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News, Exchange and FCM Updates
General Financial News
- What does the Japan-China switch mean for global markets?: [Aug 16 02:11 PM] Much has been made of the news that China, not Japan, is now the world's second largest economy, behind the United States of America. It's the beginning of a new Chinese century, many say. Children in the West should prepare to learn Mandarin, and China will soon grow bolder as it flexes its military and economic muscle. Read more
- Federal Reserve will buy government debt: [Aug 10 02:14 PM] The Federal Reserve will buy up long-term U.S. Treasury notes, reports the NYTimes. The paper broke the news of further quantitative easing measures and a comment from the Fed that "the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months." Read more
- Dollar rally pushes down commodities prices: [Aug 10 12:40 PM] Traders retreated for safer havens on Tuesday, as they awaited signals from the Federal Reserve meeting that began at 8:15 a.m. The dollar climbed, pushing down the prices of a wide array of commodities. Read more
- U.S. unemployment steady at 9.5 percent, but jobs fall: [Aug 06 10:41 AM] The much-anticipated jobs and U.S. unemployment figures from the Department of Labor came out to vindicate the bears, with a single caveat. In total, the U.S. shed 131,000 jobs in July; however, that figure included 143,000 temporary workers at the 2010 Census leaving their positions. Read more
- Renminbi future remains murky as many hope for floating currency: [Aug 04 02:19 PM] The sheer number of people with a strong personal stake in the future of the renminbi is staggering. Laborers in China's coastal provinces, central bankers around the globe, consumers across the developed world and workers in America's factories will all feel changes large and small if the Chinese currency regime changes. Read more
- GDP grows in the second quarter, but shows signs of slowing: [Jul 30 10:29 AM] The federal government released GDP growth figures on Friday, with the Department of Commerce reporting that the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.4 percent - positive, but less than first-quarter figures of 3.7 percent or 2009's solid 5 percent growth rate. Read more
- St. Louis Fed President warns of deflation risk, promotes further QE: [Jul 29 02:29 PM] James Bullard, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, helped spook stock markets on Thursday when he warned in a research paper that the U.S. is close to entering a deflationary trap similar to the "lost decade" experienced by Japan. In order to stave off deflation, Bullard recommended further quantitative easing - the buying of Treasury notes by the Federal Reserve, essentially pumping extra money into the system - if the economy continues to slow. Read more
- Price of gold rises as dollar falls against other currencies: [Jul 22 03:50 PM] The dollar sank on Thursday against the euro, British pound and Australian dollar, as investors reacted to strong equity markets and the words of Ben Bernanke. Read more
- Pension funds invest more in commodities, but remain cautious: [Jul 15 02:51 PM] There are two ways to parse this year's Financial Times/Towers Watson survey of pension funds' alternative investing. On one hand, the report, which covered investing in 2009, found that alternative investments made up 16 percent of global pension funds' assets. Read more
- Chinese property market signals possible reversal: [Jul 13 02:18 PM] In a sign that could have ramifications for global markets in both equities and commodities, Chinese property prices fell in June, the Financial Times reported on Monday. After 18 months of sometimes steady, sometimes meteoric rises, the average price of housing in 70 major cities fell slightly, by 0.1 percent. Read more
