On Friday’s show, I did a plasma segment on trading events that occur in the night. Here’s the segment. Here’s the graphics and trade.
DATE TIME EVENT
FEBRUARY 6 22:30 GMT Australian Central Bank Decision
FEBRUARY 7 18:50 GMT Japanese Current Account Balance
FEBRUARY 8 20:30 GMT Chinese CPI

Outcome Currency Strategy
Chinese CPI < 4.0% Buy Aud/Sell USD
Chinese CPI 4.5% Sell AUD/Buy MXN

SELL AUD/MXN @ 13.6900
STOP LOSS 13.7100
SELL AUD/MXN 13.6900
TARGET 13.6100
You’ll notice that spot was already at 13.69 on Friday and that AUD/MXN has already fallen to the take profit levels (low overnight was 13.56). The point is … …READ MORE

Yesterday in an underreported story, the US Treasury announced that they are changing the rules for USpension plans.  Treasury proposed two regulations to make it easier for those approaching retirement to buy an annuity through their company-funded pensions or 401(k) savings accounts according to Bloomberg.  (Annuities are insurance contracts that guarantee a lifetime stream of income in exchange for up-front payments.) 

Why is this important? 

First, there is a massive amount of money in pension plans with about $2.9 trillion in 401(k) accounts and a total $17 trillion in retirement savings (as of Sept. 30, according … …READ MORE

Why did the EUR/USD rally in January?

• Short covering: Last week, the market was extremely short EUR/USD and speculators added more to their net short position to a new high of 169,740 contracts according to CFTC commitment of traders report.
• ECB funding: bond yields for Italy and Spain fell dramatically and sovereign refundings have gone smoothly.
• FOMC 2014 and QE3 talk.

Why is the EUR/USD stalling now?

• Greek debt talks not done with either PSI or Troika: These could drag on until March 20th when the 14.4 billion euro payment is due.
• Portugal is now Greece. The 10yr Portuguese debt

… …READ MORE

Fresh from being chased out of an event by protestors, Australian PM Julia Gillard is expressing her belief that a strong Australian dollar is a good thing.  The high Aussie is a reflection of the strength of the
Australian economy and it is the world saying that the Australian economy is strong, says Prime Minister Julia Gillard according to MNI.  “The government is aware of the pressure it is putting on sectors like manufacturing, tourism and international education, and is working with them….It is important that the mining boom doesn’t hollow out other sectors of the economy, Gillard says.” 

Anytime … …READ MORE