Forex News
Jul 30 2007, 09:26 - 0 Comments
The Turkish lira received a significant boost as the AK Party came out comfortable winners in parliamentary elections this week.
The lira advanced 2.2% at 1.7191 against the euro, and closed up 2.2% against the dollar at 1.2440.
The victory of the business-friendly, Islamist party brings some much needed stability to the burgeoning nation.
The IMKB-100 stock index closed at 55,625.44 points, up 5%.
Jul 30 2007, 09:26 - 0 Comments
As the dollar hit new lows against the Euro on Monday, the European Central Bank signaled that the recent shift in exchange rates between the two currencies was not a cause for concern in Europe.
As the euro rocketed to the highest it has ever been against the US dollar, $1.3846, many European analysts expressed fears that the weakness of the dollar could have a negative affect on European economic growth.
However, the ECB quickly moved to allay these fears on Monday as European Central Bank Executive Board Member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said there was no need for concern.
"The weakness of the dollar reflects the weakness of the American economy," he said.
He added that, in turn, the strength of the euro was indication that the euro-zone economy is currently healthy and in a strong position.
The European Central Bank is currently concerned with rising inflation rates with a further increase in interest rates expected by many in September.
Jul 30 2007, 09:25 - 0 Comments
OPEC concerns on high oil prices were eased on Monday as the value of the barrel fell back after rising last week.
By lunchtime on Monday, the price of a barrel of crude in London was down 19 cents to 77.45 USD per barrel, while the price of a barrel in New York was down 42 cents to 75.37.
The dip in prices comes on the back of an announcement from Chevron that its refinery in El Segundo, California will recommence production after closing in June.
Jul 30 2007, 09:25 - 0 Comments
The war of words between financial regulators on both sides of the Atlantic continued Monday as Sir Callum McCarthy described US IPO documents as “very poor”.
The Chairman of the Financial Services Authority in the UK’s comments mark the latest episode in an ongoing exchange between the UK and the US as financial services business continues to shift between the two countries.
The UK’s top financial regulator said flotation prospectuses in the UK were far superior when it came to protecting investors.
McCarthy also said that US prospectuses were too lengthy.
UK told The Times: “IPO documents in the States are very poor, actually, in protecting investors.
Jul 30 2007, 09:25 - 0 Comments
The euro hit a new high against the US dollar today, hitting $1.3838 before it fell back to $1.3821.
The British pound was also on the up, reaching a 26- year high of $2.0568.
With the US subprime lending market crisis still looming large, the US dollar remained under serious pressure from the euro.
The sharp rises in the value of the euro and the British pound against the dollar is adding to fears in the euro-zone that European exporters will be hit hard as they bid to compete in international markets.
However, the ECB insisted today that the strength of the euro has not had any negative effects on EU exports.
European Central Bank Executive Board Member told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
"Euro-zone exporters have not suffered from a strong euro to this point.
Jul 30 2007, 09:24 - 0 Comments
The US Dollar continued to slide Friday as fresh stock market uncertainty weakened the currency further against the euro.
The euro rose to as high as $1.348 as a combination of falls in domestic equity markets and poor earnings reports from the likes of internet giant Google Inc.
Jul 30 2007, 09:24 - 0 Comments
The Australian dollar’s strong performance over recent weeks could be further boosted when the Consumer Price Index report, a key indicator of consumer price movements, is released on Tuesday.
After eight weeks on the up, the Aussie dollar reached 18-year highs against the struggling US dollar last week.
The coming days will be telling for the short-term performance of the Australian dollar as the continued strong performance of the currency will hinge not only on the upcoming release of CPI data, but the confidence of the Japanese market.
Continued lack of confidence in the Hang Seng could have a detrimental affect on Australian currency and markets.
Possibly more important is the CPI which is expected to show 1.0 inflation for the quarter and 1.9 percent for the year.
While a yearly rate of 1.9 percent would be positive news, the expected quarterly rate of 1.0 would indicate an inflation rate for the full year of around 4 percent, which would be well above the Australian Government’s target of 2-3 percent.
However, the projected results remain far from certain at this point and any deviation could negatively impact the Australian dollar’s performance against other major currencies.
If it is to build on the gains of the last eight weeks, Tuesday’s data will need to consolidate current interest expectations to maintain confidence in the markets and prevent a major sell-off.
The CPI rose 0.1% in the March quarter 2007, a slight increase from the fall of 0.1% in the December quarter.
Jul 28 2007, 14:57 - 0 Comments
Asian countries heavily export driven economies may lead to less flexibility among currencies there, it has been warned.
Chalongphob Sussangkarn, Finance Minister of Thailand, has warned that such a trend could lead to further imbalance in finances worldwide.
His comments come following this week’s decision by Thailand’s army-backed government to introduce a range of measures aimed at weakening the Thai baht.
Thailand’s economy depends heavily on exports and this year’s strengthening of the baht, which recently hit 10-year highs against the dollar, has led to fears of negative effects on exports.
