This week it looks like market participants are mixed in their opinions of the market (OK, more mixed than normal). It appears that there is a crowd that thinks the current down trend is overdone, while others believe it may be the start of something larger. The strongest evidence comes from Twitter sentiment for the…
This week we’ll begin with our monthly and weekly forecasts of the currency pairs worth watching. The first part of our forecast is based upon our research of the past 11 years of Forex prices, which show that the following methodologies have all produced profitable results: Trading the two currencies that are trending the most strongly over the…
Monday: October’s All Industry Activity Index will be released in Japan. December’s Advance Consumer Confidence Index will be released for the Eurozone, with analysts expecting it to remain at -5.9 points. Tuesday: The third estimate for Gross Domestic Product in the U.S. will see light. A mild deterioration, to +1.9% Quarter over Quarter, is expected by…
It’s a market worth $210 billion… but like many modern-day conveniences, it’s one that we’re increasingly taking for granted. I’m talking about mobile payments – the ability to do all your banking and buying directly from a mobile device. And the critical technology that underpins this market – near-field communication (NFC) – might be finally…
After a terrible 2014, broad commodities ranging from natural resources to metals have been beaten down badly this year too. This is especially true in the backdrop of a strong dollar, lower oil price, and weak global fundamentals that have dampened the appeal for these commodities. Notably, the most popular commodity fund – PowerShares DB…
To no one’s surprise, the Fed raised rates 25 basis points this week,offering the following assessment of the economy: Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Household spending and business fixed investment have been increasing at solid rates in recent months,…
Last Wednesday the Federal Reserve announced that it is increasing its target for the fed funds rate to a new range of 25 to 50 basis points (0.25% to 0.5% annual rate). How does the Fed plan to accomplish this, and what does it mean for other interest rates? The fed funds rate is the interest rate…
Fundamental Forecast for the Yuan: Neutral People’s Bank of China Lowers GDP Forecast, Signs New Currency Deals China’s Central Bank Prepares Yuan for Fed Hike, Dollar De-Peg What Are the Traits of Successful Traders? Get FXCM’s Free New eGuide The onshore yuan exchange rate (USD/CNY) ended 10-days of declines before it closed at 6.4800 on Friday….
Shareholder distributions, defined as total dividends plus gross share buybacks, amounted to $259.8 billion for S&P 500 companies at the end of the third quarter — the highest quarterly total of shareholder distributions in at least ten years. The second highest total was recorded back in April 2014 when distributions hit $252.2 billion. For income investors, this…
As the Fed ended an era of extraordinary monetary policy easing by hiking interest rates for the first time since 2006, it knocked the wind out of gold, with prices plummeting to six-year lows to $1,050 an ounce. It is a well-known fact that higher rates tend to weigh on gold, as it provides no…
