The parliament of Slovakia approved a new constitutional that limits the debt to 60% of GDP. The law includes automatic sanctions that are triggered when the debt level passes the 50% threshold. Slovakia is one of the poorest nations in the euro-zone. It was the last country though to approve the new EFSF powers. It … “Slovakia Introduces Debt Ceiling Law Into Constitution”
Category: Forex Bits
German Factory Orders Leap by 5.2% – EUR/USD at High
Germany still enjoys a robust economy. Factory orders jumped by 5.2% and corrected the drop of 4.6% seen last month. Expectations stood on a more modest rise of 0.9%. The original report for last month was a drop of 4.3%. EUR/USD is higher now, at the high end of the 1.3360 – 1.3420 range. This … “German Factory Orders Leap by 5.2% – EUR/USD at High”
ECB Buys Less Bonds as Sentiment Improves
The European Central Bank bought less bonds of peripheral countries in the past week: only 3.662 billion. This is lower than last week and far lower than 8.581 billion it bought two weeks ago. This fall comes as hopes are high once again for the European Summit this Friday. Yields on Spanish and Italian bonds … “ECB Buys Less Bonds as Sentiment Improves”
European Sentix Investor Confidence Falls
The highly regarded Sentix Investor Confidence fell deeper into negative territory, hitting -24 points. This is a survey of around 2800 investors A small slide from -21.2 to -21.4 points was expected. This reflects pessimism for the fourth consecutive month. . Earlier in Europe, the final version of services PMI for November slid from 47.8 to … “European Sentix Investor Confidence Falls”
Jim O’Neill Shows Optimism About Debt Crisis, Stock Markets
Jim O’Neil, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management is optimistic about global stock markets and doesn’t see the falls of August and September happening in the near future. Regarding the debt crisis, he is optimistic that the new Italian government, helped by “strong support from the ECB” will find its way out of the crisis. The … “Jim O’Neill Shows Optimism About Debt Crisis, Stock Markets”
Forex Trading After Thanksgiving
The Western world grinds to a halt before Christmas and re-awakens after New Year’s Eve and trading volume is very thin. This is well known and many people are on vacation anyway. Yet volume begins to drop well beforehand. The US holiday of Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the shopping season in the US and … “Forex Trading After Thanksgiving”
US Existing Home Sales Climb to 4.97 million (annualized)
The sales of existing homes in the US climbed in October by 1.4% and reached a pace of 4.97 million units. This is above last month’s figure of 4.9 million, and better than 4.82 million that was expected. While this isn’t a big upside surprise, this indicator shows that the US continues growing. The figure … “US Existing Home Sales Climb to 4.97 million (annualized)”
British Inflation at 5%
The Consumer Price Index in the UK slid from 5.2% to 5%, a bit under 5.2% that was expected. The Retail Price Index (RPI) dropped from 5.6% to 5.4%, also below a drop to 5.5% that was expected. On the other hand, Core CPI ticked up from 3.3% to 3.4%. GBP/USD is bouncing higher following … “British Inflation at 5%”
Forex Session Tool
The European and US session are the busiest ones, especially in the hours when they overlap each other. This is common knowledge. But how do currencies move during each session? The first session of the week and the last ones also have special characteristics. A new tool helps you discover these trends. Arnaud Jeulin of … “Forex Session Tool”
Report: Berlusconi to Quit Tonight at 19:30 GMT
Parliamentary sources in Italy say that Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will tender his resignation today (Sat) at 19:30 GMT. The Italian Senate passed new austerity measures on Friday. Another vote is required for final approval which is due soon. Update: The lower house of the Italian parliament approved the measures. The door out is … “Report: Berlusconi to Quit Tonight at 19:30 GMT”