USDJPY is facing that support of the uptrend line on 4-hour chart, as long as the trend line support holds, the fall from 77.25 is treated as consolidation of uptrend, one more rise towards 77.85 is still possible. However, a clear break below the trend line will indicate that a cycle top has been formed at 77.25, and the rise from 76.09 has completed, then deeper decline towards 75.96 key support could be seen.
Provided by ForexCycle.com
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Tan Teng Boo, managing director of Capital Dynamics Asset Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur, talks about the global economy and financial markets. Tan speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Michael John Lytle, managing director of Source U.K. Services Ltd., discusses investing in exchange-traded funds. Lytle, speaking with Linzie Janis on Bloomberg Television’s “Countdown,” also talks about the outlook for gold prices.
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Japan’s second largest maker of machinery used to automate factories, may accelerate overseas procurement should the yen strengthen by as much as 10 percent from current levels, President Kenichiro Yamanishi said yesterday at the Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition, or CEATEC, near Tokyo. Mike Firn reports on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up.” (Source: Bloomberg)
The Central Bank of Kenya upped its benchmark lending rate by 400 basis points to 11.00% from 7.00% previously. The central bank Governor, Njuguna Ndung’u, said: “The Committee decided to raise the CBR by 400 basis points to 11.0 percent. In addition, the MPC will be meeting every first week of the month until further notice,” and said the CBK “will revise the CBR further if inflation and exchange rate volatility do not abate.” also noting: “inflationary pressure has continued to increase and both the weakening of the shilling and its volatility poses additional threats.”
At its previous meeting the CBK increased the interest rate by 75bps to 7.00%, after having previously increased, and subsequently decreased the discount window rate by 75 basis points to 6.25%. The Kenyan central bank last increased the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points in May this year.
Kenya experienced annual headline inflation of 17.3% in September, up from 16.7% in August, up from 15.5% in July, and up sharply from 9.19% in March this year, according to inflation data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The Central Bank of Kenya has an inflation target of 5 percent.
Kenya reported seasonally adjusted GDP growth of -4.6% in Q2, compared to +2% in Q1. A Kenyan Ministry of Finance official noted that Kenya is expected to record economic growth around 5-5.5% this year, and 6% next year.
The Kenyan Shilling (KES) has weakened about 27% against the US dollar so far this year; the USDKES exchange rate last traded around 101.25.
The Narodowy Bank Polski‘s Monetary Policy Council kept the benchmark 7-day interest rate unchanged at 4.50%. The Bank said: “In the medium term, inflation will be curbed by the anticipated decline in domestic economic growth amidst fiscal tightening, including reduced public investment spending, and interest rate increases implemented in the first half of 2011, as well as a likely global economic slowdown. On the other hand, the impact of the situation in the global financial markets on the zloty exchange rate constitutes an upside risk factor to domestic price developments.”
The Bank also kept the following interest rates unchanged: the rediscount rate at 4.75%, the Lombard rate at 6.00%, and the deposit rate at 3.00%. The Bank last raised the interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.50% in June this year, and held the interest rate unchanged at its previous meeting.
Poland reported annual headline inflation of 4.3% in August, up slightly from 4.1% in July, with previous readings of 4.2% in June, 5% in May, 4.5% in April, 4.3% in March, and higher than the Bank’s official inflation target of 2.5% +/- 1%.
The IMF recently reduced its forecast for Poland’s 2011 economic growth rate to 3.8% from 4% previously. The Polish Zloty (PLN) has weakened by about 13% against the US dollar so far this year; the USDPLN exchange rate last traded around 3.30.
How to (or Not to) Invest Like a New York Yankee
by Marc Lichtenfeld, Investment U Senior Analyst
Wednesday, October 5, 2011: Issue #1615
Joe DiMaggio once said, “I’d like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.”
There are several members of the Bronx Bombers who likely feel the same way. Not only have Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Mariano Rivera won the World Series, they’ve become fabulously rich doing so. A-Rod of course was rich before he joined the Yankees, but he’s certainly gotten richer during his time in pinstripes.
In 2011, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera each made just under $15 million, before endorsements, money from the playoffs, or other sources of income.
Mark Teixeira made $23.2 million.
Alex Rodriguez’s paychecks totaled $32 million.
If DiMaggio loved being a Yankee 70 years ago, imagine how much he would have enjoyed it today! And how exactly would he invest?
Though star athletes are known not just for physical prowess but also for their smart decision-making on the field, when it comes to managing their money, they don’t always perform like champions.
Investing Like a New York Yankee
With the baseball playoffs underway and the Yankees on the path to another World Series championship, let’s take a look at how several members of the team are investing their money and whether it makes sense to follow their footsteps.
Derek Jeter – Perhaps the most beloved Yankee since Mickey Mantle, Jeter recently built a $15-million, 31,000-square-foot mansion near Tampa, Florida. Real estate in Florida is not likely to recover in the near future, so his timing may be off.
But if you can build your dream home and it will only cost you your base salary for one year – go for it.
Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod has been sharpening his poker skills in some high stakes games in case this baseball thing doesn’t work out. Always smart to have a backup plan. Additionally, he appears to be good at hedging his bets.
Despite being a large investor in Zico Pure Coconut water, he recently signed an endorsement deal with competitor Vita Coco. Either way, he wins. It’s like buying a put on a stock. Although when you buy a put, you usually don’t infuriate your co-investors.
Mark Teixeira – According to the Baltimore Sun, the slugging first baseman is invested in The Geier Strategic Total Return Fund (GAMTX), a mutual fund that “offers a conservative mind set. One that seeks growth without unnecessary risk.”
Sounds like a plan. Except when you look at the portfolio and notice it’s 40 percent in cash, 52 percent bonds, including two other bond mutual funds with much-lower expense ratios than the Geier Fund. In fact, Geier charges a much-higher-than-average 2.11-percent expense ratio. You can park your cash in the bank for free. You don’t need to pay a mutual fund company 2.1 percent to hold it for you. Remember, very few mutual funds outperform the market. So when selecting a fund, keeping your expenses low is critical.
Mariano Rivera – The Yankees’ reliever invested in Sunovia Energy Technology (OTC: SUNV), a company that makes energy-efficient lighting systems.
The stock trades for just $0.02 per share. Mariano didn’t become baseball’s all time greatest closer by being reckless. Sunovia has yet to make a dime and has revenue of just $1.2 million in the first six months of the year, although its net loss has declined significantly from last year.
Rivera has made a lot of money in his career and if he wants to swing for the fences with a little bit of it, I’m not going to tell him he shouldn’t. But hopefully, it’s only a very little bit and the rest of it is invested with precision and control, like the way he throws his cut fastball.
Besides for their freaks of nature bodies, mind boggling salaries and glamorous lifestyles, star athletes aren’t that different from you and me.
Wealth Protection Strategies and Dividend-Paying Stocks
These guys should be looking for ways to protect their wealth and generate income for when their playing days are over. They’ve already hit the jackpot in terms of making money. Rather than trying to do it again in some hair-brained scheme that their cousin’s friend’s uncle is leading, they should find tax efficient strategies that will generate enough money for them to live on for the rest of their lives.
The two best strategies for preserving wealth:
If you’re going to buy bonds you should be prepared to own them for the life of the bond. Yields are so low and prices so high that you may have to endure some pain in terms of the bond’s price while you own it. However, as long as you are holding it to maturity, you’ll get your money back.
Despite the tough economic times that we’re enduring, the fear of muni bond defaults is overblown. AA munis only default 0.03 percent of the time. That’s one in every 10,000.
Currently, dividends are taxed at just 15 percent, making them more appealing from a tax perspective than ordinary income. That of course may change in the very near future.
There are plenty of quality companies paying dividends of four to six percent that raise their dividend every single year. That’s important because if you’re holding the stock for the long term and living off the income, you need the dividend to keep up with inflation.
Here are a few stocks you and members of the Yankees should consider:
Now, that I’ve got the Yankees’ finances figured out, let me get to work on getting A-Rod’s bat back in the groove during the playoffs.
Good investing,
Marc Lichtenfeld
Article by Investment U
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Christian Gattiker, head of research at Bank Julius Baer & Co., comments on Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 4S and the outlook for tomorrow’s European Central Bank interest-rate decision. He talks with Owen Thomas on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Source: ForexYard
After much deliberation the IMF has indicated that it may indeed intervene in bond markets as it anticipates the Greek bailout package to be modified.
This move has the support of a number of countries currently facing debt crises such as Spain and Italy, which are encountering their own set of problems stemming from the financial downturn. While countries such as these don’t face the same level of insolvency as Greece, for example, they do suffer from a lack of investor confidence. Therefore, a move on the part of the IMF to boost bonds could help reinvigorate some euro zone economies.
Ultimately, this will shore up additional economies in the EU which dovetails nicely with what EU finance ministers set forward as their own plan just this week.
Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.
© 2006 by FxYard Ltd
Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.
by Jason Jennkins, Investment U Research
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
At the end of last week, the U.S. dollar gained against the euro due to the ever-present worries that EU leaders won’t get their act together soon enough to fix their debt crisis. Concern in the market in regards to the European sovereign debt has placed the euro in a precarious situation. The currency will end the third quarter with a 7.5-percent loss versus the dollar.
The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX) is a measure of the value of the dollar relative to a basket of six specific foreign currencies. It’s a weighted geometric mean of the dollar’s value compared with the following currencies:
The index rose to 78.65, up from 77.92 in North American trade late Thursday and looks like it will end the quarter up 5.8 percent.
Britain to Do a Little Quantitative Easing of Its Own
I just mentioned the troubles of the euro. Also, for the third quarter, the pound has lost 2.6 percent due to the anticipation that the Bank of England could do its best Ben Bernanke impersonation and bring back its quantitative easing program.
Kathleen Brooks, Research Director at Forex.com, expects continued strength for the dollar for the foreseeable future. “It’s been one hell of a third quarter, and the excitement of recent weeks is likely to continue over the next three months… We end the quarter no closer to a long-term solution to the European sovereign debt crisis, the Bank of England looks poised to do more QE, it could even be joined by the Fed at some stage and the global economic outlook is still a confusing picture.”
Investors Looking to Avoid Riskier Assets
The dollar saw added gains when reports came out last week that presented a dismal outlook for U.S. consumer spending, income and inflation. Investors got spooked on equities, further reducing investors’ interest in assets deemed riskier.
The Commerce Department reported that Americans dipped into their savings accounts in August when their income fell for the first time since 2009. The nation’s savings rate fell to its lowest level since November of that same year. Income fell to a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in August. That’s the first monthly decline since October 2009.
Wages and salary income are two main keys for consumer spending and decreased 0.2 percent in last month, which was its biggest decline in eight months. Consumer spending increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent last month, down from a revised 0.7 percent gain in July. And consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, was unchanged in August.
The Play For a Strong Dollar
I know it sounds like we’ve been beating the same drum for a while now, but all the market information keeps pointing to those plays we’ve been recommending for the last few weeks. The best plays against the Eurozone crisis and a strong dollar are the Market Vectors Double Short Euro ETN (NYSE: DRR) and the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: UUP).
Good investing,
Jason Jenkins
Article by Investment U
