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Technical Overview · British Pound Heads To 1.7000· Swiss Franc Sees 1.3500 In Its Future· New Zealand Dollar Fails To Capture .6900 Traders Corner:Reality or wishful thinking, it’s a very delicate balance when it comes to trading. As a trader I always learned not to let the wishful thinking cloud my judgment. I never let such notions as hopes and dreams distort the reality of the market. At one point when I found myself grasping at straws in a sinking trade I realized that no matter what I think, wish or hope, the market will do what its need to...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar clung close to a two-year high against the euro and a 27-month peak versus the yen on Tuesday as more investors flock to the U.S. currency for its widening yield advantage. The yen came under pressure after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a rare comment on central bank policy, saying it was too early for the Bank of Japan to end its ultra-loose "quantitative easing" until deflation is defeated. Koizumi's remarks on Monday added to a chorus of government officials calling for the BOJ, which gained political independence just in 1998, to work with...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar remained firm on Tuesday near this week's three-month highs against the euro and 16-month peaks versus the yen as a Federal Reserve official joined the hawkish chorus on U.S. interest rates. The dollar also hit a two-month high against sterling and against an index of major currencies as investors priced in prospects for the Fed to press ahead with its 15-month credit-tightening campaign. Atlanta Fed President Jack Guynn told Reuters in an interview on Monday that the Fed's tightening campaign still has "a ways to go" before completion. Analysts said strong data, equity inflows and...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro fell below $1.20 for the first time in 10 months on Friday as traders bet that euro zone interest rates will eventually be cut and make the dollar an even more attractive destination for investors. A combination of Sweden's central bank slashing interest rates this week and the Bank of England moving closer to lowering rates has thrown the spotlight on the European Central Bank. ECB officials have held firm that current rates at 2 percent are appropriate, but political pressure has mounted on the euro zone's central bank to do something about the region's...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar hit a nine-month high against the euro on Monday, extending recent gains made after upbeat U.S. data and comments from Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan fanned expectations of more U.S. interest rate hikes. Finance ministers from the world's rich nations (G8) during their weekend meeting in London kept up pressure on China to move toward more flexible exchange rates, but produced no clues as to the timing. Following last week's better-than-expected U.S. trade data and Greenspan's comments that the economy was on a "firm footing," the market is looking to see if this week's figures...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro hit an 11-month low against the yen on Tuesday, hurt by a bleak economic outlook for the euro zone and remarks by the European Central Bank chief which the market saw as a hint of interest rate cuts. The ECB will do "all it can" to reinforce consumer and business confidence, and economic reforms are fundamental to boost euro zone growth, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a discussion among central bankers from China, Europe and Japan in Beijing. "Trichet suggested that maybe he has to do something about interest rates," said a trader at...

The under-fire euro fell further on Wednesday, slumping to an eight-month low against the US dollar amid rumblings over the long-term future of the eurozone. The fresh selling was prompted by a report claiming that Hans Eichel, the German finance minister, and Axel Weber, the president of the Bundesbank, were present at a meeting at which the possible break-up of European Monetary Union was discussed. The German Bundestag is also said to have commissioned a report on the legal repercussions of a country wishing to leave the EMU. Germany’s finance ministry labelled the talk “absurd”, while Mr Eichel and Mr...

FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - The euro dipped sharply on Wednesday on reports that the possibility of a failure of European Monetary Union was discussed at a high-level meeting of German financial officials. A source who attended the meeting last week said Finance Minister Hans Eichel and Bundesbank President Axel Weber were present but that they did not take part in any discussion on the future of the system which gave birth to the euro. The Bundesbank said it would issue an official statement later on Wednesday in response to a report about the meeting in Germany's Stern magazine. Stern said the...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar rallied to a seven-month high against the euro on Monday after a run of surprisingly upbeat data eased worries that the United States may not attract enough capital to fund its huge external deficit. An above-consensus rise in new jobs and retail sales in April and a narrower-than-expected trade deficit in March have fueled buying in the dollar, pushing the single European currency below its major support level this year. "Investors had preferred the euro. But now they are shifting some of their funds back to the dollar," said Takehiko Jimbo, a forex sales manager...

Sunday April 10, 10:43 AM Japan,S.Korea say won't change FX reserves makeup GINOWAN, Japan, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea both indicated on Sunday that they would not change the composition of their massive, dollar-heavy foreign reserves. Currency markets have been on alert for any sign of changes in the reserve policies of Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea, which are the world's top holders of external reserves with nearly $2 trillion between them. Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Sunday reiterated the government's stance that it would move cautiously in managing its foreign currency reserves. The ministry...

Dollar-denominated assets in China's foreign exchange reserves will not be sold just because the greenback's value is declining, the country's foreign exchange chief said yesterday. Guo Shuqing, director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, also said the country will seek to narrow the surplus in international payments to avoid the negative effects of a big surplus. He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of which he is a member. "We will not adjust the structure of our foreign exchange reserves according to short-term fluctuations (such...

This morning I posted as a comment the presence in the Exchange Control Office’s official website of a page which describes a prophecy by self-described prophet Cindy Jones. Many people have written to me about it because it took them a while to realize that this is actually an official page where individuals and companies register to obtain foreign currency at the official exchange rate. First of all, an explanation, the presence of this page can only be termed as bizarre in a country which is mostly Catholic and where there is supposed to be a clear separation of church...

BERLIN, Nov. 17 — The U.S. dollar dropped to a new all-time low against the euro Wednesday as the European currency rose to $1.3047 amid deep skepticism over Washington's commitment to a ''strong dollar'' policy.

The German central bank on Wednesday requested an option to sell 600 tonnes of gold, providing the foundation stone of an expected deal designed to underpin the price of bullion. The Central Bank Gold Agreement, likely to be signed in the spring, could help to prolong the two-year bull run in gold prices. The Bundesbank announ- cement is the firmest endorsement that it will be a seller of gold under a new pact, which would replace an existing five-year agreement that expires in September. However, the shape of a renewed accord will depend on France and Italy, which are the...

NEW YORK -- Return now to those stirring adventures of yore, when the world was menaced by . . . the Thai baht. That, for those who have forgotten the summer of 1997, is a currency, then rapidly losing value. Few Americans noticed the knife edge the world economy teetered on when Thailand triggered an Asian economic infection that threatened global convulsions. One reason that did not happen was U.S. leadership, as recounted by the treasury secretary at that time, Robert Rubin, in his memoir, "In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested 48 Wall Street foreign exchange brokers on Tuesday in what appeared to be a sting operation targeting several well-known firms. FBI officers swarmed on Two World Financial Center late on Tuesday afternoon and led out men in business suits, taking them away in vans and cars. Some of the men covered their heads with overcoats while others bowed their heads to hide from television cameras and photographers. FBI agents began arresting brokers at the tony office building in downtown Manhattan shortly after 3 p.m. and for about two hours led...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal law enforcement officers began arresting several dozen people suspected of foreign currency trading crimes in a crackdown on a largely unregulated facet of business finance, sources said Tuesday. Speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, two government sources confirmed that raids were aimed at arresting those named in court papers filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. One source said the crimes were committed as investors were cheated by individuals who claimed to be making foreign exchange trades when they were not. The trades were worth millions of dollars, the sources...

International Perspective, by Marshall Auerback China Tightens - The Beginning Of The End Of Global Reflation? September 2, 2003 There is much anecdotal and statistical evidence to support the notion of an incipient global recovery now underway, in marked contrast to last spring's dire talk about deflation.  Germany's IFO index (a leading indicator of business confidence) has now exceeded expectations 4 months' running, Canadian home sales are booming, the UK is still in the midst of a mortgage refi boom, and the economies of emerging Asia continue to upgrade their respective GDP growth estimates.  With American economic growth recently revised...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Grant Aldonas has stirred controversy among struggling American business firms with his speech at the East-West Center in Hawaii on August 20. The East-West Center is notorious for its support of appeasement policies towards China, and Aldonas played to that by saying Americans should "resist demonizing China" on trade issues. Indeed, according to the East-West Center press release, Aldonas may have fallen into a "blame America first" posture. He is quoted as saying, "We can't slip into the category of pointing fingers at them. It...

Two years ago, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was moving forward on an ambitious plan to beef up its checks of foreign nationals seeking permission to study in the United States, an effort designed to thwart terrorists from taking advantage of the loosely controlled student visa system. Then, the program ran into a roadblock: a fierce lobbying campaign by colleges and universities that considered foreign students a major revenue source. The schools complained that it was a privacy violation to conduct in-depth checks of applicants whose backgrounds raised red flags of possible terrorist involvement. They objected to scrutinizing students' bank...