The IMF meetings with its 188 members ended over the weekend.
To some degree, it was seen as a success. For starters, IMF chief Christine Lagarde managed to secure more than USD430 billion in pledges. Japan was the first to lend support, pledging USD60 billion in aid.
The total figure, while impre...
YTE Blog Blogger: Mario Singh  Mario is the Director of Training and Education at FXPRIMUS, Asia's fastest growing Forex broker. As an internationally renowned expert on Forex, his views are widely sought after in the industry. Mario is a frequent guest on international media CNBC where he shares his thoughts and analysis on the Forex Market. For more information, please visit http://www.mariosingh.com.au and http://www.fxprimus.com What a difference two weeks makes.
Two weeks ago, China reported stellar numbers in its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), with numbers coming in at a one-year high of 53.1 in March, compared to a reading of 51 in February.
As the world’s largest exporter, the PMI is an important number for traders... All the excitement in the previous week came to a screeching halt when the US Labour Department released the hotly watched Non Farm Payrolls figures on Friday evening.
The 120,000 jobs added in March were the lowest in five months, underscoring Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s concern that recent gains ... China reported positive figures over the weekend, sending risk currencies higher.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by China’s logistics federation and the National Bureau of Statistics, rose to a one-year high of 53.1 in March from 51 in February.
As Australia’s largest trading partner, Ch... This week, Eurozone finance ministers will gather in Copenhagen for talks. The main agenda will centre upon strengthening of the region’s financial firewall.
The goal is to establish a massive bailout fund that could combine the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the system designed t... With the Greek story out of the way, all eyes are now focused on the recovery of the US economy.
Over the last couple of months, the US has reported consistent improvements in key economic reports such as non-farm payrolls and retail sales.
For the month of February, US employers added 227,000 job... In the strongest signal yet to reduce reliance in exports and capital spending in favour of consumption, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao set the pace for this year’s growth at 7.5%.
The announcement was made yesterday during the state-of-the-nation speech delivered to 3,000 lawmakers at the annual meeti... I am back in Singapore after speaking in the “China International Investment and Finance Expo 2012” held in Guangzhou.
Although China has announced slowdowns in manufacturing, exports and housing, the Forex community there seems to suggest otherwise with the buzz in the Expo.
Speaking of buzz, the... Over the weekend, China announced a 50 basis-point cut in the Reserve Requirement Ratio.
This is essentially the proportion of cash that banks must set aside as reserves. The change will take effect on 24 February, and the figure will fall to 20.5% from 21%.
This is the second time in three months... Over the weekend, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos won parliamentary approval for austerity measures to secure a second international bailout and avoid national bankruptcy.
Out of 300 lawmakers, a total of 199 backed the bill. The passing of the austerity bill was a boon for market traders who ... Last week, US government data beat all estimates when it reported that Non-Farm Payrolls rose by 243,000 in January. The official figures easily surpassed the 140,000 estimate by economists.
Additionally, the unemployment rate came in at 8.3%, the lowest level in nearly 3 years. This also recorded ... After intense negotiations at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a deal with Greek bondholders seems imminent.
In October 2011, the bondholders agreed to take a 50% cut in the face value of their bonds, worth more than 200 billion Euros. In simple terms, this means that bondhold... What a week it has been for the Euro.
Mid-week, ECB chief Mario Draghi gave a press conference, stating that the bank’s policy of extending low interest loans to financial institutions had been successful in stabilizing the region’s credit markets.
Proof of his statement was seen in the recent Spa... It’s good to be back in the currency market after a three week break.
For my first article of 2012, let’s take a snap-shot of the world’s biggest economies to see how they fared for 2011. This can give us excellent insight into how they might perform at the start of 2012.
According to the list by ... The recently concluded EU Summit in Brussels last week answered some tough questions.
Here’s some of the highlights:
1. War-chest topped up with 200 billion Euros
The Eurozone’s central banks will contribute 150 billion Euros, while non-Euro EU states will chip in the remaining 50 billion Euros. ... There were two headlines late last week that caused a rally in the risk currencies.
Firstly, it was the surprise announcement by the major central banks to boost liquidity. In a coordinated action to ease credit lending, six central banks agreed to reduce the cost of temporary dollar loans offered ... It’s no secret in the markets now that traders and investors are highly concerned about the on-going debt crisis in Europe.
However, what is that one crucial clue to give us a clear leading indicator that risk is off the table?
The answer, is bond yields.
By definition, a bond yield is the return... Last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said that the global economy and financial system are at their most fragile state since the 2008 crisis, with the immediate outlook characterised by a high degree of uncertainty.
Not the most encouraging words for traders and investors to hear, but rec... The countries which make up the “PIGS” – Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, have new leaders.
Portugal is headed by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, after Jose Socrates resigned in March.
Greek Prime Minister resigned last week to make way for a coalition led by European Central Bank Vice Presi... Last week, 2 major central banks slashed their interest rates by 25 basis points each.
The Reserve Bank of Australia was the first to act, cutting rates from 4.75% to 4.5%. This was followed 2 days later by new ECB chief, Mario Draghi, who surprised everyone by cutting rates from 1.5% to 1.25%.
Ra...
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