand for exports, slowing consumer activity, capital outflows and a decline in investment.
    “Amid economic uncertainty and declining producer confidence there is a strong probability of a reduction in fixed capital investment,” the central bank said, its only direct reference to the impact on the Russian economy from the conflict with Ukraine and western sanctions.
    Russia’s headline inflation rate rose to 6.9 percent in March from 6.2 percent in February and accelerated further to 7.2 percent as of April 21, with weekly inflation at 0.2 percent, the bank said. Core inflation also accelerated to 6.0 percent in March from 5.6 percent the previous month.
    It attributed the rise in inflation to the pass-through effect of the ruble’s depreciation, a rise in inflationary expectations and “unfavorable” market conditions for diary products, sugar, pork and petrol.
    “Since monetary policy affects the economy with a lag, the probability of inflation exceeding the 5.0% target at end-2014 has increased substantially,” the bank said, adding that the rate rise would help ensure that inflation declines to no more than 6.0 percent by the end of 2014.
    The central bank expects inflation to remain around the current level until the middle of this year, with consumer prices decelerating in the second half due to lower planned rises in administered prices, falling inflation expectations and the economic activity that is below potential.
      “The current economic slowdown is predominantly structural by nature and thus does not exert any noticeable downward pressure on inflation,” the bank said.
    The central bank painted a dim outlook for the economy.
    Growth in labour productivity is “sluggish,” fixed capital investment is contracting due to falling profits, there is limited access to long-term financing in both international and domestic markets, and producer and economic confidence is low, and economic activity in most of Russia’s trading partners is weak, further restraining economic growth.
    Russia’s Gross Domestic Product contracted by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of the year from the fourth quarter for annual growth of 0.8 percent.
    Russia’s ruble started weakening against the U.S. dollar in February last year with the fall accelerating in January, along with many other emerging market currencies.
    An escalation in tensions between Russia and Ukraine sparked a further decline in the exchange rate in March with the central raising the threshold for adjusting the ruble’s trading corridor only after it spends up to $1.5 billion to keep it within the band, a threshold that was raised from a previous $350 million.
    Unnerved by concerns over further sanctions from the West and the escalating crises with Ukraine, the outflow of capital from Russia reached $50.6 billion in the first quarter of this year.
    The ruble was trading at 36 to the U.S. dollar today, higher than a low of 36.92 reached right before the central bank raised its rate in March, but down 8.6 percent since the start of the year.

    http://ift.tt/1iP0FNb

Technical Sentiment: Bearish

Key Takeaways
• AUD/JPY remains pressured towards the downside;
• Daily Bearish Engulfing Bar is activated;
• Pair eyes support levels from 94.45 down to 93.30.
After a small bounce off the 94.82 level, AUD/JPY has cleared stop losses below this level and consequently formed a Lower Low. A bearish continuation will lead the pair towards the support trendline of the 3-month bullish channel for starters, with the possibility of an even deeper retracement in May.

Technical Analysis

AUD/JPY formed a Bearish Engulfing Bar on Wednesday, at the same time confirming the support line at 94.82. On Thursday the price action bar was activated when price dropped below 94.82. The daily close below this level suggests more losses are next.

The pair is trading near the 200 Simple Moving Average on the 4H timeframe. Backed up by 7th March high and the 38.2% Fibonacci Retracement from 91.28 to 96.50; 94.45 represents the first support level to be tested. If the pair successfully crosses below the 200 SMA, the support trendline of the 3-month bullish channel and the 50-Day Moving Average – priced around 96.75 – will be the next target.

Towards the upside, due to Wednesday’s drop, AUD/JPY has to recover a lot of ground before it will be technically bullish again. The small top at 95.30, followed by the 50 and 100 Simple Moving Averages (94.45-95.55) on the 4H chart, represents the first resistance levels. Only above these levels AUD/JPY is likely to get rid of the current bearish pressure.

*********
Prepared by Alexandru Z., Chief Currency Strategist at Capital Trust Markets

By HY Markets Forex Blog

Stocks for the IT multinational cooperation, Microsoft exceeded market’ estimates in the January-March quarter on Thursday; while profit dropped lower than expected, driven by the strong sales in the cloud-computing division.

Net earnings came in at $5.66 billion in the fiscal third quarter of the year, according Microsoft. However, the first profit slid 6% year-on-year on GAAP basis.

Microsoft revenues were at $20.49 billion, beating the consensus estimates of $20.38 billion.”This quarter’s results demonstrate the strength of our business, as well as the opportunities we see in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. We are making good progress in our consumer services like Bing and Office 365 Home, and our commercial customers continue to embrace our cloud solutions. Both position us well for long-term growth,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “We are focused on executing rapidly and delivering bold, innovative products that people love to use.”

Consumer and devices revenue climbed 12% higher to $8.30 billion, while the IT cooperation’s commercial revenue rose by 7% to $12.23 billion.

“Our products and services continue to deliver differentiated business value to our customers, and we continue to win share in areas like cloud services, data platform, and infrastructure management,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at the company. “Our SQL Server business grew double-digits again this quarter, and with the announcements of SQL 2014 and Power BI for Office 365, we offer a unique, comprehensive, end-to-end data and analytics solution.”

The upbeat results sent Microsoft stocks higher, as it climbed 2.5% to $40.9 per share on the Nasdaq.

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The post Microsoft Stocks Boosted By Cloud Gains appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

By HY Markets Forex Blog

Stocks in the Asian region were seen mixed on the last trading day, as the crises in Ukraine continues to escalate and investors weighed on the upbeat inflation data and corporate earnings from Japan.

Ukraine

On Thursday, the US Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia was on the edge of facing further sanctions from the Western nations if the country doesn’t ease tensions in Ukraine. The agreement on disarming rebels signed on April 17 in Geneva by Russia, Ukraine, the US and the European Union is on the verge of falling apart.

Meanwhile, forces from Ukraine killed up to five pro-Russian separatists, while Russia started army drills close to the border, increasing fears over the crises.

Stocks – Asia

In Japan, stocks were trading in between gains and losses, after figures for the country’s consumer inflation came in at a 22-year high in April, indicating Japan’s economy was growing from its delayed period of deflation. Core consumer prices in Tokyo climbed 2.7% higher in April, the fastest gain since 1992.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March was at 1.6%, meeting in line with analysts’ forecast, up from the previous reading of 1.5%.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.17% to 14,429.26, while Tokyo’s broader Topix index added 0.44% to close at 1,169.99. Fuji Electric saw the most gains on the Nikkei 225 as it climbed 9.7%. While the pharmaceutical supplier, Terumo Corporation slid 5.2% lower.

In China, the Hong Kong Hang Seng index lost 1.55% to 22,213 at the time of writing, while the mainland Shanghai Composite fell 1.00% to close at 2,036.52 at the same time.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi index shed 1.3% lower at 1,971.66. Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed for holiday.

Stocks – Europe

European stocks were seen falling on Friday, while US index futures were a little changed.

The Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.59% to 3,171.024, while the German DAX fell 0.73% to 9,478.06 at the time of writing. At the same time the French CAC 40 declined 0.34% to 4,464.27, while UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 lost 0.31% to 6,682.11.

Sweden’s truck-maker giants, Volvo lost 1.5% to 101.90 kronor. The company said first-quarter operating profit rose to 2.29 billion Swedish crowns from 496 million seen a year ago.

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The post Stocks Market Review 25th April appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

By OilPrice.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t think the European community can do without the natural gas it gets from energy monopoly Gazprom. With a Russian economy starting to decline, however, it may be Gazprom that’s too strongly interconnected to the European market to break free.

The narrative over European energy security reaches at least back to 2006 when Gazprom first cut gas supplies through Ukraine. The fallout from the latest disruption in 2009 put opposition darling and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in prison, but now the tables have turned for a Ukraine tilting more strongly toward the European Union.

Last week, Putin warned European leaders that gas supplies through Ukraine may be cut if Kiev didn’t settle its $2.2 billion gas debt to Gazprom. With European allies mulling the best way to break Russia’s grip on the region’s energy sector, Putin said there are few alternatives to Russian natural gas.

“Can they stop buying Russian gas?” he asked in a question-and-answer session this week. “In my opinion it is impossible.”

Russia sends about 15 percent of its natural gas supplies bound for the European community through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. The European energy market has options in Caspian gas waiting in the wings, and potentially liquefied natural gas deliveries, though those alternatives provide little short-term relief.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf warned Putin against using energy as a geopolitical tool in a crisis that’s re-opened old Cold War wounds.

“We’ve said very clearly that Russia should not use this as a weapon and that, actually, Russia has a lot to lose if they try to do so,” she said.

Before the situation erupted into one of the most severe Eastern European crises since the 1990s, the Kremlin had expected 2.5 percent growth in gross domestic product. Now, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said GDP growth should be “near zero” and the Ukrainian row may be to blame.

Trade in oil and natural gas nets Russia about 70 percent of the estimated $515 billion in export revenue and accounts for more than half its federal budget. Though Gazprom has sought entry to a growing Asian economy, most of its natural gas heads to the European market, meaning Putin’s Russia may be as strongly linked to the EU as the EU is linked to the Kremlin.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said the economic situation in the country in part depends on how the Ukrainian crisis plays out. The World Bank, he said, expects 1 percent economic growth for Russia this year. The view from the Kremlin, however, is much more pessimistic. With both Russia and the European community interconnected by natural gas, the relationship may remain intact despite the rhetoric from both sides of the lowering Iron Curtain.

Source: http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Europe/Putin-is-Losing-Eastern-European-Energy-Gamble.html

By. Daniel J. Graeber of Oilprice.com

Article By RoboForex.com

Analysis for April 25^th, 2014

DJIA Index

Chart structure has been changed. It looks like Index formed bullish impulse inside wave (1) and then started correction. In the near term, price is expected to finish the second wave and start growing up inside the third one.

More detailed wave structure is shown on H1 chart. Probably, wave (2) is taking the form of zigzag pattern with wave C being completed inside it. Possibly, market may start forming initial bullish impulse during the day.

Crude Oil

Current chart structure implies that Oil may continue falling down inside the third wave. Earlier price formed bearish impulse inside wave 1. Market may break minimum of this wave in the beginning of the next week.

As we can see at the H1 chart, instrument is forming extension inside the third wave. Yesterday I opened sell order during correction. I’ll move stop into the black as soon as bears break minimum.

RoboForex Analytical Department

Article By RoboForex.com

Attention!
Forecasts presented in this section only reflect the author’s private opinion and should not be considered as guidance for trading. RoboForex LP bears no responsibility for trading results based on trading recommendations described in these analytical reviews.