World Market Pulse news analysis and information

Chinese Costs Forcing Yum's Q4 Margin Drop

2010-10-25T11:15:00.001-07:00

Like it or hate it but you cannot ignore China in almost all sectors of international business and trade. For its sheer size of its vast population, China continues to be the prime mover of a lot of segments. Even as China offers a good incentive for investors and organizations to tap the Asian markets, there are a lot of headwinds associated with China, which have been on the rise in the recent past. Testimony to the fact is the growth of Yum Brands Inc. (YUM), the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell which is expecting another year of at least 10% earnings growth but its facing a severe headache from higher commodity costs that could seriously dent profit margins in China which is Yum's primary growth market contributing almost one-third of the company's profits.

Although the preliminary guidance for fiscal 2011 earnings growth puts Yum's 2011 guidance at a baseline of $2.73 a share, after the company on Tuesday raised guidance for the current year to $2.48 a share, Yum expects $15 million of higher labor costs in the fourth quarter in China and $40 million for the full year. Yum has seen year-to-date China commodity deflation of $35 million but is now expecting a commodity inflation of about $15 million in the fourth quarter.

The rising stiff competition from other quick-service restaurant operators, cost escalation as well as wage inflation in China, and macroeconomic factors influencing consumer spending patterns have emerged as the most immediate concerns for Yum in its China business. Yum is now trying to offset some of the higher costs by raising prices, a prospect that may be more palatable to Chinese consumers with higher wages but that would mean ignoring the majority of China's vast population base that have been contributing to almost one-third of the company's profits.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the full article

Family Dollar Underscores Improving Retail Landscape

2010-10-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a good week of sorts for the retail industry after Wal-Mart (WMT) become the first major retail giant to jump in the African market with a $4 billion bid for South African wholesaler Massmart.

And now Family Dollar Stores (FDO) has forecast profits for the current fiscal year that are bound to beat the estimates of even the most skeptical of analysts. The forecast not only sent the shares up 1.6%, but also paved the way for the company to announce plans to open 300 new stores during fiscal 2011, up 50% from fiscal 2010. With retail giant Wall Mart looking at overseas destinations to churn out profits in a sluggish US economy, Family Dollar Stores, which prices most of its goods under $10, has attracted consumers struggling in a weak economy.

The company also posted a fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates and said it had authorized a new $750 million share repurchase plan while it's expecting to reap sales benefit of longer store hours, and an overhaul to give more room to fast-moving items like food introduced earlier in the year.

Retail analysts across the board have been impressed by the recent work-ethic of the company and are of the opinion that Family Dollar can continue to be dollar store of choice, given the significant opportunities the company has to narrow its productivity gap compared to rival Dollar General (DG).

Impressive Figures: Family Dollar forecast fiscal 2011 earnings of $2.95 to $3.15 a share on a same-store sales increase of 5% to 7%. Analysts on average forecast $2.96 a share. Net income in the June-August quarter was $74 million, or $0.56 a share, beating the analysts average level of $0.51 a share, compared with $60.1 million, or $0.43 a share, a year ago.

Read the complete article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Huge Indian Demand to Drive Global Coal Export Boom

2010-10-01T05:18:00.000-07:00

India, Asia's third largest economy is bracing itself for a huge import of coal in order to fulfill apart of its ever increasing energy requirements as the country plans to add a capacity of 100,000 MW of power during 2012-17. India faces peak hour power shortage of nearly 14 % as of today and sector firms have lined up to raise funds as they expand generation and transmission capacity to satisfy a rapidly urbanizing population and rising industrialization.

India's government has meanwhile promised to modernize its ports to accommodate larger vessels and make transporting iron ore and coal to roads and railways more efficient. Coal powers 75 percent of India's electricity, but local output lags swelling demand. Imports are expected to grow to 100 million MT in 2011/12 from 80 million MT now.

Coal is a complex natural resource that is primarily used to fuel power or cement plants, two commodities that are expected to see increases in demand as global populations increase and per-capita income in developing nations increase.

In fact last month, India's Adani Enterprises agreed to invest $1.65 billion in an Indonesian coal port and railway project, and acquired stake in Australian miner Linc Energy's Galilee project for $2.7 billion.

Increased demand for coal is already being seen in China, which accounts for nearly half of global coal demand and being used for power generation and metallurgical coal to produce steel. Now with an increase in demand in neighboring India, the two Asian neighbors can consume a lot of coal put together to fulfill their economic dreams of industrialization and growth.

Meanwhile Coal India, the world's largest coal producer, plans to launch a public offer of its shares next month, the biggest ever in the country. The company made a net profit of 98.294 billion rupees ($2.17 billion) in 2009/10 ended in March on revenues of 525.922 billion rupees.

In 2010/11, India's coal demand is seen at 656.31 million MT, while indigenous availability is estimated at 572.37 million MT.

Read the complete article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

U.S. Yuan Bill: From Currency War To Trade War

2010-10-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

Just days after the reports of possible currency wars between nations have been in the limelight, after the drop in the US Dollar's value was attributed to the Federal Reserve’s willingness to continue quantitative easing, Beijing's Foreign Ministry has warned that the upcoming House of Representatives bill to penalize China for not letting the Yuan rise faster could seriously affect bilateral ties between the two giant nations.

The comments come after The U.S. House of Representatives began debate on legislation to put pressure on China to let its currency rise faster, fanning the flames of a long-running dispute over trade and jobs. The measure is most likely to be discussed in the U.S. congressional election on Nov. 2, with voters worried about their jobs and a sluggish economy. The Bill if passed would open the door to extra duties on Chinese goods entering the United States, some of which are already subject to special levies.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu has suggested that the US Congress should avoid steps that could harm relations between the two nations with Beijing being strongly opposed to the bill. Currency and economic experts don’t expect China to take things lying down and might be forced to retaliate if the bill is indeed signed into a law by President Obama. China Meanwhile has adopted a wait and watch approach as of now, but the if the statements coming out from Chinese sources are a barometer of the Chinese mindset, then we might be just sitting at the transition of currency wars into an ego and Trade war.

Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had earlier discussed the issue about China's currency and huge trade surplus on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week.

Read the full article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Will Change of Guard at BP Actually Change Anything?

2010-10-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

In an apparent attempt to restore BP PLC's reputation in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the company’s new incoming Chief Executive Robert Dudley has announced big changes in the company's management with an eye on improving safety standards. Although the change is a positive news coming from the Oil major in a number of months after the hard times, still experts feel that announcing changes is one thing but to actually carry out and implement the safety procedures and other changes sucessfully is a difficult and lengthy process and it remains to be seen how successful the changes might be in the long run.

BP's incoming Chief Executive Bob Dudley has not only ousted the oil group's exploration and production chief following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill but has also appointed a new safety guru, Mark Bly, who would ensure safe practices across the organization. October 1 marks the start of BP's Year Zero, a fresh start following the capping of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. The revolution begins in exploration and production. The engine room of the UK oil major's profits is being broken into three and Andy Ingles, the director in charge, is leaving. His number two, Doug Suttles, seems likely to follow.

Although the management claims that Bly's role will be stronger than previous safety chiefs as he will have representatives in each business unit that will have the authority to intervene if they feel practices are not meeting BP's safety standards, skeptics feel that having a so called internal police force with its "expert staff" poking their noses into every operating might lead to ego clashes and conflicts in the future, things that are least required at this stage.

The critics have a point as well because the company had made long standing promises earlier as well to improve safety after the blast at its Texas City refinery in 2005, which killed 15 people and injured 170 but nothing had really improved at ground zero leading to the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP has already lost more than a third of its stock-market value since April 20, when one of its gulf wells blew out, destroying the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 men and triggering the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP finally killed the well earlier this month.

Read the full article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

China Investment Guide-II: The Real Face of The Chinese Realty Bubble

2010-10-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

As the world fights deep recession, which is getting murkier by the day, much of the world’s global capital has been flocking to China in recent years in anticipation that China's growth can act as a protective shield. Although this investment route has worked well in the past year but now it seems like a perfect case of putting the cart before the horse as China's inflated equity and real estate growth built largely on government-led economic stimulus measures and soaring asset prices, which lead to low interest rates and massive fiscal deficits, have run out of steam and its quite evident that the Chinese bubble is already on its way to bust bringing an abrupt end to the boom.

A growing number of economists and market analysis have expressed deep concern that the busting of the Chinese Realty bubble has the potential to rattle the world economy that is still struggling to recover from the global meltdown. Chinese economic crisis, which could have been shrugged off a few years ago, is now a considerably more serious event in a world in which Beijing runs the second-largest economy.

Soaring real estate prices in China's coastal cities, with prices rising as much as 50% a year, have lifted some rents to unprecedented levels. The biggest risk to China’s economy is the desire of the Chinese government to maintain past economic growth rates by maximizing investments in property.

According to a recent Bloomberg report China’s home prices will start declining from this month as the government maintains its lending curbs and increases the supply of public housing, forcing property developers to cut prices to boost sales.

Statistics from Goldman Sachs showed that over the past six years, housing price hikes have outpaced income rises by 30 percentage points in Shanghai and 80 percentage points in Beijing. In Beijing, the housing price of per square meter is as much as a resident's seven months' salary on average.

The average price-to-income ratio in Beijing has reached 27:1, five times the world average, according to data from the Bureau of Statistics of the Beijing Municipality.

Economists have expressed concern that when the China Real estate bubble pops, countries with economies heavily dependent on exporting commodities to China, like Australia and Brazil are likely to go down with the China ship.

Official government statistics, which are considered to be unreliable, show house prices in Shanghai are rising at 11% a year but agents and local people say the reality is more like 50%. According to the investment bank Goldman Sachs, in recent years housing prices in Beijing have risen 80 percent faster than wages.

Imminent Realty Price Correction: A recent Bloomberg report has quoted Beijing-based analysts at BNP Paribas as saying that China’s home prices will start declining from this month as the government maintains its lending curbs and increases the supply of public housing, forcing property developers to cut prices to boost sales. China’s property developers, the worst-performing group on the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index this year, will “continue to be affected” as the government maintains its curbs on the industry, the BNP analysts said. With the correction of the Chinese Real estate prices as projected by BNP Paribas, there are bound to be deep economic repercussions in China. Private housing investment accounted for around 15% of total investment volume in urban areas in 2008 and about 13% in 2009 while output in the home construction industry constitutes around 6% of China's GDP, employs around 14% of all workers in urban areas, and consumes around 40% of all steel and lumber produced in China. Hence the slowdown in China's housing production or a significant house price decline on the household sector is going to have a very direct impact on the China's economic growth.

Read the Complete article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Research in Motion: A Case of Too Little, Too Late?

2010-10-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

President Barak Obama's statement that he was "bored" of his blackberry handset with only a handful of people authorized to email the super-encrypted device, Research in Motion (RIMM) knew that it constantly needs to be innovative if it needs to be a top ranker in the mobile telecommunication business. With the growing competition from Google’s (GOOG) Android based phones and Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, Research In Motion introduced its version of the Tablet PC named ‘the PlayBook’ at its annual developers’ conference yesterday.

The BlackBerry PlayBook with its 7-inch display touch screen is smaller than its rival Apple's iPad and aimed at business and corporate users, which have been RIM’s core customers for its e-mail and messaging phones.

Although the announcement of the new device was well timed which came close to the news of Apple i-4 phone's euphoric sales in China, the world's largest communication device market, the one thing that the company would have least expected is the negative stock trends after the announcement instead of any substantial buying interest.

Research In Motion shares fell 3.4 percent, as concern over the late release date of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer prompted investors to claw back some of the stock's recent gains. Although the decline in the RIMM's stock was not entirely unexpected given its strong rise in the run-up to the release, the company has already given the lead to its rival Apple as its next generation iPad will be in he markets by the time Blackberry Playbook rolls out its version 1.0.

While most analysts and communication device gurus have lauded the PlayBook's sleekness and compact size, the projected release date of early 2011 makes it difficult to penetrate the consumer market that Apple dominates and looking to consolidate.

The one thing Playbook may have going for it is a focus on enterprise functionality such as the opening of BBM as a social platform and a BlackBerry Advertising service giving developers the tools to build applications that take advantage of the social aspects of the popular BBM service. However competing with an innovative company like Apple and giving them a head start in the market is not considered as the best of strategies.

Read the complete article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Demystifying China's Iron Ore Price Negotiations

2010-10-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

After being labeled as a savior and a threat to the world’s steel industry, China is slowly pulling back on its steel production after restarting a war of world's over setting up the prices for China's biggest import commodity. The China Iron and Steel Industry Association (CISA) has suggested that iron ore prices should be linked to steel prices instead of iron ore indexes while top global Iron Ore majors including Rio Tinto Group (RTP), BHP Billiton Ltd.(BHP) and Brazil's Vale SA (VALE) ended a 40-year custom of setting annual prices in favor of quarterly agreements.

Difference Over Iron Ore Pricing

The Chinese Steel Industry Association argues that the current iron ore pricing system that is based on price indexes reflects only a small portion of the iron-ore trade that passes through the spot markets, and therefore should not be the determinant of sea borne iron-ore prices while Iron Ore majors including Rio Tinto Group, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Brazil's Vale SA, which account for three-quarters of global iron ore trade, ended a 40-year custom of setting annual prices in favor of quarterly agreements as they bet on rising prices.

Even as the war of words continue to mount, Jose Carlos Martins, head of ferrous business for Vale SA, told an industry conference that iron ore pricing indexes including spot and benchmark iron ore prices were also converging acknowledging that Asian steel mills still prefer a quarterly pricing system.

Tensions peaked last year when CISA failed to clinch an annual pricing deal and a Shanghai court jailed four Rio Tinto employees, including Australian citizen Stern Hu, for stealing commercial secrets and taking bribes. Their arrest at the height of fraught term iron ore price negotiations in 2009 strained ties between Australia and China, and shocked the Chinese steel industry.

Meanwhile as the price wars begin to develop into a serious difference of opinion, China, the largest buyer of iron ore, is considering recycling the scrap metals to reduce steel makers' import dependence. Iron ore sold by BHP and Rio will post their first price decline as a result in three quarters as automakers and builders in China cut orders for steel.

China, the biggest buyer of the raw material used in making steel, expects to lift iron ore production by about a quarter to more than 1,1-billion tons this year and cut imports as it tries to rely less on the global miners. CISA however says that while domestic steel prices will remain volatile in the near term, demand should pick up in the fourth quarter because of the growing Chinese economy.

Read the complete article HERE and visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Why M&A For Metal Majors Is A Bad Idea

2010-10-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Mergers and Acquisitions have been the prime driving force of the markets in the recent week across a majority of segments. Such has been the force of M&A's that world stocks hit their highest level in nearly five months on Monday while oil prices rose as growing corporate merger activity and last week's upbeat U.S. economic data encouraged investors to buy risky assets. Thomson Reuters recent data shows that global mergers and acquisition activity announced so far this year totaled $1.678 trillion, surpassing volumes in the first nine months of 2009.

While there is no doubt that Mergers and Acquisitions can work in favor in the long term if the prospect of incoming organization has some synergy with the buying organization happen when companies have surplus cash in hand but problems happen when companies start to buying things loosely associated with their business as witnessed in the early 1970’s to 80's when oil companies had so much cash they didn’t know what to do with it.

Similar story is seen to be replicating in the Metals sector with the recent takeover bids by BHP Billiton and Vedanta showing a bounty of cash from high metals prices is slowly enticing miners to chase pricey takeovers and build unwieldy conglomerates. When mining groups seek acquisitions in new sectors like fertilizer in the name of diversification they can easily destroy value by paying full prices when synergies are lacking, analysts warn.

BHP, the world's top mining group, surprised many investors last month when it unveiled a $39-billion hostile bid the largest takeover offer so far this year for the world's biggest fertilizer maker, Canada's Potash Corporation. Critics of the BHP-Potash deal say it is unlikely to add value since there are no synergies and BHP has scant experience in the sector but BHP continues to be bullish on the crossover Merger and argues it has expertise in large capital projects and the takeover will further diversify the group.

Read the complete article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Analyzing Walmart's Head Start In The African Race

2010-10-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

Ending all speculations of a possible acquisition in Africa, Wal-Mart Stores Inc's has become the first major retail giant to jump in the African market with a $4 billion acquisition for South African wholesaler Massmart. The move comes just a couple of months after World Market Pulse research report highlighted in its research report the beginning of growth period for the African continent

The move by the US retail giant one the hand highlights the company’s futuristic approach by betting on growth in the African continent but also suggest emerging patterns of moving away from the sluggish US markets for better international ventures.

There is no doubt that some African nations offer a tremendous growth opportunity for the investors especially for those looking at emerging economies outside the bric nations. Of course there are people who are skeptical of the kind of growth African nations can achieve but like South Africa showed with the successful completion of the Fifa World Cup Football 2010, the continent is ready to attain its lost glory.

Massmart, South Africa's third-largest listed store group by value owns chains such as Game and Makro and has been among the most aggressive South African outlets in expanding into the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, operating in 14 countries. Walmart offered 148 rand per share for Massmart, valuing it at 28.9 billion rand ($4.1 billion) or a premium of nearly 10 percent over the share price at Thursday's close of 134.75 rand. While it might take some time for the acquisition to make statistical sense most analysts are of the opinion that the retail giant with more than $10 billion in cash on the books at the end of July is well within economic business sense to go ahead on the African safari. Moreover its not the first time that the company has focused more on the international front as Wal-Mart's international sales rose about 11 % last year as the company started focusing on expansion outside the United States with international revenues accounting for about a quarter of the company's overall sales. Highlighting the company's international plans, the company has added more than 60% of its new international retail space in the first quarter of this year alone.

South African Growth Overview:

As much as the South African Reserve Bank lowers interest rates, consumer spending remains unchanging. Rather than being a consumer-driven economy South Africa thrives on a product-based economy. Materials production is at its highest. South Africa’s ports help transport the majority of the world’s oil. Apart from currency ETFs, the South African stock exchange operator JSE Ltd hopes to list a platinum exchange traded fund (ETF) on the bourse this year as it looks to capitalize on increasing investor appetite for commodity-based products. JSE was also looking at launching an Africa ETF in South Africa, which would trade blue chip firms from other big economies on the continent, particularly Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria.

Read the full article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

Currency Wars And The Fall Of The US Dollar

2010-10-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when the currency of a country was regarded as a barometer of a country's economic conditions. As the global economies, business and market trends change momentum towards the east, the relationship between a country's economy and its currency is getting much more complicated as governments across the globe are assuming a bigger role in propping up the financial system and encouraging economic growth.

Just as the US government released its employment data released last week, the U.S. durable goods orders data and poor the dollar index fell below the key support level of 80 points, fell over seven month low 79.255. The move came after the Federal Reserve said it would restart the quantitative easing monetary policy. Surprisingly just a week after the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee finally announced that the recession officially began in December 2007 and the economic downturn ended and the recovery officially began in June 2009, the US Dollar has been virtually in the red zones to its lowest level since February as stronger-than-expected data in Europe and a drop in US durable goods orders hurt demand for the greenback. The dollar also fell to its lowest in more than a week against the yen.

Although most experts agree that the drop in the dollar was mainly due to the Federal Reserve’s willingness to continue quantitative easing. An excess supply of dollars obviously leads to a fall in its value. Some traders attribute the dollar’s fall to the increase in risk appetite. This analysis does not ring true as the price of gold is making new highs, which actually signals risk aversion.

US Vs China

Although its not just the yen but the Yuan as the depreciation of the Yuan compared to the Dollar has caused a growing tension between The U.S and China in recent weeks. The U.S is blaming the cheap Yuan for its economic issues and even financial sanctions against China have been on the cards. If these two giant economies are starting to threaten each other, the impact on the ever-slowing recovery could be enormous.

Meanwhile China's vice commerce minister has described the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee approved bill that would let the United States apply duties on goods from countries with undervalued currencies as being "redundant". The Yuan rose against the dollar on Monday even though the central bank lowered its mid-point after nine days of stronger fixings in the face of growing U.S. pressure on Beijing to let the currency rise faster.

To read the complete article CLICK HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

How Asian Airlines Lead The Global Airline Recovery: An Insight

2010-09-24T01:25:00.000-07:00

Asia has definitely taken the lead in the road to recovery as far as the Aviation industry is concerned with Asian airlines leading the way to a stronger recovery than their global peers amid rising passenger and cargo volumes helped by the economic slowdowns in Europe and the United States. Global aviation industry's umbrella body IATA in its latest industry outlook has projected a global profit of $8.9 billion in 2010 for the Airline industry as a whole with airlines in the Asia-Pacific region leading the race with maximum profits to the tune of a $5.2 billion this year compared with $3.5 billion in North America, $one billion in Latin America, $400 million in the Middle East and $100 million in Africa.

In March, the Montreal-based organization, which represents 230 airlines and 93 per cent of passenger air traffic, predicted a 2010 loss of $2.8 billion U.S. for its members but in June, it revised that upwards to a modest profit of $2.5 billion U.S.

"Asia-Pacific carriers continue to benefit from strong regional growth," the IATA said, adding that the Asian economy, excluding Japan, is expected to grow by 7% this year, with China outpacing that with a forecasted 9.9% expansion.

One of the major factors contributing to the rise of the Asian airline industry is the fact that consumer spending in the North America and Europe has been falling in the recent past and is not expected to pick-up any time soon, joblessness was high and consumer confidence has also been on a regular decline.

The strong improvement in Asian airline profits has been based on strong market growth and yield gains. The 23.5 per cent improvement in high volume intra-Asia premium traffic, due to a surge in business travel, was another of the driving factors, the IATA said while renewed buoyancy in air freight markets was also important for airlines in this region, where cargo can represent up to 40 per cent of revenues.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the complete article or CLICK HERE

The Rise And Rise Of The Indian Markets

2010-09-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that India as a preferred investment destination is gaining more and more acceptance with each passing day. India is now seeing inflows from all corners of the globe, be it global macro funds, hedge funds or exchange-traded funds. India's rise has not made investors across the globe happy but has also been acknowledged by the 'Global Governance 2025' jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union's Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) ranking India as the third most powerful country in the world after the US and China and the fourth most powerful bloc after the US, China and the European Union.

Of course there are other important factors like climate change, ethnic and regional conflicts, new technology, and the managing of natural resources in order to rate a country's resurgence but none is as important as the economic might. And talking of economic might, Indian markets have been on a high for a long time although a little subdued in 2008 owing to the global economic crisis but have been picking up steam since then and now almost on cruise control as Indian shares gained today to close at their highest level in 32 months amid huge inflow of funds from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pushing the benchmark Nifty above 6,000 level, for first time since January 17, 2008. Even the Sensex joined the party by hitting 20,000 levels. The manner in which the Sensex has gone from 8,000 to 20,000 must has taken even the most optimistic of the lot by surprise but even the country's the finance minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee expressed happiness over the Sensex crossing the 20,000 level.

The BSE Sensex has risen close to six per cent over the last two weeks and reached a 34-month high of 19,600 during this time, and foreign institutional inflows too have been strong. FIIs have invested Rs 7,862 crore in the net in equities during the last week.

Continue Reading the complete article HERE or visit http://worldmarketpulse.com

World Market Pulse Daily - Market Indicators Friday Sept. 17, 2010

2010-09-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

I: Market senti-meter representing 27 top markets of the world after close of Asian Markets

II: World Markets At A Glance

Asia-Pacific

Market sentimeter based on 10 key Asian markets

Index Close Change %Change

AORD – Australia 4685.10 35.10 0.75Up
NZ50 - New ZeaLand 3212.26 16.62 0.52Up
BSE - Bombay SENSEX India 19594.75 177.26 0.90Up
CNXN - S&P CNX NIFTY INDIA 5884.95 56.25 0.97Up

HKX - Hong Kong 30 index 1017.67
HSCEI - Hang Seng china enterprise 12171.19 169.78 1.41Up
HSI - Hang Seng 21970.86 279.41 1.27Up
JKSE-Jakarta Composite Index 3384.65 43.02 1.39Up
KOSPI - South Korea 1,827.35 15.50 0.85Up

NIKK - Nikkei Japan average index 9626.09 116.59 1.21Up
SETI - Thailand SETI index Thailand
SSEC - Shanghai Composite Index 2,598.69 -3.78 -0.15Down
STI - Singapore Strait times Index 3,076.37 9.26 0.30Up
TA100 - TelAviv 100 Israel 1087.75 -3.09 0.28Down
THDOW - Dow Jones Thailand 173.17 0.74 0.43Up
TWII - Taiwan Weighted 8,158.33 58.58 0.72Up

Europe-Russia

Market sentimeter based on 8 key European markets
Index Current Change %Change
(Prices At 2:00 PM CET)

AEX - Amsterdam Netherlands 336.27 1.64 0.49Up
ATX - ATX vienna index Austria 2525.77 15.34 0.61Up
CAC - France 3751.12 14.82 0.40Up
CH30 - SWISS CH30 Switzerland 6454.34 30.18 0.47Up
DAX – Germany 6290.09 40.44 0.65Up
EUR - EUROPE 100
XU100 - Istanbul Turkey TURKEY
FTSE - FTSE Uk 5584.39 44.25 0.80Up
IBEX - Bolsa Madrid IBEX 35 Spain
RTSI -Russian Trading System 1474.31 9.90 0.68Up
RTS index Russia

North & Latin America :

Market sentimeter based on NYSE, S&P500 & Nasdaq

Index Close Change %Change

BVSP - Brazil Bovespa 67662.997 -443.853 -0.65%Down
MERV - Argentina Mercado Valores
Index Argentina 2447.07
MXX -Mexico Bolsa IPC Index 33,046.69 11.31 0.03% Down
CDNX – Canada 1,650.34
Canada - S&P/Tsx Composite Index 12173.35 28.51 0.23% Up

DJX - Dow Jones 100 105.95
NDX - 100 Nasdaq 100 1948.11
INDU - Dow Jones Industrial Average 10594.83 22.1 0.21 UP
SPX - S&P 500 large cap index
JRS - JRS Nuveen Real estate fund 10.10
WLSH - WILSHIRE 5000 full cap index

Major Indices Close Change % Chg

NYSE Composite 7,169.48 -10.31 -0.14%
Nasdaq Compos. 2,303.25 +1.93 +0.08%
Dow Industrial 10,594.83 +22.10 +0.21%
AMEX Composite 1,987.14 -3.24 -0.16%
S&P 500 1,124.66 -0.41 -0.04%

III: World Market Indicators:

Dow Jones World Stock Index, SMA > 20-period 50-period

Market Breadth Close Change % Chg

VIX Volatility Index 21.72 -0.38 -1.72%
CPC Put/Call Ratio 0.82 -0.11 -11.83%
NYAD NYSE A-D Line -460.00 -637.00 -359.89%
NYSI NYSE McClellan Chart 670.79 +22.39 +3.45%
NYHL NYSE Highs-Lows 126.00 -1.00 -0.79%
NAAD Nasdaq A-D Line -648.00 -1,040.00 -265.31%
NASI Nasdaq McClellan Chart -179.65 +32.50 +15.32%
NAHL Nasdaq Highs-Lows 37.00 -13.00 -26.00%

Market Momentum:

Market advancing and declines issues

NYSE NASDAQ AMEX OTCBB

Advancing Issues 1,247 966 558 406
Declining Issues 1,827 1,792 1,006 683
Unchanged Issues 135 132 83 274

IV: Market Day To Come In Ny Exchanges:

Top Events Of The Day:

Time (ET) Report Period Consensus Previous
Forecast

8:30 am Consumer price index Aug. 0.3% 0.3%
8:30 am Core CPI Aug. 0.1% 0.1%
10 am Consumer sentiment Sept. 70.0 68.9
12 noon Household borrowing 2Q N/A -2.4%

This Week Earning Calendar

Monday, September 20

Before The Open Actual Consensus Yr Ago Yr/Yr Rev
Discover Financial Services DFS 0.33 1.07
Lennar LEN 0.05 -0.97

V: Latest Upgrades Or Downgrades By Top Analysts

+ Upgrades

Company Ticker Brokerage Firm Ratings Change Price Target

Ford Motor F Barclays Capital Equal Weight » Overweight 15 » 16
IDEX Corp IEX Robert W. Baird Neutral » Outperform 35 » 41
Medicis MRX Jefferies Hold » Buy 29 » 41
OpenTable OPEN Merriman Neutral » Buy
Regal-Beloit RBC Robert W. Baird Neutral » Outperform 78

- Downgrades

Company Ticker Brokerage Firm Ratings Change Price Target

Actuant ATU KeyBanc Capital Mkts Buy » Hold
Borg Warner BWA Barclays Capital Overweight » Equal Weight 53 » 50
Lear LEA Barclays Capital Overweight » Equal Weight 93 » 85
Sappi Limited SPP BMO Capital Outperform » Market Perform 5.75 » 5.50
Savient Pharma SVNT Oppenheimer Outperform » Perform

Future Projections For Today

Sector Out-performers:
1. Coal +2.31% 2. Education +1.25% 3. Gold +1.16%

Sector Under-performers:
1. Home builders -2.78% 2. Hospitals -1.85% 3. Disk Drives -1.50%

Top performers of today with potential for more bullishness in next day or two:

GNI , OPEN, SVNT, SINA , PLUS, CTL , MNRO, HMY, ABV, HDB

World markets are reaching an overbought state on very short term and the current bullish momentum may reverse in next 2 trading days.

Future,Earnings, Momentum,Indicators , Asian , European , North American,NYSE, Nasdaq, Dow Industrial, AMEX,SPY, QQQQ, IWM, EWZ, EWJ, FXI, EEM, GNI, OPEN, SVNT,SINA, PLUS, CTL, MNRO, HMY, ABV, HDB

China Investment Guide-I: The Rise And Coming Fall Of The Red Dragon

2010-09-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

There is no denying the fact the China has risen metaphorically like no other nation has in the recent past. The Chinese growth model has not only attained enormous success for the citizens and investors worldwide but has also been an envious state for many other developing countries that have literally failed to do anything with their moribund economies where as the Asian giant successfully managed to bring about a change in common mans life. China’s GDP has multiplied while exports have risen exponentially, so much so that the country has been labeled the factory of the world. But Change is the only thing that is constant in this world and same is true for the Chinese growth cycle. Whatever comes up goes down just as night gives way to day and the life gives way to death. The problem is that just about everyone wants to go to heaven but no one quite wants to die, just as everyone is talking about the China growth story but not many are actually able to understand the haze of uncertainty surrounding the Chinese economy and its growth story.

Even though China has attained enormous highs, yet the growth of 200 to 300% of past 2 decades has reached at a critical point where the growth has attained a peak and the only way forward is an eminent decline.

China's harsh reality is that after decades of double digit GDP growth, average household incomes still trail miles behind many emerging economies.

Not only is China marching towards the greatest bubble in history of mankind, the massive misallocation of wealth is also accelerating at an alarming speed. One doesn’t need to be an economic genius to understand the fact that the wealth gap epitomized by the Chinese economy and Real estate segment is dividing the Chinese society’s social fabric.

China's Society Divide And Rising Black Money:

A recent Credit Suisse-sponsored study by a top economic think-tank has revealed that China's richest citizens may hold as much as 9.3 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) of hidden assets. The report has confirmed fears that nearly two thirds of all the unreported income goes into the pockets of the richest 10 %, widening China's wealth gap alarmingly.

Another very important element of the Chinese growth story is the government-sponsored abuse of the country’s human resource, the largest in the world. China is the manufacturing base of the world with cost effective products but not many people seem to understand that China has cheap labor mainly because the government literally robs most of their hard earned money by printing trillions and trillions of Yuan that were used to finance infrastructure project and to maintain cheap labor through a cheap currency. Not only are the Chinese workforces fighting with their lives, majority of Chinese peasants are hand to mouth farm labor who have no other alternative but to work at any cost to survive or to sustain their families in rural areas. What’s more shocking is that the migrant workers are forced to commit suicides in order to get a raise, but with the growing high misallocation of wealth, a petty wage increase is unlikely to solve the problem.

China Manufacturing Sector:

There is no debate the Chinese factories have mastered the art of producing cheap goods but with most global markets being saturated; Chinese factory owners are offering their products below cost price just to sustain the factories. As the world markets are getting bit tired due to high unsold inventory, reducing desire to consume non-essential items and high import bills. All the above factors are collectively reaching a breaking point soon that would definitely deflate the China bubble.

Analysts feel that the popping of the Chinese bubble is expected to have a global impact across major sectors of world trade. The great Chinese buying boom of raw materials and storing them has created big market bubbles in shipping, freight, raw material markets. If the factories are not able to sell their products, all the buying revolution is destined to slow down and thus prices of raw materials come to more realistic levels with global repercussions.

Environmental Damages: The Chinese industrial base is causing distress to urban landscape with heavy pollution, smog and extremely foul air with industrial residuals entering into water base, air and general environment causing extreme strain on Chinese Eco system. The average concentration of particulates in city air during 2008, for example, was six times the ideal standard recommended by the World Health Organization . The Chinese economy may be witnessed a definite boom but at what costs? Perhaps, the Chinese economy revolution has done more harm to the environment in the last 15 years what Europe possibly did in 150 years or USA in the last 75 years.

China's coal consumption jumped more than 7.6% last year, boosted in large part by increased demand for energy from smokestack industries.

Sixteen of the 20 worst cities in the world for air pollution are in China; acid rain falls on 30% of the country; and more than a quarter of the land is subject to desertification, an area that increases by 2,000 sq km every year.

The World Bank estimates that environmental degradation already shaves China's annual GDP growth by about 7% due to lost productivity from sick workers and wasted resources.

Chinese Stock Markets: As the world fought the global financial crisis, China was busy boosting government spending on infrastructure and social welfare projects, engineering a lending boom and re-pegged its currency to the U.S. dollar to support exports in response to the fallout of the global financial crisis. The measures might be effective in the short term with China's economic growth likely to exceed 9 percent in 2010, but have surely aggravated the imbalances that are at the heart of China's development story. The Shanghai composite index has been the worst performer in Asia this year. China's growth model is based on government-led investment and foreign enterprise-led export. As exports grew in the past, the government channeled income into investment to support more export growth. Now that the global economy is weak and China's exports are not coming back to earlier attained highs, there is not much income growth to support investment growth.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or CLICK HERE

Exploring Investment Opportunities In Peru

2010-08-28T03:48:00.000-07:00

As the world fights hard to control global economic downturn and volatile markets more and more investors are now seriously considering investment options in emerging economies that can offer a much better return to their investments both in the short as well as the long term. Since most investors have already been looking at emerging economies for a long time, the most talked about emerging economies like BRIC nations have also been over invested and overheated. With the global population of the planet increasing by the day, it makes much more investment sense to look at nations with Commodity based economies rather than just investing in emerging economies as a fad.

Arguably one of the most important commodity based economies after Chile is the Latin American nation of Peru. Peru's government can definitely take a leaf out of Chile's book by offering more incentives by opening up and showcasing a cleaner and an investment friendly environment. If Peru can manage its policies accordingly, there is a potential for a lot of global investment in this Andean nation.

Peru is a country that features practically all of the planet's climates, with remarkable natural, mining, and power resources. According to FAO figures, Peru, the third largest country in South America has 7.6 million hectares with immediate agricultural potential, but less than 3.6 million are actually used. This paves the way for a good Agriculture based commodity segment as an investment opportunity.

The country’s top exports apart from Agriculture products include copper, gold, zinc and crude oil. Furthermore, the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mines estimates that only a 10% of the overall national territory with mining potential has been explored so far.

Peru is a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which facilitates the mechanism development of the economic-trade cooperation with other 20 powerful economies. Peru is, likewise, is one of the 5 country members of the Andean Community of Nations, which has more than 120 million inhabitants and an overall GDP of around US$ 300.00 billion.

Peru ranks fifth worldwide in gold production (first in Latin America), second in copper, and is among the top 5 producers of lead and zinc.

Peru has also signed agreements for the promotion and protection of investments (BIT) with 29 countries of Europe, Asia and Latin America

Around 8 million hectares are suitable for agricultural farming, 18 million hectares for pasture and 49 million hectares for sustainable forest activities (besides 54 million hectares of protection lands).

Peru is the leading exporter of asparagus and paprika in the world, the leading producer of fishmeal, oil, Alpaca and Vicuña fibers and is also the leading producer of silver worldwide.

Investing In Peru:

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Hang Seng BeES ETF: India's First International ETF

2010-08-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

The fixation of investing in Chinese markets with as low as Rs.10,000 combined with the growing popularity of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) marked the launch of the Hang Seng Benchmark Exchange Traded Scheme (NSE Symbol-HNGSNGBEES) in February this year. The fund is the brainchild of Benchmark Asset Management Company India Pvt. Ltd, which carved a niche for itself in the Indian Mutual Fund Industry by successfully launching first ETF in Asia (not only India) Nifty BeEs. The company is also credited with launching the Gold ETF first time in India.

The Benchmark's open-ended ETF tracks Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, one of the oldest and among the most popular indices on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The index currently comprises 42 stocks and can have a maximum of 50 stocks. The ETF, which is also investing in mutual funds, or ETFs that track the Hang Seng Index themselves, is the first international ETF to have emerged out of India.

The daily net asset value (NAV) of a single unit of the fund is arrived at, by calculating the daily Hang Seng index close multiplied by the currency rate of Hong Kong dollar-Indian rupee and divided by 100.

Management Of The Hang Seng BeES ETF

Name of Company: Benchmark Asset Management Co Pvt. Ltd.
Phone: 91-22-66512727
Website: benchmarkfunds.com
Address: 405,Raheja Chambers,
Mumbai 400 021
India

Inception Date: 15/03/2010
Fund Advisor(s): Benchmark Asset Management Co Pvt. Ltd.
Fund Manager: Vishal Jain
Manager Start Date: 15/02/2010
Fund Manager: Payal Kaipunjal
Manager Start Date: 15/02/2010

Top 5 Holdings Sector %

HSBC Holdings PLC Financial Services 13.70
China Mobile Ltd. Telecommunications 8.87
China Construction Bank Financial Services 7.08
Industrial And Commercial Bank O... Financial Services 6.23
China Life Insurance Company, Ltd. Financial Services 5.11

The Hang Seng Stock Exchange:

Hang Seng Stock Exchange is one of the largest exchanges in the world. Hang Seng Index Charts, Hang Seng Futures, Hang Seng Historical Data are now determined and tracked on a real-time basis by Indian investors.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com to read the full article or Click Here

Japan: The World's Cheapest Developed Market

2010-08-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

Japan in recent years has been unfashionable and largely ignored by investors. Home to the world's third largest economy as well as global brands like Sony and Toyota, Japan, has been an economic non-starter for more than a decade. Japan has been the most disappointing major stock market in the world over the past 20 years, with the Nikkei 225 at barely a quarter of its 1989 peak but with the arrival of a new political era last year, foreign ownership in Japanese stocks has edged higher slowly. The Japanese Stock markets might have had a 20 year old bear cycle but so far the country has managed to survive and with a limited downsize, it would not be unfair to say that Japan has put its worst behind and is ready to slowly crawl its way back. The economic revival of sorts will definitely not happen overnight or in a couple of years, but the Japanese economy surely has the potential to kick start a positive movement offering money creating opportunities for the global investors.

Data released by the Tokyo Stock Exchange shows that foreign ownership of Japanese shares rose to 26% for the year that ended in March, up from 23.5% a year earlier.

Adding to Japan's growth revival opportunity is the neighboring red dragon of china, which recently surpassed Japan as the second largest economy of the world. There is, of course, a danger that the Chinese will muscle in on areas where Japan is currently dominant but experts believe the benefits of having such powerful neighbors ultimately might well outweigh the costs and would play favorably in Japan's favor.

The Japanese economy managed a 4.9% annualized growth for 1st quarter of 2010, marking 4 consecutive quarters of positive growth.

Japanese stocks are universally cheap. The average stock trades for about 1.4 times its book value that is roughly a 40% discount to the average U.S. or emerging market stock. With an extremely limited downsize, Japanese stocks offer the perfect low risk, high return opportunity.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.co m for the full article or Click Here

Is Alternative Energy An Alternative Investment Option?

2010-08-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

One of the major issues facing our society today is global warming and the accompanying fear of slowly squandering the limited natural resources available on our planet. We all know that oil is a limited resource. But we also know that if we don’t find alternative sources of energy, the world as we know today it will no longer exist. That’s why alternative energy exchange traded funds (ETFs) are so tantalizing to think about. There is so much discussion about the older energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas that have been moving our economy for decades. Climate change discussions as well as rising commodity prices have helped bring alternative or renewable energy discussions to the front table.

The problem of course is that these new energy sources are often much more expensive and while that may change in the future, it is not clear how much time it will take. Another important factor when it comes to energy is government regulation. Other sectors are relatively free of government interference as long as they obey the basic laws. Governments have put their money where their policy is by granting huge financial incentives to alternative energy companies but with financial support comes regulations. Energy including Alternative energy is seen as something with national security implications and is keenly under the radar of most governments. Since there's no way to know how the governments would react in the future, it adds a good deal of risk to any alternative energy investment.

As an investment perspective, recently, with the drastic drop in oil prices, alternative energy funds have suffered. It should not come as a surprise that coal related stocks and ETFs have continued to be on of the best performing sectors this year. Considering that alternative energy is yet to produce sensible economics, oil and coal continue to be cheaper to use than alternative energy. Another basic disadvantage that holds true for most of the alternative energies is that their supplies are mostly dependent on nature and thus are not constant.

Hydrogen- The cheapest way to produce hydrogen for fuel cells is by using natural gas, a non-renewable resource that creates greenhouse gases when burned. Hydrogen can also be made from water, but this is expensive and widespread adoption of this practice could threaten

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Investing In South Korea: The Hidden Asian Gem

2010-08-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

We have all witnessed the enormous coverage given to China’s meteoric rise and the country has been attracting more investors than any other region in Asia as a result but for investors not willing to walk the monkey see monkey do china way, South Korea deserves equal attention than China if not more, offering under-rated values and long-term economic stability. While the US economy was bleeding last year South Korea adopted numerous economic reforms in early 2009, amid the global financial crisis; including greater openness to foreign investment and imports and has witnessed a remarkable change in its fortunes compared to last year. South Korea’s central bank has painted a bright optimistic future for the country as well anticipating exports to grow by 11.9%, private spending to jump by 4%, capital investment to soar by 13.4% and inflation to be a mere 2.6% for the year.

International Monetary Fund increased its 2010 growth forecast for South Korea to 5.75 percent from 4.5 percent as a result of the recovery in global trade and a successful Korean government led stimulus

South Korea has a strong economic partnership with China, which has strengthened enormously over the last decade. China now accounts for about 25 percent of South Korea’s exports, up from 14.6 percent in 2002. Korean companies are big now suppliers of equipment and materials needed for China's economic extravaganza.

South Korea’s annual per capita income of about $20,000 is at market prices only $5,000 behind that of Japan and it is catching up fast.

South Korea is the world's most wired nation - 95% of homes have broadband, compared with 58% in Germany. The country is also home to one-fifth of global lithium battery production

Investing Options in South Korea

South Korean Companies Listed On NYSE As ADRs

Samsung (SSNLF.PK): Samsung, which recently overtook Hewlett-Packard to become the biggest electronics company by sales in the world, is this year on track to make more money than the top 15 Japanese electronics companies combined.

Hyundai (HYMLF.PK) : the world's fastest-growing auto-manufacturer, it has increased US market share from 3.7 per cent to 4.4 per cent in just 12 months.

LG (LGERF.PK): LG Electronics Inc.

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP): generates, and sells, electricity throughout South Korea.

KT Corp. (KTC): provides telephone, and broadband Internet services.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com to read the full article or Click Here

Security Concerns A Roadblock To RIM's Future?

2010-08-13T10:44:00.001-07:00

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), which operates the popular Blackberry Messenger service, has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. Firstly the American President Barak Obama revealed that he was 'bored' of his blackberry handset with only a handful of people authorized to email the super-encrypted device and the company has ever since faced mounting pressure to open its secured data network for scrutiny by the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. RIM competes with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) in the mobile phone market. Several other countries, including India, Algeria and Lebanon, have recently pushed for access to Blackberry data for law enforcement purposes.

If RIM denies their requests, its Blackberry Messenger service and/or smart phones could be banned from these countries. On the other hand, some Blackberry users might lose confidence in the service if they feel that their data is no longer confidential.

Why Business Users Prefer Blackberry

Despite the introduction of competing smart phone solutions, RIM's Blackberry remains prevalent amongst large business customers due to its track record of security and reliability. Heavy usage amongst business users helps RIM to 'condition' users to the Blackberry device making a switch less likely. RIMM's net profit margins of 16.5% are significantly higher than other mobile phone manufacturers of 5%, mainly because of RIMM's higher margin is its Service revenue segment but If numerous governments were to ban Blackberry Messenger services, RIM is likely to loose its USP which is its competitive advantage, prompting subscribers to buy other smart phones. Research in Motion (RIMM) has been getting brutally punished by Wall Street. Its stock is down 30% in the past 6 months from $75 to $56 per share.

RIM Market Trends:

Blackberry Mobile Phone Market Share increased from 0.4% in 2005 to 2.7% in 2009.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Nickel: The Rise Of The Silver White Metal

2010-08-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Nickel has been one of the biggest sufferers in the global commodity price meltdown, but this high luster silver-white metal has been making a steady comeback fuelled by investment demand this year mainly driven by massive Chinese imports, and the stainless steel market recovery worldwide. As the global stainless steel production is slowly rebounded towards its highest levels and since stainless steel mills account for over two-thirds of nickel demand, its no surprise that Nickel prices have witnessed a spike in the recent times. As nickel’s chief application is as a constituent of a major building material, nickel use mirrors economic growth.

Nickel has jumped about 45% since the start of 2010, while copper and aluminum have risen merely 5%. And since its low point in late 2008, the commodity’s price has more than tripled to $27,500 a ton thanks to strong demand from the stainless steel industry along with supply disruptions.

Some 80% of nickel is use to produce steel products - with stainless steel being particularly important. Stainless steels are used in the building industry, automobiles, food & beverages and water industries

Nickel is taking off because there has been a huge rise in the demand for everything from home appliances to hybrid cars especially in rapidly emerging markets like China and India.

LME nickel stocks are currently sitting at around 116,034 MT, equivalent to around seven weeks of world consumption.

Nickel is a primary component in stainless steel and stainless steel is in all kinds of everyday things we use including home appliances and cell phones.

Nickel Global Demand:

Usage of nickel has increased over time and is correlated with economic development. In the past decade world nickel demand increased from 1.009 million MT in 1998 to 1.278 million MT in 2008, a growth rate of 2.4 % per year. However, the upward trend has had peaks and valleys. sia is now the largest regional market for nickel representing 54 % of total world demand. China alone now accounts for 25 % of world nickel demand compared with 4 % ten years earlier.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

A Market On Tires: Global Tire Industry Outlook

2010-08-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

The automobile industry is one of the dominating sectors because many economic activities rely on and are linked to automobile production. If you include suppliers, car services, garages or retailers, a total of about 5 million employees depend on the success of the automobile industry. With changing technologies, production concepts, strategies and products, the automobile industry is often an initiator of innovations in other related industries as well.

As the world tries to come out of economic recession, the first sector to witness positive movement has been the Automobile sector and since its linked to related sectors like tire industry, plastics industry and metal processing, all the sub sectors are slowly witnessing a silent revival. As more and more people look at buying automobiles slowly, the tire industry is also set to attain a positive movement from the pits, where it has been for most of last year. The recession had people reducing spending across the board, which meant that they had been putting of those new tires on hold until things start to look a little better on the economic front. Now as the economy is moving out of the red slowly, tire sales are witnessing a welcome revival even better than the Automobile companies and a lot of second hand car owners have also been investing in the new set of tires instead of buying a new automobile altogether.

Tire shipments in 2010 are projected to increase by approximately 3 % or approximately 7 million units to 267 million units, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Total shipments experienced an 8 % drop in 2009 to 259.7 million units. The increase in tire shipments reflects the onset of the economic rebound, an increase in vehicle miles traveled and a slight up tick in auto sales. As a result, this rebound is projected to extend into 2011, reaching approximately 275 million units as the economic recovery gathers momentum.

Tire companies were first in the early on 20th century, and grown in partnership together with the automobile business. In the present day, above 1 billion tyres are created annually, in over 400 tire factories, with the three top tire makers commanding a 60% total marketplace share.

The US tire manufacturing industry alone consists of about 100 companies with combined annual revenue of about $15 billion. The industry is highly concentrated and the top four companies generate more than 75 % of revenue. Major companies include Goodyear, Bridgestone, Michelin, and Cooper.

Tire manufacturing has become extremely technical and forward-thinking as manufacturers look to push the boundaries of what can be achieved through new technologies. Whether it’s improvements in fuel economy, handling performance or safety, technological developments in the tire world are making a big difference

As the world fights strong economic recession, people are more prone to buy and use older cars rather than buying new ones. No matter if the vehicle is old or new, the need for tire remains a constant and with number of second hand vehicle sales increasing and as compared to new vehicles, the worldwide consumption of tires is estimated to be more than automobiles.

With developing nations churning the growth engines of the world, commercial vehicles (vans, utility and light trucks) are much in demand in both developed and developing nations; such vehicles require both more and larger tires than passenger cars.

Correlation Of Tires And Rubber: In the history and the application of various materials, few have made as large an impact globally as natural and synthetic rubber. The source of the material stretches from plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia to factories on all continents. The making of rubber into tires and nontire goods involves a series of sophisticated manufacturing processes. The finished products are then distributed through thousands of warehouses and dealers in large cities and small villages, practically in every country.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Enriching Investment Portfolios With Nuclear Green

2010-08-13T10:32:00.001-07:00

The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reopened the global debate on our continued dependence on fossil fuels as prime sources for world energy requirements. As witnessed from the horrific aftermath of the deepwater horizon oil spill, its clearly in the interest of human race to continue developing alternative, non-carbon-emitting fuels and technologies that can save the human as well as the animal race from grave dangers associated with our reliance on oil and coal. As the world searches for answers to the rising energy demands, nuclear energy as sustainable, economically feasible, environment friendly option is coming up as a favorite choice. Seeing the ever-increasing global energy demands, the only real alternate available option is nuclear energy, which makes a case for exploring investment options in Uranium. Because of its yellowish color, this naturally occurring metal ore is colloquially referred to as “yellowcake.” Uranium is also the key fuel for nuclear power plants. The uranium investment market is expected to be more regulated in coming years with the growth in the sector and more private participation. The power produced by uranium is seen as the only option for reducing world pollution while meeting the needs of a burgeoning world population. Uranium investing presents good prospects because more and more nuclear plants are being constructed to address a variety of energy needs.

Uranium in its enriched form is the fuel of nuclear power stations – 440 of them generate 16% of the world’s electricity.

One kilogram of uranium-235 can theoretically produce about as much electricity as 1500 tons of coal.

According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), Uranium which is crucial for the generation of nuclear power, was used in 436 nuclear reactors in 32 countries around the world as of Feb. 1, 2010.

Massive oil finds is a thing of the past and people need alternative energy sources, with the benefit that even environmentalists are starting to acknowledge that nuclear may be viable part of a greener future.

Other energy resources suffer from disadvantages that make atomic power an increasingly attractive alternative. Oil is getting too expensive and scarce while Coal is too dirty producing nearly 10% of the world’s greenhouse gases and and most alternate energy sources are not yet commercially viable.

World leaders have pledged to more than double the current nuclear energy output within the next 20 years.

Uranium Investment Options

Uranium over the years has emerged as an excellent investment option. The price of uranium shot up from about $10 per pound in 2003 to more than $130/lb in 2007, according to the Financial Times. Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan represent 71% of global mine supply of uranium. The uranium market was relatively closed for investors till 2007, when the New York Mercantile Exchange launched uranium future contracts for private investors. Australian and Canadian uranium stocks are the most preferred stocks and among the most favored investment opportunity in uranium. Most of the uranium mining companies are listed on the Canadian and the Australian stock exchanges.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Investing Options In Indonesia: Asia's Best Peforming Index

2010-08-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Asia is home to several emerging and globalizing powers, including India and China but one nation that stands out but is not largely covered in the business media is Indonesia. Little is known about Indonesia in the investing circles despite being a country made up of some 17,000 islands, which is now the 4th most populous nation in the world. One striking feature that highlights Indonesia's growth in recent years is the fact that the country has managed to avoid recession during the global downturn, unlike some of its more export-reliant neighbors. Over the last decade, Indonesia has emerged as a vibrant and plural democracy. Its economy is buoyant and a new sense of confidence is evident both within its political leadership as well as its growing civil society. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, but the Islam practiced by the vast majority of its people is liberal, tolerant and accommodative.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Indonesia’s economy will expand 6% this year. The Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board estimates growth of between 6% to 7%.

The nation’s shares have climbed 12 percent this year and are Asia’s best performers barring Mongolia and Bangladesh, as foreign funds increased purchases after the central bank raised its growth forecast and Standard & Poor’s upgraded the nation’s sovereign debt ratings.

Foreign investors moved more funds to Indonesian stocks in March, buying a net 4.92 trillion rupiah ($543 million) of shares after selling 1.58 trillion rupiah in the first two months this year, according to data from the Jakarta stock exchange.

The Indonesian rupiah has risen 3.6 percent this year, the second-best-performing currency in Asia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A strong rupiah and low inflation have helped the central bank keep its key interest rate at a record low of 6.5 percent to support Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Indonesia's stock market index, the Jakarta Composite Index, broke its record high earlier this week as it reached 3013.40 points bringing its total gains this year to 19 %, the most among Asia’s 10 largest markets.

Indonesia has managed to avoid recession during the global downturn, unlike some of its more export-reliant neighbors. Both Singapore and Hong Kong are in recession and Malaysia and Thailand are likely slipping into a recession, too, analysts say.

ETFs Investing In Indonesia:

1: The Market Vectors Indonesia (IDX) Fund: The Index provides exposure to publicly traded companies that are domiciled and primarily listed in Indonesia, or that generate at least 50% of their revenues in Indonesia. The fund has more than doubled since its launch, outpacing the S&P 500 and outperforming BRIC countries. IDX consists of the 28 securities included in the Market Vectors Indonesia Index, a benchmark that tracks the performance of companies that are based in or generate at least half of their revenues from Indonesia. IDX charges an expense ratio of 0.71%. The IDX is much more focused on Energy and Commodities that are rallying globally as the US Dollar falls and inflation signals begin to sound.

IDX Top Ten Holdings

1. PT Astra International TBK: 8.80%
2. PT Bank Central Asia TBK: 6.80%
3. P.T. Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. ADR (TLK): 6.75%
4. PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia TBK: 6.06%
5. PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) TBK: 5.72%
6. PT Bumi Resources TBK: 5.57%
7. PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) TBK: 5.57%
8. Adaro Energy Tbk: 4.82%
9. PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa TBK: 4.72%
10. PT United Tractors TBK: 4.66%

% Assets In Top 10: 59.46%
Total Holdings: 29
Issuer: Van Eck
Expense Ratio: 0.68%

IDX Sector Breakdown
Sector Percentage
Financials 25.23%
Industrial Materials 20.03%
Consumer Goods 14.71%
Energy 13.72%
Consumer Services 8.80%
Telecom 8.79%
Utilities 5.72%
Health Care 1.79%

2: The other fund for investing in Indonesia is a closed-end fund, Aberdeen Indonesia Fund (IF), who's principal investment objective is capital appreciation through investing primarily in equity and debt securities of Indonesian companies. Its secondary objective is current income, which is to be derived primarily from dividends and interest on Indonesian securities.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Tracing Investment Opportunities In Egypt

2010-08-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

When we speak of Egypt, the first thing that comes to mind is the images of the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Nile Delta and the ancient Egyptian civilization. Far from being a civilization located on both sides of the river Nile, the modern day Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the third most populous on the African continent. Despite technically considered part of geo-economic area called Middle East Egypt lies in the continent of Africa and its per capita GDP is below the global average, trailing behind other emerging markets such as Brazil, South Africa, China, but ahead of India. Egypt’s economy is much more diversified than many in the region. Oil and gas make up only about 15% of the country’s GDP, compared to as much as 50% for many oil rich states. In addition to a strong financial sector, tourism, agriculture and industrials account for significant portions of GDP.

Investors wanting to invest in the growing Egyptian economy can do so via the Van Eck Global launched the Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF which is the first US traded Egypt ETF. The fund launched on 18th February 2010, invests in 28 companies that derive at least 50 percent of their revenues from Egyptian operations. The fund comes with a price tag of 0.94 percent. EGPT is the latest off-the-beaten-path country ETF from the fast-growing Van Eck, which recently launched ETFs tied to Poland, Indonesia and Vietnam as well. EGPT follows the Market Vectors Egypt Index, providing exposure to publicly traded companies that are domiciled and primarily listed on an exchange in Egypt or that generate at least 50% of their revenues in Egypt. The Egypt ETF has a heavy weight in the financials (42%) and industrial materials (31%) sectors, a common occurrence among large cap-focused emerging markets ETFs

EGPT: Sector Breakdown

Financials 42%
Telecommunications 17%
Industrials 16%
Materials 14%
Energy 4%
Consumer Discretionary 3%
Consumer Staples 2%

EGPT: Top Ten Holdings

Commercial International Bank 8.48%
Orascom Construction 8.44%
Orascom Telecom Holding 6.81%
EFG-Hermes Holding 6.60%
Mobinil-Egyptian Mobile Serv 5.88%
Egyptian Kuwaiti Holding 5.77%
TMG Holding 5.39%
Elswedy Cables Holding 5.13%
Al Ezz Steel Rebars 5.02%
Telecom Egypt 4.59%

Egyptian Stock Market

The EGX 30 is the main index of the Egyptian exchange. The EGX 30 is comprised of the 30 largest stocks traded on the exchange, and is quoted in U.S. dollars. A total of 179 stocks were listed on the Egyptian exchange in early 2010 and another 27 were trading over-the-counter. Regarding market capitalization, Egypt is the second biggest African market after South Africa. Many stocks are very liquid and can be traded easily and with low transaction cost. Foreign participation is still quite low, as it is in most other African markets.

For the full article visit http://worldmarketpulse.com or Click Here

Investing In Turkish Economic Delight

2010-08-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

For a number of years, Istanbul has been given the cold shoulder with respect to it joining the elite European Union club and there were feelers that Turkey was believed to be too economically backward to qualify for membership. A visit to Turkey today can clearly suggest that the old argument no longer holds good as modern day Turkey is a fast-rising economic power, with a core of internationally competitive companies turning the youthful nation into an entrepreneurial hub, tapping cash-rich export markets in Russia and the Middle East while attracting billions of investment dollars in return. So complete has been Turkey's transformation that about 10 years ago, Turkey which had a budget deficit of 16% of gross domestic product and inflation of 72% is now fulfilling European Union’s fiscal guidelines of a 60% ceiling on government debt, at 49% of GDP, and could well get its annual budget deficit below the 3% benchmark next year.

The Republic of Turkey borders the Mediterranean Sea and its strategic location between Europe and the Middle East brings potential economic benefits. Turkey has a unique economy and a potentially attractive risk and return profile. Turkey, situated at the crossroads where two continents meet, is an ideal center for investors looking for a location at the heart of Euro-Asia. With its dynamic and growing economy, huge market, competitive and skilled labor force, Turkey offers numerous opportunities to international investors.

With a population of 73 million with an average age of just 27.7 years, Turkey has a very young population and an increasing consumer purchasing power; Turkey offers a huge and dynamic domestic market to investors. Moreover Turkey's economy has witnessed a growth of an average of nearly 6% between 2002 and 2008.

Unlike other emerging markets in Europe, Turkey survived the financial downturn without relying on an emergency bailout package from external lenders. The country now is expected to grow 3.5% to 4% this year.

Turkey is located at the gateway of the Middle East, Caspian petroleum and Central Asian natural gas to the west, which are regarded as the future energy reserves of the world.

In an encouraging sign, Standard & Poor's raised its long-term foreign currency and local currency sovereign credit ratings to BB and BB+, respectively in February this year.

IMF projections for the period 2008-2013 suggest that Turkey would maintain the title of the world’s 17th largest economy until 2013 with gross domestic product reaching $968.2 billion in 2013

The Istanbul Stock Exchange’s ISE-100 Index; hit all-time in-session record high at 60,410.11 points earlier this week. The record-breaking performance was attributed to the positive atmosphere in the global markets, positive expectations on European bank stress tests, the possibility of an increase in Turkey’s sovereign credit rating and most of all, foreign investor interest in the bourse.

ETFs Investing In Turkey

1: iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (TUR) : One of the best ways for U.S. investors to make a play on Turkey is through the iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (TUR). The fund tracks the MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index, which measures the performance of the Turkish equity market. TUR is heavily focused on financials, which make up 52% of total assets. Additionally, the fund makes large allocations towards the industrial materials (13.6%) and telecommunication (10.4%) sectors.

TUR Top Ten Holdings
1. Turkiye Garanti Bankasi (GARAN): 14.50%
2. Akbank T.A.S. (AKBNK): 9.53%
3. Turkiye Is Bankasi C Share (ISCTR): 8.09%
4. Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (TCELL): 6.60%
5. Haci Omer Sabanci Holding A.S. (SAHOL): 4.07%
6. Anadolu Efes Brewery ve Malt Sanayi A.S. (AEFES): 3.91%
7. Yapi Ve Kredi Bankasi (YKBNK): 3.90%
8. Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. (HALKB): 3.83%
9. Bim Birlesik Magazalar A.S. (BIMAS): 3.81%
10. Tupras-Turkiye Petrol Rafineleri A.S. (TUPRS): 3.77%

TUR Sector Breakdown
Financials 53.15%
Industrial Materials 13.63%
Telecom 9.47%
Consumer Goods 7.13%
Consumer Services 4.58%
Energy 3.99%
Business Services 3.14%
Media 1.25%
Utilities 1.22%
Hardware 1.02%
Health Care 0.62%

Expense Ratio: 0.63%

TUR Performance
52 Week Return: 43.28%
YTD Return: 13.62%
1 Week Return: 4.61%
2 Week Return: 7.29%
4 Week Return: 10.64%
13 Week Return: -1.95%
26 Week Return: 8.43%

2: SPDR S&P Emerging Europe ETF (GUR): The S&P European Emerging BMI Capped Index is a market capitalization weighted index that defines and measures the investable universe of publicly traded companies domiciled in emerging European markets. The fund has 16.49% holdings in Turkey.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

The Colombian Growth Story: From Rampant Violence To Investments

2010-08-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

As allegedly reported by the media and with a common perception of being a nation of rich in drug peddling, abductions and murders, the Republic of Colombia has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. Colombia has been fighting to prove that it is a safe and worthwhile investment destination and has now put itself firmly back onto the investment map. Transforming itself from the Drug capital of the world to a nation attracting strong foreign investment in recent years, Colombia's strong fundamentals stand out. Not only has Colombia been recognized as one of the best pro-business reformers globally in recent years by the World Bank, the country's $130 billion economy, a world leader in the production of coffee, petroleum, textiles, and flowers, is growing at 6.8% a year, two full points faster than the Latin American average. Colombian economy has experienced tremendous growth, benefiting from a commodity boom and sound policies that stimulated growth. The Colombian economy is arguably the largest in Latin America after Brazil, Mexico and the forever in transit economy of Argentina, with one of the largest deposits of oil and natural gas deposits in Latin America.

The lush green tropical jungle country of Colombia has one of the largest deposits of green gem emerald mostly exported to jewelry producing nations. Named after Christopher Columbus by the South American liberator Simon Bolivar, the modern day Colombia continues to be a dark spot on their investment horizon or some investors. Even though, the country's notorious past acts as a speed breaker preventing foreigners from investing in this Latin American nation, the fact is that every indicator of violence in Colombia including homicides, kidnappings, and acts of terrorism have declined significantly over the past eight years.

• Terrorist acts are down 84% from 2002.
• Homicides have dropped 45 percent from 2002 through 2009 – the lowest homicide rate in 22 years.
• Kidnappings have dropped significantly, down 88% from 2002, also now at the lowest rate in 22 years.
• Today Colombia has a lower violent crime rate than many major U.S. cities.

Far from being a dangerous place to even visit, leave alone considering any thoughts of investment, Colombia is slowly but surely transforming itself into a Latin American success story with its free-market approach to its economy.

According to Bloomberg data, Colombia is forecast to attract about $10 billion in foreign direct investment this year, up from about $7.5 billion last year.

Colombia's stock market has increased 14-fold since 2001 with a still modest total capitalization of $59 billion.

Colombia is seen as a trustworthy ally by the United States amid its deteriorating ties with Venezuela and Ecuador. The U.S. has sent $5 billion in aid to Colombia since the year 2000 making it the 4th largest financial aid recipient of the U.S.

In the past 10 years, Colombia has slashed its inflation rate from 18% to 5%, and since President Alvaro Uribe was elected in 2002, unemployment has dipped from 16% to 13%.

Not only has Columbia been the best performing stock market this year, posting a double digit gain as opposed to all major markets that are down for the year, Colombia has blown away all challengers over the last decade posting an 34.5% annualized return.

Colombia has abundant natural resources, including gold, silver, copper, coal, oil, gas, and more, a good deal of which remains under explored. Global gold mining companies are likely to invest as much as 4.5 billion U.S. dollars over the next ten years in Colombia attracted by rich unexplored regions and soaring prices of the commodity.

The Colombian Stock Exchange: The Colombian stock exchange or the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, also known as Bolsa de Valores (BVC), is the principal stock exchange of Colombia. It was created on July 3, 2001 by the union of three extant stock exchanges in Colombia: Bogota Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Bogota), Medellín Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Medellin)and Cali's Western Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Occidente). The company maintains offices in Bogotá, Medellín and Cali.

For the full article visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com or Click Here

Investing In Mexico: The Vibrant Latin American Economy

2010-08-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

For years the most prominent feature of Mexico has been its exotic cuisine with all its varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices while investment options were never taken seriously. Investors for long have viewed other Latin American economies like Brazil and Argentina with more interest discussing plans possibly sitting in a restaurant serving Mexican cuisine. While Mexico doesn't quite enjoy the celebrity status of rival Brazil, there is no denying the fact that the country is undergoing something of an economic renaissance. With its last financial crisis more than 10 years behind it, Mexico is enjoying record foreign currency reserves and an investment-grade debt rating, thanks to much-improved fiscal discipline. It even boasts several companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ and dozens of others that trade over the counter. Money managers are especially keen on stocks in the residential construction business as more and more Mexicans qualify for loans to build their own homes.

The Mexican economy rebounded in the first quarter of this year, expanding more than 4 % from a year earlier after contracting 2.3 % in the last three months of 2009.

Mexico’s international reserves reached a record $95.7 billion in March. The oil and manufacturing sectors are showing strong improvements and Mexican exports increased by 39% in March relative to March 2009.

The automotive industry, one of the most important industries in the country, is recovering strongly with production and exports up in the first four months of this year. The unemployment rate in the first quarter stood at 5.3%.

Rich in farmland, silver and copper, Mexico is the world’s 11th largest economy and is known for being a free trade economy that is heavily geared towards exports. Mexico’s trade is based on free trade agreements with more than 40 countries, including Japan, Israel, EU and various Central and South American countries.

Mexico provides security and legal protection for foreign investors through Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT’s) negotiated with 24 countries and a skilled and competitive labor force.

Mexico’s peso has been a major gainer against the dollar in recent weeks as an economic recovery in the U.S. fuels demand for the Latin American nation’s exports. Mexico’s economy is looking at a 5% growth rate as it recovers from the recession this year. The official forecast is set at 4.1%. With as many as six Mexican companies looking to go public this year, a rise in the Mexican IPO activity might just be the catalyst for speeding up the country's economic growth. There are a number of ways to include Mexico in your investment portfolio. Here is a list of some the best performing Mexican ETFs.

Top 7 ETFs To Invest In Mexico

MSCI Mexico Index Fund (EWW): The index measures the performance of the Mexican equity market.

EWW Top Ten Holdings

1. America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (AMXL): 23.66%
2. Wal-Mart De Mexico SAB de CV (WALMEXV): 9.09%
3. CEMEX SAB de CV (CEMEXCPO): 6.62%
4. Grupo Mexico, S.A.B De C.V (GMEXICOB): 4.94%
5. Grupo Televisa SA (TLEVISACPO): 4.67%
6. Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. De C.V. (FEMSAUBD): 4.67%
7. Telmex Internacional S.A.B. de C.V. (TELINTL): 3.74%
8. Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.B De C.V. (GFNORTEO): 3.61%
9. Telefonos de Mexico,S.A.B. de C.V. (TELMEXL): 3.34%
10. Carso Global Telecom (TELECOMA1): 3.12%

Expense Ratio: 0.52%

EWW Sector Breakdown

Telecom 34.88%
Industrial Materials 21.21%
Consumer Goods 13.59%
Financials 11.48%
Consumer Services 10.25%
Media 5.09%
Business Services 2.82%
Health Care 0.39%

Mexico Fund Inc. (MXF): The Mexico Fund, Inc. (the Fund) is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation through investment in securities, primarily equity, listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The Fund may invest in Mexican fixed-income securities and bank time deposits of Mexican banks.

Top 10 Holdings

America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V. 19.23%
Wal-Mart De Mexico SAB de CV 10.46%
Grupo Mexico SA De CV Gmexico 7.54%
Grupo Televisa SA 4.99%
Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. De C.V. 4.21%
Kimberly Clark de Mexico SA de CV 4.04%
GPO BIMBO SAB 3.75%
Cemex S.A. 3.74%
Mexichem, S.A.B De C.V 3.74%
Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.B De C.V. 3.33%

Total Expense Ratio: 1.72

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Mexico Investment Guide: Mexican Stocks And ADRs

2010-08-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Mexico was in the international headlines for all the wrong reasons last year after the deadly outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus that sparked a global pandemic closing schools and businesses for two weeks in the country. The outbreak not only resulted in a big drop in tourism revenue of Mexico but also came as a major blow to the Mexican economy that had been already gripped by the effects of the global financial crisis. Mexico's capital market activity has hence slowly picked up from the lows of 2009 and is slowly but surely moving towards an economic resurgence. Testimony to the fact is that the Mexican economy has rebounded in the first quarter of this year, expanding more than 4 % from a year earlier after contracting 2.3 % in the last three months of 2009. With as many as six Mexican companies looking to go public this year, a rise in the Mexican IPO activity might just be the catalyst for speeding up the country's economic growth. Private-sector economists believe that Mexico is likely to grow at 4.2 % this year resulting in a strong rally in the BMV’s benchmark IPC index, which hit an all-time high of 34,134 points on April 15. During the past 12 months, the index has gained almost 50 % in value.

Before discussing the possibilities of investing in Mexico or including Mexican stocks in your investment portfolio, its important to understand the new dynamic changes at the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores or the Mexican Stock Exchange after it successfully offered its shares to the public and became a listed company on 13 June 2008. More than 13,600 individual investors bought shares in the IPO, making BMV a widely held public company. BMV (the company) trades on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker code BOLSAA for it’s A shares. BMV is an actively traded stock, and from 1 February 2009 its A shares were included in the BMV's own IPC index of the top 35 Mexican stocks for the first time.

Overview Of The Mexico Stock Exchange:

The Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, also referred to as BMV or the Mexican Stock Exchange, is the chief stock exchange in Mexico. Located in Mexico City at Paseo de la Reforma, BMV is a private limited company. Shareholders of Mexico's stock exchange are all brokerage firms. BMV trades in debt instruments such as CETES (Federal Treasury Certificates); investment unit bonds, BONDES (federal government development bonds); Bankers acceptances, development bank bonds, warrants, debentures, stocks, mutual fund shares and so forth. The BMV-SENTRA Equities System allows for trading to take place electronically.

The Mexican Stock Exchange deals with 13 indices of stock prices. The IPC or Índice de Precios y Cotizaciones is the benchmark stock index and is the widest indicator of the stock market's complete performance. A number of companies are listed with the Bolsa Mexicana de Volores. Amongst the top companies on Mexico's Stock Exchange are Cemex (cement maker); América Móvil (wireless communications); Telmex (telecommunications); Televisa (media) and Grupo Corvi (consumer products distribution).

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article of Click Here

Need for a new hot ETF : Global Rice Market Mechanism Outlook

2010-08-09T09:45:00.001-07:00

As more and more investors try and bring the commodity markets segment into their investment portfolios, most of them wonder why rice, which is one of the world's largest crops still lacks an investment vehicle. For all major commodities, there are futures markets and corresponding ETFs, but rice continues to be the only major commodity player that has no ETF mechanism in any stock exchanges in the world.

Like Lumber, which has very little liquidity or volume but is still considered to be a key future and ETF, rice is also a key future commodity because it is essentially an index of world consumption patterns, as rice is the most essential food for half of the world's population today. Since rice producers are not publicly traded companies one cannot purchase their stock directly, so an ETF for rice based on futures would be a good investment vehicle. A high number of rice market analysts also believe it is the right time to offer a rice oriented exchange traded fund which would not only attract many investors but would also provide grain traders with more risk control measures.

Time For Rice ETF: Oryza.com, the premier rice web portal which periodically publishes projections on rough rice trends and rice trade trends has also underlined the need for a Rough Rice ETF that can help US investors to enter the futures market with ease. Quoting from Oryza.com, the portal says

"Rice Exports are important to the U.S. rice industry, as the global market accounts for about half of its annual sales volume. U.S. rice imports have been increasing in the last 25 years, from about 4 percent of the domestic market in the second-half of the 1980s to more than 15 percent by 2008/09 (August-July). Unless you dabble in the futures market, there’s no real pure rice play for American investors. When rice hit record prices last year, investors wondered why there was no rice-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). More than a year later, they are still wondering why one of the world’s largest crops still lacks an investment vehicle of its own. US Rice futures traded at the Chicago Board of Trade, CBOT, continues to be the barometer for rough rice orientation worldwide, still there is no rice centric Exchange Traded Fund that can help investors to profit from the global rice situation. For investors trading in the commodity markets, all except rice futures have some ETFs or sub indexes to track but nothing for rice. Its time that rice, which is the world's second largest staple crop has its own ETF based on Rough Rice futures. Considering the vital importance of the most consumed cereal in the world, a RICE ETF could be very welcome and would play a role in creating a standard in global rice pricing."

Factors Affecting Rice Price Fluctuations:

Weather: Weather is an important factor for all agricultural commodities. To produce a high-yielding rice crop, growers require high heat, plentiful water and smooth land that facilitates flooding and drainage. Over the past few months, we’ve seen extraordinary weather events around the world with Thailand and Vietnam facing prolonged drought while China faced flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall even as neighboring India's monsoon rainfall has been below normal. South East Asia is estimated to have affected 61.3 million residents and 5 million hectares of crops. Rice has recorded relatively moderate gains of about 10 percent since this began. This pressure on supply is likely to further increase the price.

Government Control: Rice in modern times has also become a very politically sensitive crop. Unpredictable government intervention continues to add volatility to the thinly traded global rice market. The Chinese government watches food prices and supplies on a daily basis while India, one of the largest rice manufacturing nations, has continued its year long ban on all non Basmati rice exports in order to fight domestic inflation rates.

Evolution of the world production and human food utilization of the Paddy rice from 1961 to 2002 (million tons)

Visit www.worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here

Can Nonfarm Payroll Futures Predict the Future of the Market?

2010-08-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

While the vital Nonfarm payroll statistics and numbers are considered key economic data, one can also trade in nonfarm payroll futures and future options for speculation or risk management, which as per the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is a "transparent, straightforward and direct exposure to the government labor number." NFP futures and options are an accessible way to gain direct exposure to the government labor number or to offset unexpected financial market moves that often occur when this number is released. But can nonfarm payroll data based futures and options foretell the future of broader markets?

$25 for each 1000 jobs added or lost?

Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) futures and options on futures, offered by the CME are designed to coincide with the release of the NFP economic data each month (typically the first Friday of the month). These plain vanilla contracts are based on the monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that measures employment health. As it is the first major economic release each month that speaks to the condition of the prior month, the NFP is closely followed as a way to gauge how the Federal Open Markets Committee perceives economic growth.

Can Nonfarm Payroll Futures predict the Future of market?

Here are a few charts that can possibly foretell what can be expected.
This is the weekly chart covering March 2009 to July 2010

click to enlarge

This monthly chart is very clear and mirrors the market oscillations of 2009 mostly upward till May 2010. But from June 2010 the sharp decline is telling and it appears to go more negative.

For the full article visit www.worldmarketpulse.com or Click Here

An Insight To Cheese As Commodity, Food, Stocks And Futures

2010-08-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

It may sound CHEESY but it is really cheesy that cheese being such a widely consumed commodity was not traded on Chicago board compared to Europe where cheese is a key dairy commodity while the US cheese industry is largely focused on 3,4 states alone. May be its got something to do with the fact that some European cheeses are so cheesy and smelly that most common American and Asian consumers would run away never looking behind because of its awful smell. Yet, good and fresh cheese is always consumed more and more also because meat consumption is reducing exponentially across the globe with more people adopting vegetarian diets.

Cheese, a highly nutritious and palatable food, is of significant value in the diet because it contains almost all of the protein and essential minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients of milk. According to ancient records passed down through the centuries, the making of cheese dates back more than 4,000 years. No one really knows who made the first cheese. According to an ancient legend, it was made accidentally by an Arabian merchant who put his supply of milk into a pouch made from a sheep's stomach, as he set out on a day's journey across the desert. The rennet in the lining of the pouch, combined with the heat of the sun, caused the milk to separate into curd and whey. That night he found that the whey satisfied his thirst, and the cheese (curd) had a delightful flavor which satisfied his hunger. Travelers from Asia are believed to have brought the art of cheesemaking to Europe. In fact, cheese was made in many parts of the Roman Empire when it was at its height. To know more about the types of popular cheese consumed worldwide, please check the bottom of the article.

US Cheese Industry: As cheese demand continued to grow and spread rapidly, manufactured and processed cheese production increased dramatically. Total natural cheese production grew from 418 million pounds in 1920 to 2.2 billion pounds by 1970. Rising demand for cheese throughout the 1970s and 1980s brought total natural cheese production to more than 6 billion pounds by the beginning of the 1990s. Processed cheese also experienced a surge in consumer demand with annual production exceeding 2 billion pounds a year by the beginning of the 1990s. Currently, more than one-third of all milk produced each year in the U.S. is used to manufacture cheese. Recent increases in the overall demand for farm milk have in large part been due to the continued growth of the cheese industry. As consumer appetites for all types of cheese continue to expand, so will the industry. From humble beginnings, the U.S. has become the largest cheese-producing country in the world. As global appetites for cheese grow, the U.S. is well prepared to supply the increased demand.

The Inception Of Cheese Futures

After successfully trading milk and dairy futures and options, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, launched cheese futures and options on futures on June 21. For the first time, cash-settled contracts are now available on CME Globex, the exchange’s electronic trading platform. According to CME, the cheese contracts were requested by customers (manufacturers and processors of cheese) in an attempt to hedge their risk profiles. When this launch was announced, the CME noted that many of its customers were already involved in Class III milk and dry whey futures and options markets and hoped that this new contract would allow these customers, in theory, to lock in prices.

The Cheese contracts are listed monthly with each contract representing the equivalent of 20,000 pounds of cheese and the tick size of $0.001 per pound. Trading hours are Sunday through Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time, and Friday until 1:55 p.m., with daily trading halts from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For the full article visit www.worldmarketpulse.com or Click Here

The Reality Of The Indian Real Estate Sector: Real Investing Opportunities vs. Imminent Crash?

2010-07-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

We have all heard the catch phrase that 'If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is'. If not taken verbatim, there’s a lot of wisdom to the old saying but still people get drawn to all kinds of hyped offers and deals time and again. How many times in the history of mankind have we seen these too good to be true schemes turning out to be fake but every year more and more people get attracted to such "get rich quick" ponzi schemes and loose their hard earned money. What goes up has to come down but when the rise is exponential then chances are that the fall would be equally great if not more. An example is the recent collapse of the housing bubble in the United States which is slowly mutating itself into a global phenomenon. As the real estate bubble in the USA progressed from 2002 onward, it also gripped the Asian Property markets especially India. Just like Indian stock market bubble that popped in 2008, it’s quite evident that the Indian real estate is walking the same path.

The crash is more so imminent because Indian real estate segment does not have any real fundamentals attached to it. Rs. 1 crore ($220,000) which used to be a huge sum of money in India until only few years back, is now only good enough for buying a small apartment near New Delhi's earthquake prone NCR region.
India’s realty sector which was growing at a rate of around 30-35 % in the past few years was considered to be the barometer of the country's success but with the global economic juggernaut slowing earlier this year because of liquidity crunch and US sub prime crisis, a fall in India's much hyped and overpriced realty sector is imminent.
No matter how you look at it, India is still an incredibly poor country where majority of people work hard to get three square meals a day. The divide between the rich and the poor is growing by the day and lot of distortions still exist within the system mainly due to tax evasions and flowing of illegal money across the markets. Wherever black money is generated in huge quantities, real estate boom and speculation is rife. Real estate segment in India has long been seen as the safest and best place to park black money that justifies the unjustifiable realty prices across the country.
Today only 30% of India's population lives in urban areas, cities contribute more than 60% of the country's GDP and account for 90% of government revenues but a United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report has projected that almost 914 million Indians will live in cities by 2050, compared to 300 million now. Irrespective of the high priced land and real estate sector of the country, India's infrastructure continues to be poor. Real estate prices cannot sustain themselves in the backdrop of failing civic infrastructure and unplanned growth.
No one who invests in India or does business there can shield themselves from the effects of the real estate segment. Local stores in regular markets are selling as high as Rs. 2 Crores ($440,000) but are not even generating 10% of its price as gross earnings. Testimony to the falling realty segment is the fact that since 2007, prices of commercial as well as residential segments have dropped by 20-40%. Property sales across India have also registered a decline of almost 50% year-on-year. While the banks tighten their lending norms at one hand and developers fight the unsold and unfinished projects, the day of reckoning for the Real Estate sector could not be far away.

The signs of the bubble going bust sooner rather than later are ominous. Many projects in Tier I Indian cities have been stalled by builders due to their inability to raise finance. While potential buyers are delaying purchases in the hope that prices will go down further, the builders are still holding on to their hyped prices. The sentiment has been quoted by Chanda Kochhar, the chief executive of the ICICI Bank, India's largest private bank, who said in February 2009 that real estate prices still need to fall by at least 20% if the market was to pick up.

The major factors behind the rapid growth of the real estate are the relaxed policies taken up by the Indian Government on Foreign Direct Investment. The FDI policies of the Indian government has encouraged increasing number of foreign investors to invest in the Indian Real estate segment. India has replaced US and ranks second most preferred location for real estate investment but things are not as rosy on the ground as it appears to be. For the Non-resident Indians (NRI's) and foreign investors, there is an apparent lack of transparency in the Indian system. There is no independent reporting in the Indian media, which just plays on the market sentiment and helps create more cobwebs around the India realty hype story.

Commercial Real Estate: After nearly four years of aggressive growth, India's booming commercial real estate market is also in a free fall. Demand for commercial real estate in India was mainly been driven by the information technology sector and information technology-enabled services sector. The slowing of the global economic juggernaut due to severe liquidity crunch and US sub prime crisis has badly affected the Indian commercial Real estate segment. Many projects have been stalled by their inability to raise finance. Office rents have fallen, especially in Mumbai and New Delhi, where they have declined considerably since their peak.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the full article or Click Here!

For Serious Investors: It's Time for Africa

2010-07-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

In this era of global uncertainty, investors are wary of investing in alien markets. A lack of fundamental analysis of the potential good upcoming markets also acts as a deterrent for investors. Some markets follow the global patterns and some just swing with an entirely different wavelength. One such market that historically has never followed the global market and its patterns is the African continent. The African people and more importantly the African markets have their own dynamic life and irrespective of current trading volumes, liquidity or fundamentals, African markets have mostly walked without much global baggage. Considering the fact that most African regions are bracing themselves to kick-start their economic progress, a long-term growth potential is the best possible way to look at the African markets.

Gone are the days when Africa was considered to be a poor continent rich only in natural resources but where poor people fought for survival amid disease and poverty. Africa, the birthplace of human civilization, is slowly but surely getting its rightful place in the history of mankind. African countries are not simply spectators to the economic rise of China and India but are a party to it. Africa is not only attracting investors from China and India, but African ETFs have also shown substantial gains in the recent times. There is no doubt that some African nations offer a tremendous growth opportunity for the investors, especially for those looking at emerging economies outside the BRIC nations. Of course there are people who are skeptical of the kind of growth African nations can achieve, but as South Africa showed with the successful completion of the FIFA World Cup Football 2010, the continent is ready to attain its lost glory.

The largest economy in Africa is the Republic of South Africa with a 77% total market cap of the MSCI EFM Africa index components. Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco make up 5%-10% each, and smaller investments include Kenya, Mauritius and Tunisia. Together, the African Nations make up 10% of the world’s emerging markets market cap. According to a recent International Monetary Fund report, at least eight African countries were headed toward emerging market status when benchmarked against the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which were among the early emerging markets. The criteria of growth, private sector-led growth, and investable markets were met in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has further projected that sub-Saharan Africa’s economy will expand 4.7% this year, double 2009’s rate. Commodity exporting countries are likely to lead the growth.

Investing in Africa

Investing in Africa is high risk for many reasons, including currency fluctuations, poorly developed markets and political risk. Yes, there are still some unstable countries, but the number of African democracies has jumped from just four in 1990 to 17 today. At the same time, many countries have begun liberalizing their economies and developing their capital markets. Not just Ghana and Egypt, but African markets overall have easily outperformed the world averages last year and over the past three years. Moreover, the number of stock exchanges has jumped from ten to 18 in the past decade. The International business community and most multi-national corporations operating businesses in Africa have been reaping significant dividends from their investments and in many cases the rates of return have been higher than from those in other regions. Another very good reason to look to Africa is that investment, rather than charity, is more likely to lift Africa out of its troubles and poverty in the long-term.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for the complete article or Click Here

Dubai Real Estate: Lavish House Of Cards Built On Sand

2010-07-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Dubai may boast about the world's highest building, Burj Khalifa, a rocket-shaped edifice soaring 2,717 feet with views reaching almost 60 miles, but with almost zero occupancy rates in the building and those around Dubai are good enough reasons to see the realities on the ground.

One doesn’t need to be an economic genius to understand the fact that real growth is sustained only through strong fundamentals, a virtue that doesn’t quite exist in the Dubai real estate segment. Dubai’s economy diversified away from oil towards real estate and tourism. But the economic recession and international financial crisis caught up with Dubai and other regions of the world. Finally, the inflated real estate bubble that propelled the frenetic expansion of Dubai in the last six years on the back of borrowed cash and speculative investment, has burst. What's worse is that the Dubai real estate crisis is slowly but surely spreading to other emerging markets especially in Middle East And Asia making the world economic recovery a distant dream.

Till the money ran dry, Dubai's $582 billion construction boom was financed by lenders flush with oil money and safe haven seeking black money.

Half of all the UAE's construction projects, totaling $582bn (£400bn), have either been put on hold or cancelled, leaving a trail of half-built towers on the outskirts of the city stretching into the desert. Dubai has fallen about $80 billion in the red, primarily from Dubai World, a state-run property conglomerate that accounts for about $59 billion of the debt.

According to recent projections, Dubai real estate prices could fall as much as 60 % this year from their peaks in July last year, while Abu Dhabi may slide as much as 20%. Testimony to that is the fact that a four-room villa, which was evaluated at $4 million several months ago, is now available for $1 million but there are no buyers. Dubai’s example shows how quickly countries can slide off the path to recovery and land into trouble. According to analysts, it would take years for the Dubai real estate market to come back to levels as high as they were in 2008.

With banks stopping any more lending and the stock market plunging almost 70%, home prices in the sheikhdom have dropped about 50 % from their peak two years ago and Credit Suisse estimates a further decline of as much as 20 %.

Dubai also never wanted 'foreigners' on a permanent basis. The country showed very little respect for the rights of foreigners in their country, including the labor market, and reversal of resident visa policies (particularly the over 60's, a massive potential market of retiree's) and foreigners never felt confident enough of their payments in escrow accounts with too many variable and unknowns around. Another important human factor against Dubai is the Islamic mindset as many westerners found out when they were made redundant before the strict legal system of the country. A case in point is Dubai's strict legal code where defaulting on debt or bouncing a cheque is punishable with jail. Any expatriate in financial difficulty knows the safest bet is to take the next outbound flight.

Whenever any economic story goes sour and looses its glare, the least talked about feature is the human element. With Dubai's real estate sector going bust, perhaps those who suffer most are the construction workers from the Indian subcontinent. The workers who had worked on perilous building sites with all their blood and soul earning as little as £70 a month played a very important part in the inflated Dubai growth story. The human effort and skill is the only positive to have emerged from the whole fiasco.
These workers who made it possible for the rich Arab Sheiks sitting in their air conditioned mansions to declare that the Sun never sets on Dubai are now facing a bleak future. The Indian embassy in Dubai has already received requests from almost 20,000 Indian citizens to be sent back. Keeping in mind that most of these workers took loans to pay agent fees to come to Dubai and lead a better economic and social life will are now flying back with nothing but large debts.

Dubai And Its Notorious Escapades

There is no denying the fact that Dubai, one of seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is in deep crisis. The crisis has not just appeared overnight but has been slowly building up as Dubai's Arab tycoons have tried their best to make the city breeding grounds for everything fake and unjust. Tracing Dubai's notorious past could very well bring out the answers of its not so rosy present and its bleak future.

Arab business tycoons and sheikhs who have always had a say in the country’s business as well as foreign policies have always ruled Dubai and formulated its foreign polices to an extent. Those policies however were not welcoming to those labors and small time workers who were toiling hard to make the city of Dubai worth living. With Dubai’s real working population as foreigners mainly from South Asia, Dubai and its rulers never gave them a reason to feel at home or citizenships or something permanent. All they had was a temporary and insecure life. With the rise of the Indian economy, not many Indians are entering the Dubai trap and are more secure with jobs in their homeland. Even tourism has nose-dived for Dubai even with all the attractive beaches and theme based parks it planned.

Even though Dubai appears to be a safe haven from the outside, the fact of the matter is that its just a tax safe heaven for all the black money in the world since the Arab sheikhs don’t seem to care about the origin of the money as long as it is coming in their city. With no real regulatory body for the pool of money coming in, Dubai soon became a safe bet for gold smugglers who used to trade illegally with Iran, Pakistan and other South Asian nations. The Dubai boom of turning sand dunes into a glittering metropolis and the gold capital of the world is grinding to a halt while Arab tycoons wrapped in traditional headscarves sip fruit juice cocktails and watch Russian models twirl. Today Dubai is only for the super rich Arab sheikhs or Russian or Afghan drug lords with enormous loads of black money. All major investments that had flowed in are now moving out of Dubai. The city is left standing alone like a Ghost town with no foundation or substance but a history of notorious dealings and crime.

Visit http://worldmarketpulse.com for complete article or Click Here

Understanding The Real Chinese Currency And Currency Based Funds

2010-07-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Has ancient China and modern China changed its currency usage? Before discussing the currency of modern day China and its derivatives and currency dealings, it is important to delve into the orient nation's glorious past and understand the root pattern of its currency and finances. China has had a long historical association with monetary development and money printing. It was after all the first civilization to use paper money. It’s said that in the ancient Song Dynasty in China, emperors themselves painted characters on the coins. Times have changed but old habits die-hard it seems as US financial experts have accused the present day Chinese government of not exactly painting dragons and other auspicious patterns but deliberately manipulating its modern day currency. Even as financial experts want the US Treasury Secretary to declare China as a currency manipulator, its also true that equity markets across the world has made handsome gains whenever China has announced plans to make its currency, the yuan, more flexible against the dollar. Before concluding whether China is indeed actively undervaluing its currency or not its important to understand the basic value of the Chinese currency and its formation.

Reality Of The Chinese Currency Drama

China, from its earliest civilizations has always been a clever economy and its certain that it would not enter into an economic suicide by blindly imitating the west. It is also quite clear that the Chinese government would not allow their currency to go down with the dollar ship as most of the export dependent companies of China which form big chunk of current Chinese economy may lose steam as most of them work on very thin margins. Although economists continue to be skeptical about the goodness of the Chinese currency moves, there is no doubt that China is ready to resume greater flexibility with its yuan.

The Ancient Chinese Currency

China led the ancient world by introducing shells as a medium of exchange and unit of account in commerce but later used other materials like pottery, stone, bone, jade, bronze and gold to make shell-shaped money. The bronze shell-shaped coins heralded the mintage of Chinese coin.

Difference Between The Yuan And The Renminbi

The Renminbi (RMB) is the proper name for the Chinese currency as such. Loosely translated it is supposed to mean something like “the people’s currency” or “the people’s money.” Please don’t get caught up trying to attach political connotations to that (remember, US currency is also full of all that “In God We Trust” posturing). The Renminbi distinguishes China’s currency from Korea and Japan, but also from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the complete article or simply Click Here

The New Face Of The Indian Currency

2010-07-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

The Indian Cabinet finalized a symbol for its currency, the Indian Rupee on Thursday July 15th 2010, denoting the strength of its growing economy joining a select club of countries whose currencies have a unique identity. The Indian Rupee today became the fifth currency in the world to get its unique symbol which is an amalgam of the Devnagiri Script 'Ra' and the Roman capital 'R' without the stem and two parallel lines running at the top symbolizing an equality sign.

India retains the reputation of developing the concept of coinage and issued some of the earliest coins in the history of mankind, which were the base for other currencies of the world. Continuing on the trails of its golden heritage, the Indian Rupee, the currency of Modern day India has formalized a new symbol for the Indian rupee, which reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture. The Indian rupee is one of the well-established currencies in the world and in terms of sheer volume, the Indian Rupee is one of the most widely used financial instrument in the world currently being used by almost 20% of the world's population. With India becoming the hotbed of financial investment in recent times, the Indian Rupee is now ready to write a new chapter to complement its glorious past heritage. The significant strength exhibited by the Indian rupee in the recent years along with the continued good performance of the Indian economy have raised the issue of greater internationalization of the Indian rupee. Developing an important brand for the wider Indian economy among international investors and highlighting India's increasing global economic ambitions, the country has joined an elite group as the Indian cabinet approved a new symbol for its national currency emulating the pound, the euro, the dollar and the yen in having its unique distinguishing identity.

Until now, the most common notation for the Indian Rupee “Rs.” was used also being used by several Asian nations including Pakistan, leading international traders to rely on the clunky “INR” to distinguish it. The new symbol will distinguish the Indian currency from currencies of other countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia which also use the word "rupee" or "rupiah" to identify their respective currencies. The new symbol, a combination of the Devnagiri script 'Ra' and the Roman capital 'R', will be used by all individuals and entities after its incorporation in `Unicode Standard’, ‘ISO/IEC 10646’ and ‘IS 13194’.

The need for the symbol had become necessary because of the Indian economy's rapid growth, which has propelled it to become one of the largest economies of the world. The unique symbol for the Indian currency comes after the Reserve Bank of India recently published a study looking into the potential of the rupee to be used in international trade and even as a possible reserve global currency, given the problems confronting the US economy and the dollar. The Indian rupee has been one of the best performing currencies among emerging market economies in the first quarter of 2010, beat currencies from other emerging market economies like Brazil, Russia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and South Korea.

Currently, Indian rupee is available only in the denomination of Re.1 and Rs.2 coins and notes ranging from Rs.5 to Rs.1000. Paisa coins valuing 25p and 50p are rarely used. A unique feature of the Indian rupee note is its language panel, which depicts what that denomination is called in 15 of the 22 official national languages of India. The Indian currency has been one of the strongest in South Asia but has been hampered in recent times by illegal activities of fake currency notes being pumped into its borders from neighboring countries like Pakistan and Nepal. The attempt to pump in fake notes to destabilize and devalue the Indian currency has so far not had much of an impact on its robust growth mechanism which is backed by solid foundations and deep economic reforms. The publishing and printing of fake Indian currency continues to be a headache for the Indian government as it has started to use fine quality paper and inks that are difficult to imitate. Although India’s currency is on a surge, and it has made its mark as the top-performing currency the extent to which the symbol will gain international usage and cache remains to be seen. The rupee has grown increasingly stable in value. Versus the dollar, it made strong gains until the global flight to the dollar at the height of the worldwide financial crisis.

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the complete article or simply Click Here

The Indian Elephant Marches Strong

2010-07-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

If airports were to be a barometer of a country’s economic progress, Indian airports were way behind and didn’t even come in the top 50 airports of the world. With the emergence of new world-class airports of Bangalore and Hyderabad, Delhi's international airport is now among top five airports of the world. Not so long ago, a report published by Foreign Policy, a bi-monthly published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace had listed India's Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi among the world’s worst five airports. The report had mentioned how New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport had completely failed to benefit from the country's celebrated economic expansion. From being voted last year as the worst five in the world to the sixth largest in the world (area wise), things have finally improved for the New Delhi international airport as its swanky new terminal T3 becomes fully operational. At 5,02,000 sq m, T3 will be the sixth largest terminal in the world after Dubai International's T3, which is 15,00,000 sq m, Beijing Capital International Airport (9,86,000 sq m) and Madrid's Bajaras Airport.

With the emergence of India as a hotbed of global business and investment, It was only fair that New Delhi's airport was a welcoming sight showcasing the economic marvel of India to the visitors. New Delhi, which is not only the hotbed of the Indian political structure also hosts the headquarters of some of the biggest global companies of the world. While companies like Pepsi, Coke, Nestle, British Airways and others have been around for a while, innumerable MNCs such as Genpact, IBM, Microsoft, WNS, ESPN, American Express, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Canon, Nokia, Ericsson, Sapient and ABN Amro have in the last few months made a beeline for commercial spaces in New Delhi's satellite town of Gurgaon, most of them moving their headquarters to the new premises.

The Indian economic marvel story has been in the news for quite some time now. India's young, educated workforce, expanding factory output and smart fiscal policies has been propelling its economy at a fast pace and has an expected GDP growth of 7-8% in CY 2010 while developed markets had been growing at around 2%. The Indians were always knows to posses deep rooted entrepreneurial traits but nothing demonstrates the entrepreneurial traits of the average Indian like the spanking new ultra modern airport terminal (T3) in New Delhi that is expected to handle 34 million passengers annually with ease.

What’s more impressive than the smooth operationalization of the terminal is the fact that the new airport terminal was completed in a record time of 37 months from the date of the concept being approved by the government. Considering that Singapore's Changi Airport's T3 took 76 months for completion and Heathrow's new Terminal 5 took 60 months, the new terminal T3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport underlines the impressive India growth story. The new airport terminal befits the world’s second fastest growing major economy that sees itself as an economic, intellectual and military, superpower in the next decade.

Designed by Mott MacDonald and HOK architects and consultants of the UK, the building used up over 6,00,000 cubic m of concrete, equivalent to 240 Olympic-size swimming pools, 1.1 million cubic m of earthwork; the embankment filling used for the runway is sufficient to build a 70-km, eight-lane highway. More than 1,00,000 MT of rebar- reinforcing steel was used-nearly four times the amount that went into the construction of the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata. And 95,000 sq m of glass wall curtains on the terminal building equal the size of 13 football fields. The impressive statistics of the airport have been telegraphed around the world: nine levels, three runways, 168 check-in counters, 78 aerobridges and a car park for 4,300. In terms of sheer size, quantum of investments and integration of passenger facilities, it is a big milestone for the aviation industry of the country. With 48 boarding gates, 78 aerobridges, 168 check-in counters, 95 immigration counters and capacity to handle 34 million passengers per annum, there is no match for T3. Direct metro connectivity and an airport hotel are added attractions. The swanky T3 would also be “barrier free” to suit the requirements of passengers with “special needs or reduced mobility”. The real success story of the New Delhi airport constructed by Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL), a subsidiary of GMR holdings is that the company was able to demonstrate to the world that it is possible to think of investments to the tune of $3 billion in an airport project in India.

World's Largest Airport Terminals

* Dubai T3 - 1,500,000 sq m
* Beijing T3 - 986,000 sq m
* Hong Kong T2 - 570,000 sq m
* Bangkok Suvarnabhumi - 563,000 sq m
* Mexico City T2 - 548,000 sq m
* Delhi T3 - 502,000 sq m
* Madrid T4 - 470,000 sq m

Visit http://www.worldmarketpulse.com for the complete article or simply Click Here

Company Profile of JPMorgan Chase

2010-07-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is one of the oldest financial services firms in the world. It has operations in 60 countries. It is a leader in financial services with assets of $2 trillion, and the largest market capitalization and third largest deposit base U.S. banking institution behind Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

The Investment Bank as well as the Asset Management, Private Banking, Private Wealth Management, and Treasury & Securities Services divisions use the JP Morgan brand. Fiduciary activity within Private Banking and Private Wealth Management is done under the aegis of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.—the actual trustee. The Chase brand is used for credit card services in the United States and Canada, the bank's retail banking activities in the United States, and commercial banking.

History

The company's history is made up of major legacy institutions including J.P. Morgan, Chase Manhattan, Chemical, Manufacturers Hanover, Bank One, First Chicago, and National Bank of Detroit.

The company's beginnings go back to 1799 with the Bank of Manhattan.

John Pierrepont Morgan, born in 1837 and the son of successful financier became a partner in his father's firm Drexel, Morgan and Co. in 1856. The firm was renamed J.P. Morgan and Co. in 1895 and became one of the most powerful banks in the world.

In 1955, the Chase Bank would merge with the Bank of Manhattan to form Chase Manhattan Bank. Chemical Bank was acquired by Chase Manhattan in 1996.

In 2000, Chase Manhattan Bank merged with J.P. Morgan to form JP Morgan Chase.

JPMorgan Chase merged with Bank One on July 1, 2004.

In May 2008, JPMorgan Chase acquired rival investment bank Bear Stearns for $10 a share with financial assistance from the Federal Reserve. The deal was made to rescue Bear Stearns from potential bankruptcy.

In September 2008, JPMorganChase acquired the assets and liabilities of Washington Mutual bank for $1.9 billion after the FDIC seized it.

JPM Profile

Headquarters:
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
270 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 270-6000
Fax: (212) 270-1648

Employees: 200,000+
CEO: Jaime Dimon
Web Site: jpmorganchase.com

Banking subsidiaries

JPMorgan Chase & Co. owns five bank subsidiaries in the United States:

* Chase Bank USA, National Association
* JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association
* JPMorgan Chase Bank, Dearborn
* J.P. Morgan Trust Company, National Association
* Custodial Trust Company

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO Top Competitors

BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION: BAC
BARCLAYS PLC: BCS
CITIGROUP INC: C

JPM On Other Exchanges

Symbol Exchange

JPM:US NYSE
JPM*:MM Mexico Stock Exchnage
JPM:LN London Stock Exchange
JFT:US NYSE Arca
AMJ:US NYSE Arca
JPM:AR Buenos Aires Stock Exchnage
CMC:GR XETRA Level 1
8634:JP Tokyo Stock Exchange
JPMC:BB Brussels Stock Exchange
JPMC:AR Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
JPM:TE
Euro TLX
JPM:NR
NYSE ARCA EUROPE
JPM:TQ Turquoise

TRADING INFORMATION

Stock Price History

Beta: 1.16
52-Week Change: 10.73%
52-Week Change (relative to S&P500): 24.30%
52-Week High (): 48.20
52-Week Low (): 31.79
50-Day Moving Average: 38.31
200-Day Moving Average: 41.45

Share Statistics

Average Volume (3 month): 49,138,000
Average Volume (10 day): 43,563,700
Shares Outstanding: 3.98B
Float: 3.96B
% Held by Insiders: 0.45%
% Held by Institutions: 75.30%
Shares Short (as of 14-May-10): 28.18M
Daily Volume (as of 14-May-10): N/A
Short Ratio (as of 14-May-10): 0.5
Short % of Float (as of 14-May-10): 0.80%
Shares Short (prior month): 28.57M

Dividends & Splits

Annual Dividend: 0.20
Dividend Yield: NaN%
Dividend Date: 31-Jul-10
Ex-Dividend Date: N/A
Last Split Factor (new per old)²: 3:2
Last Split Date: 12-Jun-00

Visit Worldmarketpulse.com to check out the complete Company Profile Of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other global companies or Click Here

FUTURES trading hours for coming holiday

2010-06-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Equity indices
Sunday, July 4
1700 CT – Regular CME Globex open for trade date Tuesday, Jul 6
Monday, July 51030 CT – Trading halt
1700 CT – Halted products resume trading

FX
Sunday, July 4
1700 CT – Regular CME Globex open for trade date Tuesday, Jul 6
Monday, July 51200 CT – Trading halt
1700 CT – Halted products resume trading

Comex Globex mostly metals crude
Sunday, July 4
1700 CT / 1800 ET – Regular CME Globex open for NYMEX, COMEX and DME products on CME Globex for trade date Tuesday, Jul 6
Monday, July 5 1215 CT / 1315 ET – Trading halt
1700 CT / 1800 ET – Halted products resume trading

Sunday, July 4
1700 CT – Regular CME Globex open for trade date Tuesday, July 6
Exceptions:
• Dairy, Crude Palm Oil, Livestock, GSCI, Lumber and Weather products will remain closed until 1700 CT on Monday

Grains

• CBOT, KCBT and MGEX Grain Products and CBOT Ethanol will remain closed until 1800 CT on Monday

Cracks Appearing In EU Unity?

2010-05-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

On May 10 when the European Union and the IMF stitched together a $1 trillion rescue package for Greece, the world felt relieved. Stock markets gave a big thumbs-up to it. The BSE Sensex zoomed by 560 points. However, by the weekend Europe was back in turmoil. President Sarkozy of France threatened to pull out of the euro if Germany backed out of the bailout. Adding fuel to the fire, Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann said in an interview that Greece might not ever pay back its debts. This sent alarm bells ringing beyond Europe. Asian stock markets were shaken on Monday.

What began as a sub-prime crisis in the US in 2008, resulting in bank defaults and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, has reached a stage where heavily indebted countries are crying for bailouts. The trouble is not just limited to Greece. Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain too face the heat. In anger, they blaming “a wolf pack of currency speculators” who have brought down the euro. Equally hated are the credit rating agencies, which are re-rating national debts to junk levels and drying up borrowing sources and raising costs of capital. Even the fate of the EU as a single political and economic entity is threatened. Bickering is out in the open. No one wants to pay for another nation’s follies.

The eurozone citizens will have to bear the burden of their leaders’ blunders. The global recovery stands jeopardised. India’s exports to Europe, particularly by IT companies, will be hit. Global capital is shifting to safer havens like India and other emerging markets. In the turbulent times gold stands out as a safe investment. Hence, a steep rise in its prices. Europe will have to stand as one in this hour of crisis and help the European Central Bank and the IMF to sort outs its debt issues. This will take time and require patience and cooperation of the EU members.

For More World Market Pulse ETFs stocks futures commodities forex indicators forecast http://worldmarketpulse.com/

Market gyrations on March 12th Wednesday

2010-05-12T06:42:00.001-07:00

The market today may remain sluggish to slightly positive. So handle with care.
The chances of having an up day would be because of the commodities that as projected earlier are having a green day so far in futures.

Overall it may remain positive.

Be watchful at middle of the day 12 CST time or 13.00 PM EST
Then at about 1.30 pm cst / 2.30 pm est another reversal potential

Will get with more news and projection shortly.

You may have some issue in posting the comments but please try as I had it impossible trying to post.
I tried to post a comment replying AS2009 and It was impossible for there is some error perhaps the blogspot server run by Google is crashing.

See my message:

Good Morning AS2009

Welcome to this humble blog.
I tried to post twice a comment but it crashed. So I am trying on another browser.
Yes I today appears to be slightly positive but it may not be very high just a mediocre day ideal for speculators and day traders.

Commodities upside push may help the markets.
Will get with more shortly.

TO see updated daily blog and comments please visit http://astralguide.blogspot.com

The biggest scam for small investor trader - Wall Street and capital market makers

2010-05-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

The real function of capital markets is to provide capital and liquidity for industries, companies, small business and individuals to run the economies. BUT the capital markets here are not doing that basic job but looting and robbing with both hands.

All these websites, media, newspapers and information is owned by vested interests whose only interest is to help institutional huge capital robbers. It is one huge ponzi scam designed as a huge virtual casino, where innocent and people without vision and knowledge contribute all their hard earned savings so that bigger fat bastards can rob them within totally legal limits.

If you do not know the inside and outside of these markets, and you are a small investor or a newbie with little experience in analyzing and you just trade or invest by reading all these stupid magazines and Newspapers or follow this kind of websites you will be fooled and parted with your money and you will lose literally all your savings sooner or later. Greed creates an illusion and illusions are sold each day in name of a staged and planned market scheme where some big ones eat small ones.

The real function of capital markets is to provide capital and liquidity for industries, companies, small business and individuals to run the economies. BUT the capital markets here are not doing that basic job but looting and robbing with both hands.

Before you invest a penny seek wisdom, advise from some professionals before all this information avalanche put forward by Bloomberg, CNBC, News corp,. WSJ, Barrons and all other sites including this one and all nonsense create an illusion of making it big playing on the wall street.

Save your portfolio if you have any left and keep it in a safe currency or cash.

Euro Currency - The future of European Union's currency unity

2010-05-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

There are some discussions in some European capitals about the future of Euro, the common currency which was welcomed by many but which also brought hardships on a large number of common citizens.
Like every new phenomenon Euro has had its advantages but it also entails some major problems which probably were never thought of earlier.

After the discontentment in Greece's civil life, and the speculatory rumours running around few other countries public debt, there are some people who are already predicting the end of Euro. However the real crisis has not hit the common man as yet and the matter is still mostly a financial one. If this becomes a major political issue and things get worse, there is a potential that a few European countries may opt out of Euro - the common currency, despite remaining with the Union for other purposes. Frankly if you ask a common European they are disgusted at the heavy administration cost of EU.
If that happens it will happen in bulk which means only 8 or 9 original European Union countries will remain in EURO deal and the rest may run away.
For now the matter is still not political. Once it goes to streets things will be radical. For now it looks unlikely because most Europeans prefer to drink or dance in place of wasting time on protests. Greeks are now directly affected but it is technically very difficult to undo political accords in modern Europe due to over dependence.

I do not think that there will be any default by any European country in near future. This is a test of European Economic Community or Union and this crisis would have resolved long ago if German executives in Berlin would not have waited for the elections. This selfish interest of Germans have been the cause of this crisis to become a critical one.

The chances that any North West European nation defaults on their debt is highly unlikely but even if that happens there would be solutions.
This is the ultimate test of the bureaucracy that surrounds the EU machinery. Something is not very right currently because when the economic times are bit testing, we come to know who is our real friend. This is something being discussed right now in Roma, Dublin, Madrid, Lisboa and Athens.

Belgium, the Netherlands, [BENELUX] France, Germany are the primary beneficiaries of the European union on economic front more than any other nation. Perhaps we can count here Italy.
While EU offers good political and practical solutions the excessive and expensive bureaucratic mountain that has amassed lately will eventually crumble the Union. I think if there is no immediate solution is found and the matter goes to public and streets there will be a few mini revolutions and we will have national currencies back with Lira, Peseta and Drachma.

From what I know this crisis could be resolved within next 2 months by 20th of July. I am more worried about the bigger crisis that may be more critical than this one, that is potentially cooking up in Asia.

Under-estimating the power of Spanish Economy is a mistake, Spanish market will be hot once again

2010-05-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Spain is one of the 10 largest major economies of the world with not only one of the largest tourism industries of Europe and the world but it is a diversified industrial nation and a major exporter/importer. We can not compare it to Greece.

Spain is a powerful nation and will manage its debt and economy better than any European nation. Spanish banks are some of the most conservative and profitably run banks of the world.Spain is one of the European nations with a large young population and its unemployment problems originated after its entry into the European Economic Community [EEC] which later became the European Union. Spanish unemployment numbers have always been very high but its merely a number. The real Spanish Economy is pretty strong. Being heavily dependent on incoming tourism, most of the times over half of the people who make a living in tourism industry are not counted as full fledge employed. It is not the only critical factor to assess the vast Industrial complex of Spain.

All these comments are merely gossip and nonsense based on unreliable facts.
The viral media hype about Euro-debt is bigger than the real reality and shows that most of these exxagerated comments come from those who do not know the realities of Modern European economies.
After having lived and managed in Spain and Europe for long time to know it well I still get surprised at the typical Anglo-saxon bias against Spain. Spain has been a star economy and it generated lot of jealousy.

I think Spain's entry into the EU in 1986 was a big mistake. It literally sold itself to Germans and let its industry be folded or ruined. Despite the mistakes done in so called Europeanization of Spain and so called Upgrades to its infrastracture, Spain has managed to survive as a healthy young nation.

Spain will succeed in managing its financials in very near future.
By the way the problem of high unemployment in Spain is 25 years old and it is not a major factor in current problems. I think some people are exxagerating and over stating certain things.

Spain is not comparable to Greece or Portugal. Its economy, life and financials are many times better than the one of the UK and the USA. It will come out of the current Euro debt crisis with flying colors and it will be once again the hot market for years to come.

Spanish Economy

The Spanish economy was credited for having avoided the virtual zero growth rate of some of its largest partners in the EU (namely France, German and Italy) in the late 90's and at the beginning of the 21st century in a process which started with former Prime Minister Aznar's recommenced liberalization and deregulation reforms aimed at reducing the state's role in the economy. In 1995, the country began an impressive economic cycle marked by strong economic growth, with figures at or above 3%. In 2008, however, the bursting of the housing bubble resulted in a severe recession that greatly outstripped successive government predictions.

Growth in the decade prior to 2008 steadily diminished the per capita economic gap between Spain and the largest economies in the EU. By the end of this economic cycle, Spain's per capita position had overtaken Italy's and was streadily approaching that of France.

During this time the Spanish economy was regarded as one of the most dynamic within the EU, even able to replace the leading role of much larger economies like the ones of France and Germany, thus subsequently attracting significant amounts of native and foreign investment. Also, during the period spanning from the mid 1980s through the mid 2000s, Spain was second only to France in being the most successful OECD country in terms of reducing income inequality over this period.
Due to its own economic development and the recent EU enlargements up to 27 members (2007), Spain as a whole exceeded (105%) the average of the EU GDP in 2006 placing it ahead of Italy (103% for 2006).
In July 2009, the IMF worsened the estimates for Spain's 2009 contraction, to minus 4% of GDP for the year (close to the European average of minus 4.6%), besides, it estimated a further 0.8% contraction of the Spanish economy for 2010, the worst prospect amid advanced economies.

In 2007 the total Spanish public debt (government debt) relative to the total GDP was well below the European Union average, and in fact the government budget was running on a slight fiscal surplus, but the financial situation has since rapidly deteriorated. From late 2008 the public debt relative to GDP began to climb steeply, reaching almost the same percentage level as the UK's, although still well below Greece's level, at the beginning of 2010. Because of the severity of Spain's economic crisis, annual government deficits are expected to remain high and will continue to add heavily to the public debt over the next few years, as an expected slow recovery holds down tax receipts while welfare and other recession related expenses remain high.

The Spanish banking system has been credited as one of the most solid and best of all western banking systems to cope with the ongoing worldwide liquidity crisis, thanks to the country's conservative banking rules and practices. Banks are required to have high capital provisions and to demand various guarantees and securities from intending borrowers. This has allowed the banks, particularly the geographically and industrially diversified large banks like BBVA and Santander, to weather the real estate deflation better than expected. Indeed, these banks have been able to capitalise on their strong position to buy up distressed banking assets elsewhere in Europe and in the United States.

Ever since the 1990s some Spanish companies have gained multinational status, often, but not only, expanding their activities in culturally close Latin America, where Spain is the second biggest foreign investor after the United States.

Spanish companies lead fields like renewable energy (Iberdrola is the world's largest renewable energy operator and infrastructure, with six of the ten biggest international construction firms specialising in transport being Spanish, like Ferrovial, Acciona, ACS, OHL or FCC.

Market Sentiment this week

2010-04-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Indices

S&P 500 1,192.13 -.19%

DJIA 11,018.66 +.19%

NASDAQ 2,481.26 +1.11%

Russell 2000 714.62 +1.66%

Wilshire 5000 12,318.83 +.02%

Russell 1000 Growth 530.95 +.17%

Baltic Dry Index 3,001 +2.70%

VIX 17.96 +13.03%

ISE Sentiment Index 102.0 -44.86%

Total Put/Call .87 +22.54%

NYSE Arms 2.42 +88.68%

NYSE Cumulative A/D Line +91,474 +3.55%

Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index +1,208 +421

Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 44.0 +46.67%

CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position +113,364 -11.53%

CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 1,392,323 +3.64%

Total Put/Call .85 +23.19%

OEX Put/Call 1.31 +10.08%

NYSE Arms 3.01 +267.07%

Volatility(VIX) 18.36 +13.75%

G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 10.94 -1.08%

Advancing Sectors

Semis +5.09%
Education +4.48%
Defense +3.83%
Disk Drives +3.79%
Networking +3.01%

Waning Sectors

Agriculture -2.77%
REITs -3.46%
Coal -3.68%
Steel -4.15%
Gold -5.13%

April the 13th Tuesday market scene

2010-04-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

To read the full blog please go to http://astralguide.blogspot.com

If you notice today is Tuesday and 13th, some people in the Americas consider this combination as negative even though Mars may not necessarily be involved on each Tuesday even though Tuesday represents Mars. In parts of Europe some people believe Friday on 13th day is a negative day. This superstition or whatever we may call it does influence some people and they are driven by these ideas. They do that because some times the history does repeat!!

Well now coming back to our market today the scene is already more or less projected or predicted. We are forming this week the top of a ring which means we still have 14th, 15th and 16th April. The peak should be on these 3 days for short term. I am looking for right timing but the best day could be either 15th or 16th I need to refine that.

As already posted several times even though we are driven naturally for a correction which is imminent from 19th because my reading for 20th to 28th is so clearly negative yet because of manipulative intervention we can never know that a falling kite can re-fly. It is like a bird shot by an [evil] shooter that starts re-flying. Sounds so good or may be it was the soul that started flying yet the physical aspect fell on ground. Yes that is the reason you saw anomalies in January and March for few days and many dead birds were seen flying.
If that analogy is used our sky is full of many large dead birds literally falling but lo and behold they start flying again. What a miracle:)

Find, research and share the best vehicles you could short.
I wont short some commodities for now because they would be receiving some of the capital out of sell off of general equities. We could discuss those.
Currencies are also forming a breaking point.

On 13th at 2 AM and 6 AM CST there were two negative angles that propelled markets to be down or some dead birds falling really.
Then at 9.45 AM there was a minor negative aspect involving Moon with Neptune causing depressive mood.

However the scene will change from middle of the day especailly after 11 am and 1230 CST hence this late blog, because I knew day traders would be shorting the market today.

So watch out the second half part of the market and watch 11, 12 and last hour carefully.

Share if you are going to short on 14th, 15th or 16th or 19th?
If the natural course is followed we should be down big way next week on and it will continue for the rest of the month and spilling over to early May.

Going long on sugar and soybeans can be very exciting today.

Your comments, questions, answer and views are welcome.

To read the full blog please go to http://astralguide.blogspot.com

Pivot Points and support resistance for major indexes for April 12

2010-04-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

+ Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA INDU + DJ Futures

First resistance 11023.43
Second resistance 11049.525

First Support 10948.80
Second Support 10900.26

Pivot point : 10974.89

+ S&P 500

First resistance 1199.4
Second resistance 1204.6

First Support 1184
Second Support 1174

Pivot point : 1189.6

+ Nasdaq Composite

First resistance 2461.13
Second resistance 2468.22

First Support 2439.94
Second Support 2425.84

Pivot point : 2447

+ Nasdaq 100

First resistance 1999.94
Second resistance 2005.45

First Support 1983.46
Second Support 1972.49

Pivot point : 1988.97

For forecasts and to discuss projection of stocks, indexes, futures and currencies visit http://astralguide.blogspot.com

An intermediate term projection - Very important for position traders & speculators

2010-04-07T09:59:00.001-07:00

In good faith and for the benefit of all my friends I want you to keep an eye on any long positions from now on because the energy surely is high but the volatility in next days may not aggregate much. So taking a chance on long positions may be a huge risk.

My projections may be 24 to 48 hours here and there due to lack of time in going into mathematical details but I would be posting day's projections hopefully too on my regular blog at http://astralguide.blogspot.com

This projection is based on my own research and I know lots of people just put up any guesses or ideas based on large number of esoteric and bizarre indicators and of course some so called doom gloom types just speculate sensing fear.
This is all a bull. If you are a real trader putting his/her own money in the game read this message carefully.

Since my system is back tested I do rely on it and I do not consider any other system because after testing for many years they all failed unfortunately.
I lost big time on other people's advice, wonderful graphs, charts and colorful commentaries. 97% of all those forecasters are nothing but pinheads with something to chit chat but in the process of believing them majority of people lose big time, mostly small retail traders with limited capital.

I am refining my system and I cant say it is perfect but so far it works for me. It may work for you. I also notice that most of my readers are passive and they do not feel any necessity to provide feed back but that is fine! I am posting this for general public so anyone can benefit from this projection.

Today 7th April would be a start of a volatile week as we already posted and this would form a critical top over next days.

If you are long you may like to put stop loss or liquidate on 9th of April for the correction would start from 11th/12th April approximately.
8th April may be very volatile and may end up negative.
9th April would create an impression of very bullish market and its outcome would be rather very bizarre. I would write more on this later in another blog.

Frankly my personal mathematical calculations show bullish days for 12, 13 and 14th for now BUT you must know that Human will can alter the natural energy at times and hence the writing for first 3 days of next week is still fluid or rather on watery marshy surface.

Having said that if you are not very strong hearted and you do not wish to risk you may sell off your longs during any of these days as per your positioning as it all is subject to individual assets.
My overall reading is that we begin the correction next week any day.
Next to next week 19 to 23 I only see one up day and another as a high volatility day and rest down. That is fine for day based speculative ideas but not for swings or intermediate term.

I would hopefully be posting another long term projection later on one day.

One thing you must recall always that MARKETS can empty all pockets. Markets can become so hot and burning that they force you to remove all your covers or markets can be so cold and icy that they you seek cover and can not find it. Before that unpleasant state, best is to get out and stay on as a spectator.
My contention is that if you stay in cash you can still plan some trade later, but if you are gambling and lost it will take a long time to get a good trade and you may go back to square one. Do not believe the marketing literature and these make-rich newsletters ALWAYS. Use your own analysis. Yes it is ok to follow some wise people but only to know what they perceive. The final decision to trade must not be based on others viewpoint because their reality can be totally different than yours.

Believe or not 90% yes OVER 90% of day traders and general traders lose money and they go without capital for long time. I am writing this blog to save these traders their hard earned capital. You would do a great favor to yourself by sending this blog message to all your trading friends if you have any and also make a print out of this one for you and one day you will be grateful for this advice.

I am writing all above for me and a few friends but if you understand the markets you will seek some cover and take care. Individual stocks that you know well and have some technical edge may be good plays for this and next week. ALL rest is going to remain shaky.
I would welcome any of your comments. You are free to bash me as I deserve a good beating always for saying the truth.

Currency Forex Markets Trade setups for real traders

2010-04-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

One of the tragedies of the currency trades is that most people who are lured by heavy marketing of some known Forex companies with popular websites lose literally each dollar they invest.

Most of the retail currency traders lose every thing. I mean LITERALLY all of their account in most cases.

Professionals are fewer in this trade. Currencies are mainly traded by very large institutional traders, banks, governments and some major corporations mainly. Yet the lure and attraction of making it quick attract thousands of people who believe in the glittering ads glaring at all business sites and publications.

We can provide real time, really working Currency trade setups for genuine traders and we will do so when there are enough people who first register at this blog. We will be soon offering a private news letter which will be free initially to all new Blog Followers.
We will be offering Clear BUY OR SELL instructions with days hours etc. based on 2 to 5 days positions usually. However we will not be able to offer this on public websites for some reasons. We will also guide you how to chose the best asset to trade.

If you want you may join the blog initially at http://worldmarketpulse.blogspot.com

Trade setups potential

2010-04-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

Primerica Corp new IPO PRI should keep moving up as it is doing and it would be wiser to sell on 14th APR or keep a stop loss from 13th

FORD F buy at mid day or close today and sell on 11th or 12th APR can be a fairly great play.

More to come. If you want any stock, etf or any other assets reading post it here.
You must click on FOLLOW to enable quick response.

Currency markets prospectus for the week

2010-03-31T08:54:00.001-07:00

CHINA : There may be some movement on the Chinese Currency index. Renminbi US Dollar index based ETN is showing some movement and it may be bullish over next few days.

Indian Rs. : Indian currency Rupee is bullish this week and may remain so for coming week.

Russia : Russian Ruble may make a good move in next few days.

Australia : Australian Dollar Futures AD or ETF FXA continues to be bullish on intermediate period of next few weeks even though it may be down today.

Canada : Canadian Dollar Futures CD or etf FXC is pretty bullish for the day and for the coming week.

Swiss Franc : Swiss Frank like Euro still down but it may do some up move over next 2 weeks. Futures today had a good 125 pips move.

Europe : The common European Currency EURO appears very bullish and may continue to be bullish next week. Eur move may only be limited to little more than a week.

USD : US Currency may remain down for this week and perhaps coming week. Second week April could lift it up.

BRAZIL : The brazilian Real is surely for a good up move.

Natural Gas Futures and ETF

2010-03-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

An over supply has absolutely no relation to the pricing or value of a commodity.

Last year Exxon Mobil paid about 41 $ Billions for XTO Energy for its technology and access to the resources. People at Exxon Mobil are smarter than any of the industry and their move has a deep meaning which market people may not understand.
Natural Gas is a very good alternative for the imported Crude oil and sooner or later, perhaps soon during 2010 there would be some breakthrough in its new usage and there may be some news which will trigger its declining prices and stop the leak in the price, which started its steep fall in the historical month of July 2008, when Crude Oil futures began their decline.
Crude oil made a fairly good move in 2009 but the Natural Gas did not follow it.
Crude oil made over 100% move during second quarter of 2009 but the Natural Gas remained weak and it has only declined in price gradually.

I see a greater usage of Natural Gas in industries, homes and even motor vehicles. There could be some new developments in its price range soon.
Based on my studies I see that

UNG : ETF Natural Gas as anyone can see has been on decline since the last market crash of Fall 2008 from 65s to literally 6.90s.
It appears to be literally a dead commodity as the futures or ETF show each day a new decline.

In my projection I find that Natural Gas may begin some minor move from early April and then picking up from mid April and early May peaking by Mid May for an intermediate short trend. This potential up move may give NG futures and UNG and other related stocks a new life in this apparently depressed commodity.

This week world market pulse

2010-03-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Exchange Last Change
United States Stock Market Dow * 10850.36
9.15
United States Stock Market Nasdaq 2395.13
-2.28
United States Stock Market S & P 500 1166.59
0.86
Argentina Stock Exchange MerVal 2402.45
-7.49
Brazilian Stock Exchange Bovespa 68682.65
241
Canada Stock Exchange TSX 11957.37
-0.74
Mexican Stock Exchange IPC 33147.80
-16.52
Amsterdam Stock Exchange AEX 343.81
-1.80
London Stock Exchange FTSE 100 5703.02
-24.63
Frankfurt Stock Exchange DAX 6120.05
-12.90
French Stock Market CAC 40 3988.93
-11.55
Japan Stock Market Nikkei 10996.37
167.52
Hong Kong Stock Market Hang Seng 21053.10
274.56
China Stock Market Shanghai 3059.71
40.53
Singapore Stock Market Straits 2906.28
17.91
Jakarta Stock Exchange Jakarta 2813.08
13.93
New Zealand Stock Exchange NZX 50 3240.47
2.92
Taiwan Stock Exchange TSEC 7876.86
38.76

Broad Market:

* Advance/Decline Line: Slightly Lower
* Sector Performance: Most Declining
* Volume: About Average
* Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line

Equity Investor index:

* VIX 18.18 -1.20%
* ISE Sentiment Index 111.0 -.89%
* Total Put/Call .90 +5.88%
* NYSE Arms .67 -28.86%

Indices

* S&P 500 1,166.59 +.58%
* DJIA 10,850.36 +1.0%
* NASDAQ 2,395.13 +.87%
* Russell 2000 678.97 +.75%
* Wilshire 5000 12,003.93 +.59%
* Russell 1000 Growth 519.95 +.47%
* Russell 1000 Value 599.71 +.68%
* Morgan Stanley Consumer 704.43 +.60%
* Morgan Stanley Cyclical 902.12 +2.23%
* Morgan Stanley Technology 601.65 +.86%
* Transports 4,339.91 -.77%
* Utilities 376.36 -1.43%
* MSCI Emerging Markets 41.23 -.35%
* Lyxor L/S Equity Long Bias Index 993.41 +.20%
* Lyxor L/S Equity Variable Bias Index 853.02 +.14%
* Lyxor L/S Equity Short Bias Index 868.23 -1.76%

Sentiment/Internals

* NYSE Cumulative A/D Line +85,030 +1.0%
* Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index +229 -222
* Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 27.0 -15.6%
* CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position +111,919 -9.85%
* CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 1,298,539 -4.34%
* Total Put/Call .92 -5.15%
* OEX Put/Call 2.10 +195.77%
* ISE Sentiment 114.0 +6.54%
* NYSE Arms .69 -46.09%
* Volatility(VIX) 17.77 +4.71%
* G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 11.62 +5.51%
* Smart Money Flow Index 9,602.93 -.11%
* Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $3.013 Trillion -.10%
* AAII % Bulls 32.39 -8.43%
* AAII % Bears 34.66 +16.0%

Futures Spot Prices

* CRB Index 267.32 -1.95%
* Crude Oil 80.0 -1.17%
* Reformulated Gasoline 220.74 -2.20%
* Natural Gas 3.87 -6.79%
* Heating Oil 206.97 -.59%
* Gold 1,105.40 -.24%
* Bloomberg Base Metals 214.80 -.26%
* Copper 340.30 +.59%
* US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 312.0 USD/Ton +2.86%
* China Hot Rolled Domestic Steel Sheet 4,384 Yuan/Ton +3.20%
* S&P GSCI Agriculture 299.27 -3.81%

Economy

* ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index 131.50 +.46%
* Citi US Economic Surprise Index +36.30 -2.1 points
* Fed Fund Futures imply 82.0% chance of no change, 18.0% chance of 25 basis point cut on 4/28
* US Dollar Index 81.61 +1.10%
* Yield Curve 280.0 +10.0 basis points
* 10-Year US Treasury Yield 3.85% +16 basis points
* Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $2.296 Trillion +.23%
* U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 35.0 +20.69%
* Western Europe Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 75.10 -4.50%
* 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.24% +3 basis points
* TED Spread 15.0 +2 basis points
* N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 86.53 +.58%
* Euro Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 72.92 +2.14%
* Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 233.66 +7.32%
* CMBS Super Senior AAA 10-Year Treasury Spread 266.0 -18.0 basis points
* M1 Money Supply $1.708 Trillion +.46%
* Business Loans 633.60 -.50%
* 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 453,800 -2.4%
* Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 3.6% +10 basis points
* Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 4.99% +3 basis points
* Weekly Mortgage Applications 595.0 -4.17%
* ABC Consumer Confidence -44 -1 point
* Weekly Retail Sales +3.40% +20 basis points
* Nationwide Gas $2.81/gallon unch.
* U.S. Heating Demand Next 7 Days 16.0% below normal
* Baltic Dry Index 3,098 -8.3%
* Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 52.50 -19.23%
* Rail Freight Carloads 201,300 -1.14%
* Iraqi 2028 Government Bonds 81.13 -1.51%

Economic Gauges:

* 3-Month T-Bill Yield .13% unch.
* Yield Curve 279.0 bps unch.
* Copper Days Demand n/a
* Citi US Economic Surprise Index +36.30 -4.5 points
* 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.24% 2 bps

Best Performing Style

* Small-Cap Growth +.78%

Worst Performing Style

* Mid-Cap Value +.43%

Leading Sectors

* Gaming +4.61%
* Airlines +3.24%
* Steel +3.24%
* Semis +2.63%
* Homebuilders +2.57%

Lagging Sectors

* HMOs -2.02%
* Coal -2.48%
* Oil Service -3.02%
* Gold -3.12%
* Oil Tankers -3.23%

Seeking contributors at http://worldmarketpulse.com join the site as a columnist, blogger or add your blog frequently.

http://worldmarketpulse.blogspot.com

The hidden forces of Markets and short term trading losses

2010-03-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Please read this if you are a very short term and micro trading "Human" market operator.

If you are a regular market watcher and analyze it by assessing the economic indicators, volumes of trades and overall Economy or read it technically looking at turns, twists, support, resistance or decipher the repeating patterns, and you still can not translate the scene, on shorter term, it is because there are hidden forces that drive markets having variety of interests. It is much more difficult to know the micro trends than macro trends because of speed, sudden news, time bending events etc. Believe or not it is easier to foresee and see the larger picture than the micro moves that can take away your portfolio's portions slowly and many times suddenly. The results can be worse if you trade options and futures.

What are these hidden forces many people talk about.
The reality of the market remains as real as the time on your clock. More than 80% of traders are not really making any real money and if they do make some gains they are depleted with quicker speed than they were achieved. Only very long term traders or investors on the right side remain in the game for a longer time. Majority of short term traders, (more so those who do options and futures), are thrown out of market as if they were foreign objects on a busy freeway.

This is a reality which most people do not want to accept and this living in denial only ends when the portfolio is reduced to a fraction.

There are two factors :

Programmed Trading : There are hundreds or thousands of large size computer clusters that are working overspeed churning numbers that analyze the volumes, technicals and fundamentals interpreted into numerical results and the results are not even necessarily seen by real time human beings. This very large size computing power actually is nothing but an artificial intelligence, that is also known as robotics that take decisions for their masters and they decide when to get into a particular asset and when to get out.

This may obviously be factored on very short term technicals.
Despite that most managers working on micro levels notice that their plans or even basic perception of market trend gets clouded. The sudden spikes can put many traders and managers out of their stops or those with mental stops see their gains lose quickly.
The sudden actions of multiple computers run by about 4 to 5 dozen very large institutions bring havoc to the markets on short term and many many traders get ruined or get out of place.
Computing intelligence buys large chunks of a currency or index when another set of certain currency or index is up and vice versa. Few times some sectors assets are sold off instantly when certain factors are translated as imminent "danger". This is so fast, nimble and quick that even the smart traders sitting on edges can not handle and they are thrown out of markets.

Institutionals : There are two kind of institutional interests. Those who are based in the United States and are represented by private and many times disguised interests. There are others who are based in Non-USA markets but they have interests with special intent.

There are two type of manipulations done on very large scales that can turn a market up or down quickly. The first kind are simply Casino operator like underwriters and grabbers of all possible gains who use all possible tactics to book the maximum which is like extracting juice of any recently ripen fruit and the rest of the pulp is thrown to markets, which smarter traders try to exploit.

The rest what is remaining is like a fresh dry bone which is thrown to common traders who chew on it for some time, excited over the technical indicators and charming, alarming or "interesting" news. All this is a facade, a show, a staged dramatics that is done each day to make some "very large" interests richer. 30 to 40% of market actions is generated by this group. Much of the news is also fabricated, fake and manipulated.

The other type of interest that are based in foreign shores have deep seated secret interests and they work in slow motion but intensify at particular points, to culminate the action.
These interests jack up or drop a market by manipulation a large number of futures, indices and stocks in a very systematic way which common market watchers can not even remotely fathom. These interests can take a few "commodities" or currencies up and down as per their interest is. Over 30 percent to at times 70% of the market action is done by these secretive, hidden interests who manipulate the markets to maintain their own very large vested interests.
Many currencies, commodities and stocks are moved by these people in a perfect harmonious fashion like an orchestra. It is hard to detect these actions unless you are an insider.

Considering all this any fundamental analysis and even technical analysis can fail and you will be thrown out of the markets because the usual patterns fail.
This may sound fantasy or conspiracy theory to some but most professionals know this reality and they are fully aware of its modus.

The type of analysis I have been developing does take into consideration these hidden and occult factors. Now the question arises, if astral movements impact and influence the above secretive portion of the real markets? Yes it does but it is not easily detected by the common astronomical/extra-terrestrial aspects that are formed. That is why you will notice that people relying on positive aspects find that the market is behaving negative and vice versa. The polarity can change and it does change constantly but without prior information.
The Plutonian and Martian influence is so devilish or rather sudden and extreme that people are blinded by self interests, greed and extreme obssession and this can imbalance the NATURAL energy flow of the markets and our lives. The radical, the extreme and strange produces surprises.

If you want to remain in the markets, do not be fooled by technical charts Only, or fundamental factors only or simply the traditional macro-economic news and indicators. All this is helpful only about 50 % of the times.

Key Market Indicators this week 15-19 March

2010-03-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

* Large-Cap Growth +.77%
Worst Performing Style

* Small-Cap Growth -.66%

Leading Sectors

* HMOs +7.83%
Hospitals +5.16%
Telecom +2.16%
REITs +2.15%
Education +1.95%

Lagging Sectors

* Steel -3.20%
Alt Energy -3.84%
Oil Service -4.40%
Airlines -5.07%
Coal -7.97%

Transport

Baltic Dry Index 3,396 +2.41%

* Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 65.0 +13.04%

* Rail Freight Carloads 203,626 -4.08%

Indices

* S&P 500 1,159.90 +.86%

* DJIA 10,741.98 +1.10%

* NASDAQ 2,374.41 +.29%

* Russell 2000 673.89 -.40%

* Wilshire 5000 11,933.68 +.65%

* Russell 1000 Growth 517.53 +.77%

* Russell 1000 Value 595.64 +.76%

* Morgan Stanley Consumer 700.21 +.86%

* Morgan Stanley Cyclical 882.41 +.57%

* Morgan Stanley Technology 596.49 +.65%

* Transports 4,373.73 +1.12%

* Utilities 381.80 +1.33%

* MSCI Emerging Markets 41.38 unchanged

* Lyxor L/S Equity Long Bias Index 988.05 +.45%

* Lyxor L/S Equity Variable Bias Index 853.34 +.27%

* Lyxor L/S Equity Short Bias Index 8863.74 -1.43%

* Sentiment/Internals

* NYSE Cumulative A/D Line +84,189 +.45%

* Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index +451 -90

* Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 32.0 +14.3%

* CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position +124,143 +13.57%

* Total Put/Call .97 +12.79%

* OEX Put/Call .71 -26.80%

* ISE Sentiment 107.0 -13.71%

* NYSE Arms 1.28 -19.50%

* Volatility(VIX) 16.97 -3.47%

* G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 10.74 -3.94%

* Smart Money Flow Index 9,613.21 +.99%

* Money Market Mutual Fund Assets $3.017 Trillion -2.4%

* AAII % Bulls 35.37 -21.90%

* AAII % Bears 29.88 +18.15%

* Futures Spot Prices

* CRB Index 272.63 -.25%

* Crude Oil 80.68 -.49%

* Reformulated Gasoline 225.56 +.03%

* Natural Gas 4.17 -4.90%

* Heating Oil 207.67 -.87%

* Gold 1,107.60 +.55%

* Bloomberg Base Metals 215.35 +.33%

* Copper 337.25 -.55%

* US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 303.33 USD/Ton +.11%
China Hot Rolled Domestic Steel Sheet 4,248 Yuan/Ton +3.64%
S&P GSCI Agriculture 311.13 +.51%

* Economy Indicators

* ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index 130.90 +.38%

* Citi US Economic Surprise Index +38.40 +2.3 points

* Fed Fund Futures imply 84.0% chance of no change, 16.0% chance of 25 basis point cut on 4/28

* US Dollar Index 80.76 +1.16%

* Yield Curve 270.0 -5.0 basis points

* 10-Year US Treasury Yield 3.69% -1 basis point

* Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $2.290 Trillion +1.13%

* U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 29.0 -3.33%

* Western Europe Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 78.64 +19.81%

* N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 86.03 +3.91%

* Euro Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 71.40 +2.39%

* Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 217.72 +.33%

* M1 Money Supply $1.700 Trillion -.74%
Business Loans 636.80 -.28%

* 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 471,300 -.9%

* Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 3.5% unch.

* Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 4.96% +1 basis point

* Weekly Mortgage Applications 620.90 -1.93%

* ABC Consumer Confidence -43 +6 points

* Weekly Retail Sales +3.20% +10 basis points

* Nationwide Gas $2.81/gallon +.03/gallon
U.S. Heating Demand Next 7 Days 24.0% below normal

Trading day key times of March 16th by astralguide

2010-03-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Travels : Fairly good, happy return
Trades : Tumultous and abnormal sessions. High risk.

The energy that usually drives the micro trends is dissolved; very weak yet when there is extreme manipulation by larger players, exceptions and anomalies can happen like this week. Markets run in short and long term cycles but when there is an unnatural intense trend, usually the outcome is also similar e.i. usually intense. Anything can be expected.
This is a period between two very strong short cycles and
it is difficult to plan or project for any direction and the best one can do is sit and watch.

Trading day key times of March 16th for Asia Europe and USA

There is a strong energy at 2:35 AM CST which means 7.35 AM GMT and little bit late for the Asian markets. Then there is another burst of energy at 4 AM cst or 9 AM GMT.
Then at about 5 AM CST 10 AM GMT it could turn negative.

The next key moves that are possible on 16th Morning

8:20 am CST > 9.20 AM est 1:20 pm GMT
9.00 am CST > 10.00 AM est 2.00 pm GMT
10.30 am cst > 11.30 AM est 3.30 pm gmt
11.45 am cst > 12.45 pm est 4.45 pm gmt Mostly negative

Quick review of the Week

2010-03-13T09:52:00.001-08:00

Indices

* S&P 500 1,149.99 +.99%
* DJIA 10,624.69 +.55%
* NASDAQ 2,367.66 +1.78%
* Russell 2000 676.59 +1.59%
* Wilshire 5000 11,856.53 +1.11%
* Russell 1000 Growth 513.59 +.92%
* Russell 1000 Value 591.14 +1.25%
* Morgan Stanley Consumer 694.27 +.75%
* Morgan Stanley Cyclical 877.41 +1.27%
* Morgan Stanley Technology 592.64 +2.16%
* Transports 4,325.35 +3.09%
* Utilities 376.80 -.37%
* MSCI Emerging Markets 41.38 +1.96%
* Lyxor L/S Equity Long Bias Index 984.42 +.88%
* Lyxor L/S Equity Variable Bias Index 852.88 +.55%
* Lyxor L/S Equity Short Bias Index 894.22 -2.26%

Sentiment/Internals

* NYSE Cumulative A/D Line +83,527 +5.37%
* Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index +541 -267
* Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 28.0 -26.3%
* CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position +109,314 +19.6%
* CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 1,348,241 +3.92%
* Total Put/Call .86 +2.38%
* OEX Put/Call .97 +36.62%
* ISE Sentiment 124.0 -2.36%
* NYSE Arms 1.59 +287.80%
* Volatility(VIX) 17.58 +.92%
* G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 11.0 -7.33%
* Smart Money Flow Index 9,518.73 +1.55%
* Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $3.090 Trillion -1.2%
* AAII % Bulls 45.29 +26.30%
* AAII % Bears 25.29 -3.51%

Futures Spot Prices

* CRB Index 273.31 -1.31%
* Crude Oil 81.08 -.59%
* Reformulated Gasoline 225.50 -1.0%
* Natural Gas 4.38 -4.69%
* Heating Oil 209.50 -.35%
* Gold 1,101.50 -2.93%
* Bloomberg Base Metals 214.65 +.36%
* Copper 338.0 -.83%
* US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 303.0 USD/Ton +1.0%
* China Hot Rolled Domestic Steel Sheet 4,099 Yuan/Ton +3.38%
* S&P GSCI Agriculture 309.54 -3.48%

Economy

* ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index 130.60 +.62%
* Citi US Economic Surprise Index +36.10 +12.7 points
* Fed Fund Futures imply 72.0% chance of no change, 28.0% chance of 25 basis point cut on 3/16
* US Dollar Index 79.83 -.77%
* Yield Curve 275.0 -4.0 basis points
* 10-Year US Treasury Yield 3.70% +2 basis points
* Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $2.265 Trillion +.12%
* U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 30.0 -18.92%
* Western Europe Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 65.63 -11.04%
* 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.27% +5 basis points
* TED Spread 12.0 +1 basis point
* N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 82.79 -4.01%
* Euro Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 69.73 -9.36%
* Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 217.0 -10.40%
* CMBS Super Senior AAA 10-Year Treasury Spread 303.0 -21.0 basis points
* M1 Money Supply $1.713 Trillion -.32%
* Business Loans 642.70 unch.
* 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 475,500 +1.1%
* Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 3.5% unch.
* Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 4.95% -2 basis points
* Weekly Mortgage Applications 633.10 +.51%
* ABC Consumer Confidence -49 unch.
* Weekly Retail Sales +3.10% +130 basis points
* Nationwide Gas $2.78/gallon +.06/gallon
* U.S. Heating Demand Next 7 Days 21.0% below normal
* Baltic Dry Index 3,316 +6.25%
* Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 57.50 +4.55%
* Rail Freight Carloads 212,296 +3.15%
* Iraqi 2028 Government Bonds 82.50 +1.75%

Best Performing Style

* Small-Cap Growth +1.61%

Worst Performing Style

* Large-Cap Growth +.92%

Leading Sectors

* Oil Tankers +4.82%
* Steel +4.63%
* Airlines +4.34%
* Road & Rail +4.15%
* Restaurants +4.0%

Lagging Sectors

* Coal -.50%
* HMOs -.62%
* Medical Equipment -1.19%
* Tobacco -1.62%
* Gold -3.64%

Welcome to World Market Pulse blog

2010-03-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

We would attempt to cover all prominent world markets with news, views and analysis that may include some views from http://astralguide.blogspot.com
The Analysis presented for the markets would be neutral, unbiased and based on not only basic and technical factors but also of others, like sentiment, local bias and trends and geo-economic, geo-political events etc.

You are free to comment and add your input anytime for the specific market areas discussed.
We would be focusing on the key markets of a region but we could also cover smaller markets at times.

If you would like to add any particular regional or national market or sector of any area please add your comments.

World Market Pulse Team : Right now we are a small team of 3 people covering different areas, and if you would like to add yourself as an observer and commentator and join our team please write to us at worldmarketpulse gmail

World Marke Pulse news analysis and information

2010-03-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

We did not have any new post for Friday the 12th March for there is no change really to what we posted on Thursday.
Please be oriented that be cautious on your current positions. Markets are trying to emulate the 2009 pattern but that can work for some time but not for long.
As you can see US Dollar index is weak currently and most currencies against it are bullish. Copper is merely up for the new jolt in Chile, one of the larger copper producers.
For now we are not posting any forecasting or prognosis but as posted few days ago and yesterday Fri and early next week is "slightly" weak energy.

The flow that started on 28th February was so strong that it spilled for literally 2 weeks. This is fading for now but its fire will rekindle again next week however at the end of week probably.

Whatever the case just be careful with your positions, short or long or whichever asset.

WORLD MARKET PULSE
We have had few requests from our small team of market watchers and many readers from outside the United States to have a dedicated blog on specific markets. So we are reviving the private blog World Market Pulse at http://worldmarketpulse.blogspot.com for anyone interested in the world markets of South America, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Sweden, Norway, Holland and few more.
If you are interested in the world markets, emerging markets and other specific markets besides the U.S.A. markets please join that blog.

March 11 2010 Thursday for day trading

2010-03-11T06:10:00.000-08:00

Please join http://astralguide.blogspot.com by clicking follow.
Travels : Not very friendly Need to be careful
Trades : Not so strong nor good.

It is a lower side of the short term cycle with a very weak market today and tomorrow. Despite that there are opportunities for traders in some particular time frames and some assets. It takes hours of work to produce a forecast for the day that makes senses and it is done in the hope that you could make some gain and or mitigate any potential losses because having a hint on direction, mood or sentiment from astral guidance may provide a slightly better planning, a second opinion and in some cases great chances to profit.
We request all readers to join this blog which is very easy to do.
Just click on Follow link and you may remain anonymous.

Soon this blog or our newsletter may only be for subscribing members and we will only release privileged and premium information that can mean a lot for real time traders who join our mailing list to come shortly.
For now please click the Follow link to feel your energy.
Please do not compare this humble site to any other blogs/sites because we produce absolutely unbiased work with highly focused
timing for reversal and pivot points with focus on micro trend and timing.
We can provide more info and analysis if we know that there are sufficient number of people interested.
Before posting comments we kindly suggest that you join this site by clicking Follow.

Key hours that can be very useful for the day
9:02 AM CST > 10:02 EST > 3:00 PM GMT
9:32 AM CST > 10:32 EST > 3:32 PM GMT
10:14 AM CST > 11:14 EST > 4:14 PM GMT

11:35 AM CST > 12:35 EST > 5:35 PM GMT
12:03 PM CST > 1:03 EST > 6:03 PM GMT
1:30 to 2:30 PM > 2:30 to 3:30 PM EST > 7:30 to 8:30 PM GMT

12 MARCH
1:30 AM CST > 8:30 EST > 7:30 AM GMT

Wednesday March 10th Intra day trading timing

2010-03-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

Travels : Fair use caution Not negative but very forceful day
Trades : Subject to skill, not very positive as per our indicators despite so much bullishness. Somewhat positive and somewhat negative intra day activity.

Despite very powerful energy around there is lot of heat and this can cause force.
When too much force is gyrating fast more heat is generated that can cause overheating.
Errors made in haste, speaking too forcefully, sharp words spoken on impulse, or accidents occurring due to restlessness and impatience are all possible at this time

Please know this is an attempt to offer key and pivot hours with some precision to help the day and position traders in general on all markets. Later Asian and European hours would be available. For now let us focus on the current Center of the Financial universe which is the belt between Chicago to New York.

Key hours to watch

11:00 AM CST > 12:00 PM EST > 5:00 PM GMT caution
12:55 PM CST > 1:55 PM EST > 6:55 PM GMT
2:10 PM CST > 3:10 PM EST > 8:10 PM GMT
4.00 PM CST > 5:00 PM EST > 10:00 PM GMT
5:40 to 630 PM CST > 6:40 pm to 730 pm EST > 11:40 pm to 12:30 am GMT

The timing is for initial guidance however one must rely on technical indicators and personal exprience and wisdom to trade.
Have a good trading day friends!

More to follow..

9th March 2010 not what you see

2010-03-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

Travels : Worrisome Critical moments not as expected
Trades : Critical and deceptive day for traders

What you see may not always be what you get.
What appears so positive may not be so.
Yet one does not have to be negative even when much negative passivity is in view, but be prepared for activity at an appropriate time.
One thing which many analysts and even some of my friends looking
at skies seeking harmonies on the Earth's material world, forget is that the confluence of a day at times may not be very strong yet the pent up energies of past days can be concentrating and then hit on the unexpected day. This happened during first few days of Jan this year and then to give you a recent example on March 5.
The rally on Friday should have been on Wed or Thursday but the energy concentrated in late afternoon on Thursday of which we informed emphatically and this
spilled over to the morning of Friday despite being a rather quiet neutral day.
The influence of positive or negative energies at times take time to create a critical mass to demonstrate its apparition so be very careful.

Astral event of Tuesday early hours at about 3:30 AM EST are not so harmonic so its energy will spill over to the trading day in NY.
Today like each day willl produce some opportunities for day traders and those who are very nimble and quick to read can benefit however it is not a recommended to go long or buy big time as this is a deceptive
day.

Key hours that can be reversals or pivot points
11:00 CST
11:12 CST
12:06 CST
13:00 CST

PS: After market key hours and March 10th that can be notable

11:15 PM CST 12:15 AM EST 5:15 GMT
2:35 AM CST 3:35 AM EST 8:15 GMT

To some extent some micro moves
4 AM CST 5 AM EST 10 AM GMT
5 AM CST 6 AM EST 11 Noon GMT

March 8 2010 Slow Dance of Mars

2010-03-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

Travels : Be very careful slightly negative
Trades : Roller Coaster day

If you notice anything you started around or after 20th Dec something has been stalling or slowing down. This should impact more if you are an Aries or Scorpio or have Mars in Leo than you feel something more. The impact can dry or clog the blood, cause earth quakes and people feel impulsive, impatient and one feels depletion of energy, extreme highs or lows and similar.
This is caused by Mars mainly. Even though the red planet stations on March 10th it takes about 2 months to neutralize its influence. So From now to May you may find violent surprises and implosions/explosions in minds, hearts, markets and life.
The polarities can switch or change.
From this week to May should be a tumultous time with new polarities and one can go crazy fathoming highs and lows. If you bought anything from Dec 20 to Now it would be better to evaluate and sell it.

NOTE: Anything bought from 6 AM to 11.15 CST may go hayware so better stay quiet or watch and plan. Day traders should keep an eye on the direction.

KEEP A CLOSE WATCH on these Key hours CST

9:50 AM
10:55
11:07 AM
11:50 AM
1:08 PM
2:30 PM

Keep a watch on this blog.
Rest later coming at this blog http://astralguide.blogspot.com

Friday March 5th 2010 Day of hot hair

2010-03-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

Realistic projection of the trading day at http://astralguide.blogspot.com

Travels : Challenging, Keep caution
Trades : Not so positive as it may appear. Any rally could be short lived so use extreme caution today and Monday.

This blog is to help the day trader to provide a few indicators on timing and the direction to some extent. This also helps position traders to enter/exit or plan their positions.

Sometimes natural forces are going to one side and direction and the human forces and their collective energy is going on opposite direction, this causes a strange stormy condition like you see in SouthWest Texas where warm winds of Gulf merge with Chill coming from North and this creates sudden hot or cold conditions. When that happens in the markets anything is possible but that warm day can be changed suddenly by cold chill and at times that can cause rain.
This should be the case today and Monday so go with caution.

Despite all there are key hours
Turning points for most major markets where you should keep a watch
ALL times as usual CST
8 50
10 10
12 30
12 50

Take wise decisions.
More later..

See the current scene of the world markets, MOST were green, a rare thing to happen on the same day but it tells us something interesting. World Stock Market Sentiment

March 4 2010 an interesting trading day

2010-03-04T05:37:00.000-08:00

Travels : Good
Trades : Beneficial yet a slighly challenging day for Day traders
There should be some kind of momentum forming around CST 9.15 am [10.15 am est]
There are opportunities each day and today should be no exception.
It could be a slightly quiet day despite confusion yet more enthusiasm than tumultous wednesday. Be alert for trading opportunities, there would be quite a few.

Around 9 AM CST -/+ 15 min there could be some triggers

Futures: Watch Gold Silver copper platinum palladium, Sugar Rice Soybeans Corn today
We would discuss some equities sectors and particular stocks or ETFs in a later blog.
We should be posting more in advance shortly.

When you notice our watch list or hints you decide the direction as per your own analysis, unless a clear positive or negative is given. When mentioned negatives that could be an opportunity for shorts.
Most of our indicators are meant for day traders in principle. We are refining the work to throw some more light on swing and short term projections. Please keep in touch as blog is updated regularly. Idea is to share realistic and worthy info that can make sense and profit. When you comment you may write your biases, opinions or thoughts too. We are working hard to provide a clearer picture each day and shortly for whole week.

Days to come?
I want to inform my friends that today at the end of the day there MIGHT be some action at the last hour.
From my analysis of various indicators Friday may be a down day continuing slightly to Monday. Tuesday there will be some positive action which will spill into Wednesday. So prepare your positions and if questions please post.

Shortly we should be able to write in advance about the coming day for selective Asian and European markets and some overnight Futures markets for the EU/US based traders.

NB: If you are really interested to make real profits, please follow this blog as we will show you some research work for a few of the ETFs, Stocks and in some cases some commodities. It is hard to talk to anonymous or an invisible person than a real warm one:)

Mercurial day for day traders 3 - 3 - 2010

2010-03-03T05:57:00.000-08:00

Travels : Good
Trades : Good & beneficial for sharp. Very active day
3rd day of 3rd month with No 3 in year. This may be a Peak day to an extent so calculate the projections.

Caution: Be careful and try not Buy or enter into today at 2.45 PM onwards [3.45 EST]
This is valid till 8.15 PM cst [9.15 EST].
It may be good for shorts if you know what you are doing:)

12 noon to 1 CSTconflict

Dow Jones & SPX All CST Time
8.15
8.50
12.05
1.00 PM
2.30 to 2.43
From 2.44 Better not to buy

Nasdaq Key hours CST
8.00 am 8.15
8.50
9.45
12.10
12.35 Conflict
1.00 PM Strange Conflict watch
2.40 PM Risk

For 4th early hours 12.30 am to 6 am CST [1.30 am to 7 am EST] interesting for futures Big moves. Good for Euro zone ei 7.30 to 3 pm European time.

Currencies : USD may remain weak for time. Positive for EC AD CD SF

Slightly long term projection: Markets tend to weaken from tomorrow for some time. Next good time will begin on 18th. As you know we tend to project for the day to make it work. If TODAYS are good all tomorrows will be good!!

Will add on some stocks, futures and other assets slighly later.

NB: We may be posting the market scene for Thursday March 4th on Wednesday afternoon.

Trading and knowing before the BIG moves

2010-03-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

All timings that were posted on http://astralguide.blogspot.com in past 7 trading days have been 99.5 % accurate.
We advised last week to buy on Thursday or Friday and sell on Tuesday Wednesday this week. Few dozen traders who followed have reported me that they have made huge gains. People have also made huge gains on Copper, Gold and silver as per our suggestion.
We suggested Cotton and Coffee futures yesterday and some people have made a huge gain.
We also suggested yesterday SLB Schlumberger stock and it has proved to be well too.
If you are really a serious real time trader join this blog and rest is your choice.

Is it only the Moon that plays the market?
Moon surely influences the nerves of all beings. But there are larger planetary bodies smaller and bigger than ours and these have their repulsion or gravitation and they drive all living forces on our poor planet. The same is reflected on all of us and consequently to the market. The problem is not that. Problem is how do we read into all this cryptic darkness. I have been a serious researcher not for years but for a few decades and I have devised a mechanism that can give a projection. I am now working on refining some major stocks and so far my testing is working well. We can project successfully, and believe or not 70 to 90% works. Of course we must consult the other aspects too like news of the stock or technical which is better.
E.g. I was studying C Citi and I find that it will make a major move from now to the end of this month. I have the exact dates when we can buy and then sell or keep. I am going to do some more tests. I will share few of them on my blog.

Of course we do not recommend or suggest it is merely a reading and you can act only with your work to back up. We can not be held responsible because there is no claim to make nor we are saying we are going to be always accurate. Nobody can do that. It is all a game of probability yet it is better than the game of dices that most people use to buy or sell.
I find that hilarious and then they lose big time and sulk, suffer and swear. We can not trade UNLESS we can make an intelligent decision. Buy or sell on impulse is naive and is like a lottery.
If you have any particular stock post your comment and we can discuss that.

NB: I request that you please follow this blog even though anonymously, as it is completely safe and your identity or email is never visible. We will disable the anon posting shortly. One must know with whom one is communicating. It is very essential as we will reply to friends who FOLLOW just for the records.
Hope you understand. We will be posting some of the requests on blogs too.

Tuesday March two day crucial trading hours

2010-03-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

Travels : Caution

Trades : Ok. Subject to your personal luck and skill market will provide opportunities.

It Can be a day of interesting surprises. Everything is possible.

All times CST Central Time

9 AM Turning point
11 to 11:13 AM Interesting
12 PM Turning point
1:38 PM Harmony
2:15 PM Balance

Sorry I have been confused with timings and from Tomorrow I will post with more precision as I have had some conflicts with GMT EST and CST and day light hours.

PS: As you may note we can post times for certain specific markets if possible.
For Nasdaq + NQ + QQQQ I should have posted 12.13 12.53 AM 2.38 3.15 pm
and for Futures tonight 9.20/9.30 and 10.12 PM and 710 AM for Wed all CST.

Please know that we can not succeed with assumptions. Perceptions formed based on experience are more useful than what we hear or read or believe. Planetary influences can be very treacherous and that is why the treacherous moves in the markets, that are presented each day or hour.
What you were thinking may not be true!! So always keep a contrarian argument to harmonize the perception.
A retrograde or direct planet can reverse all what others have been calculating.
For example, Mars turns direct on March 10th but its impact may be due after 2/3 days.

PS: Position of SLB has come out to be as it was showing yesterday. People who listened carefully last week have made very good gains today so you can not complain:)

I will post from tomorrow TIMING for Nasdaq, Dow Jones and in some cases S&P as that could make more sense. I have been posting timing of general market and this has to be adjusted as per the needs and can vary 20 to 30 minutes -+.
More later...

How to separate the gold from dust

2010-03-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

There are so many views, so many patterns to study and so much to digest for an average trader or manager. It would be much easier if we focused on certain sectors, commodities and some stocks to make it work. I am working on some specific areas now as that could be useful for many friends. If you have any suggestions for any stocks, commodities, futures or fx, please comment and I would surely give you a reading and quick analysis based on my proprietary mechanics that I use to project further.

One sure thing we all must know is that we must absorb and digest all input from all yet decision to trade must be refined and rethought many times by us.
I am just focusing on today for now but I have been given an idea as to study individual commodities and stocks that we could play besides the wide covering indices etc.

Long term plays can only be sustained by well off and well healed and for traders with budget we should be focusing on one day at a time and max a week to come of course it does not hurt to project a month to have clarity.

The idea is to make some gains if we can not do that all talk is just nice talk.

After the jolts some more jolts - Monday for Day traders

2010-03-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

Travels : Better to avoid. Results will be mixed.
Trades : Beneficial. Tricky and boiling day with extreme pressure
A day made for Day traders

KEY hours that may work for day trades

All times Central time
Some conflict at/around 9 AM and around open
Volatile Spikes at 11 am, 11.36 am and 12 pm
More action could be in afternoon hours
1 pm - 1.15 PM CST Positive

This week 2 1/2 up days and 2 neutral
Week 8th/12 March negative
Interesting moves today in all Metals, Energy futures, a few Currencies and few commodities like Cotton, Coffee

How do we foresee into future? - dissoloving the myths of capital markets

2010-02-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

As all experienced traders and investors know that it is literally impossible for anyone to really predict the market course minute to minute. It is not possible and if anyone claims that he or she is hallucinating or a good sales person!!

Fundamental : Please know that all the fundamental analysis, news, information and piles of books, newspapers, sites are useless if you do not specialize. The generic information is nothing but fluff and of not of much use to real traders and investors. IF that was true all great readers would be excellent investors.

Technical : Technical analysis is pretty good because it already factors the above and including the sentiments of the markets. However it takes a long time before one can actually device or perfect a system that really works or results in reliable indicators. Technical readings or any other reading into market is done with our biases and we conclude and judge by our knowledge. Knowledge must be equaled by experience. I know many technical analysts who know nothing about markets and their readings or million line stories are nothing but a maze of junk. You can forget it because you can not make a decision simply by these long stories.
The only way is to do it yourself slowly and gradually and apply it yourself as per your needs.

Feelings : Many people just work by their gut feeling and their absorbed knowledge, info and together we can call it the sentiment; that one has about a particular market or asset. If we rely only on this factor we are doomed. When entire or majority of the market relies on FEELINGS we are doomed for sure and the course is predictable.

Waves and Mathematics : Yes it is all part of nature because we are nature. Yet waves and mathematics, Fibonacci ratios do not really predict a market. They can give us an idea for some clues and some support or resistance etc. picture.
However just relying on these may not be very wise because these are just factors that we may consider. They do not make or break or drive a market.

Esoteric ideas : Many people have funny ideas. I see them using their cat, dog, a sand jar, tea leaves, Indian, Chinese, Mayan and other holy crap and balls etc. All this is as good as the water that is drained in your kitchen sink.
All this does not work in reality. It is just our own subconscious that drives all this mumbo jumbo and nonsense. Most of it is entertainment.

Astrology : 99% of astrologers that you read are actually merely copying someone's ideas or basing psychic kind of ideas that do not make any sense. 99% of astrological readings that you find on the common web sites, magazines or even commercial books is nothing but funny literature for gullible people with little brain of their own. YOU KNOW WHY? Because it is not serious nor the astrologers are serious. They are mostly doing it to pass time or get by to manage a living out of it. Most of it is fictional.

Then what is it that works?
There is a very minor segment of esoteric astrologers and seers who know deeply about the false layers of materialistic smoke that is out there in form of currencies, economies and systems. Most of these systems are man made just to run lives so that some people who are very clever can enrich, live a good life to fulfill their egos and rest of them just are used as fodder.
Out of this minority there are just a few people who really KNOW the secrets of the universe and they can see into past, present and future like a common driver can see the road ahead.

This segment is popularly known as Financial and Mundane astrology but frankly it is much abused too. Most of the moronic stuff you find is unrealistic.
I can tell you that 99% of the very expensive and 10k an hour guys are nothing but clever business people who are abusing others for their personal benefits because they just speculate.

Yet there are some seers who can see through the veil of unreal and real.
There is a way to see into future. This can not be explained in plain words BUT it does work. We use an inexplicable yet real system that is based on eternal knowledge which is neither ancient nor modern because it is timeless.

There is a way to know the basics of our man made world and the real natural universe. This digging and seeing is a very delicate art and science. It is a science because it is based upon real LAWS. These laws are not made by moronic individuals but by higher creative forces which ordinary human beings can not fathom.

We will elaborate on this issue in a later session. Till then we must calm down, not be greedy and shed all fears. That is the only way to live! Once you can live normally you can always win, not only the markets but your life's achievements in a single shot. One has to first close the eyes and dissolve the junk!!

Friday 26th Feb Trading day to come

2010-02-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

Travel : Get back home safely but overall not that bad
Trades : Not THAT bad.
Similar forecast as travels. Could be worse but thank for whatever in hand even though a bit of shocks and surprises.

It is repeated that this blog post is an orientation for friends who day trade futures, currencies and equities. However we will have some indications for future. We do not recommend buying or selling any particular asset or market.

The most important thing for a day trader is to know the TIMING.
The right timing can be the most important element in most cases because whatever the technical charts say, things can be totally different than expected.

Time factor alongwith a hint of direction is enough however it is vital to have in foreground a good knowledge of the market, observed through fundamental or technical analysis or both. At times any of the analysis provides no clues or even a remote hint. Serious astrology can offer a window into good timing.

The KEY hours :

9 AM CST Important to watch

11 AM CST Negative

12 AM CST Few spikes around Noon CST

2 PM CST Very interesting

4 PM CST Interesting. Closing hours are more interesting than opening hours.

March will be a month of great surprises. Just prepare well!!

Markets to come on Thursday

2010-02-25T06:15:00.000-08:00

Travels : Good day
Trades : Not SO bad afterall

When we post here please consider the entire day of 24 hours.
When everything is dark, even a minor spark appears so visible. Everything is down but green returns after red and brown.

Treasuries, USD index, Jap Yen, Platinum is up.
Today is another day of minor surprises.
Not a good idea to suggest when and what to buy/sell as that is subject to your own personal choices and situations and familiarity with a sector, commodity, indice or area of speciality. I strongly suggest to check blog as we can add more information at later hours, and also click on Follow.
Your feedback is very important. Readers energy should be felt to offer more details.
Once known what readers wish will post more specific.

KEY hours crucial for day/position trades. Be careful. Could be a good time to buy - Today and Friday - for the next week.

9.18 am CST. 20 minutes -/+
2 PM cst - 45 minutes -/+
Other interesting hours :
11:50 AM
1230 PM

18:00 PM

Metals like Silver, Gold, Copper will be volatile and low to highs and may offer good opportunity to position for scalper, daytrader and swings.

Additional : Know that we are not in any real trend. It is all volatile and subject to so many variables. The energy is dispersed and not together.
We are entering into a very major direction change or reversal on intermediate term yet we must watch each day carefully and in this environment trading for the day or maximum a swing of 2/3 days is wiser.
My indicators are for the day mostly that also covers evenings and early hours. But if enough people are there I can post for swing.

Do Ben and Barak have answers to the Economy?

2010-02-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

Travels : Not good really
Trades : Very bad for most. If you are nimble and can make quick decisions yet today is a neutral day or rather negative to neutral. Any short lived rally is not real.
The real buying time may begin tomorrow even though not as good as on Fri. I will share with you timing for Thurs and Fri.
KEY HOURS: CST
9 AM somewhat Positive 30 min -+
1.30 to 2.15 PM 20 min -+
A small window between 12.30 to 1.15 pm some moves

Sorry I am late today because I have been awake much of the night, doing lots of research into past recessions, market crashes of past centuries and I find that neither Ben Bernanke has an answer nor the President of a country. The economies are moved by sheer invisible forces that reside in the collective subconscious that are governed by dormant forces which drive the inner impulses.

Commodities : I do see some real good moves on few agri commodities for next days.
If there is any interest I will post for your benefit.

FOREX : There is a long setup for 2 currencies.

Will be adding more later

Moon Mars play this morning

2010-02-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

If you read news you see the consumer confidence index and if you are a Forex trader you see that the dollar index is high, but if you are an astrologer you see the Moon and Mars play like kids at 9 am CST and this means extreme volatility and bi polar swings.

The market today and tomorrow is going to be very shaky and a rough ride!!

At 1 PM cst today there will be conflict.
At 2 pm there is some harmony. So make your decisions.

You could buy some dips with stop losses.

Stocks on 23rd Feb

2010-02-23T06:03:00.000-08:00

Travels : good day
Trades : Not very bright

Markets in general equities and commodities will remain weak or rather not very trendy yet there would be 2 main spikes for the day.
Early Morning markets will be gloomy.
The first hour will have some spikes around 9 am and then at 2pm.
I am not going to post more specifics for now.

I can post more specifically later on some Commodities and Futures if someone asks me.

Copper Futures

2010-02-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

I was watching Copper market Monday and I did take a realtime futures position during the day. Unless you have something at stake you dont feel the market. However keep in mind that we can only gain or lose as per our own personal chart or emotional karmic setup. As I said despite you knowing in advance you may still lose. It happened to me as I had my position without any stop whole day and evening and at 11.40 PM I had to put a stop loss to prepare to close and at 11.42 I was stopped loss and a min after that Copper made a sharp 6 point move. Monday had to be a day of loss for most people.
The market had 4 up cycles despite being in decline overall since the European session had already been down.
As per I had posted the market did make moves sharpt at 11 PM CST.
If you want to see the copper moves, you will see that sharply at 11 pm CST on 22nd Feb Copper made a huge move from 328 to 334. Then at around 5 am 23rd Feb another big move from lower to higher.

Today there will be a move around 9 AM and 2 pm.

Copper Futures Monday

2010-02-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

I had my astro clock bit confusing because it seems I was not sure of day light hour difference. I fixed it now. Currently looking at Copper.
It had a decline around 9 am cst.
1o to 11 AM was favorable but at 12 mercury saturn conflict so bit confusing and again at 2 pm Moon against mer/sat.
March Futures fell from 335 to 329.
Copper has some favorable move tonight at 11 to 5 am which means Asian market may pull it up on 23rd Morning.

When uncertainty hits the markets

2010-02-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

I was aghast and shocked last night when looking at conflicting planetary moves for coming day, yet futures that were all into greens. I thought it was because of USD indexd that most was green but my planetary numbers were telling me that Monday is a down day. I do doubt many times a day if the astrology or any other predictive science can actually do foretell what is to come? At times technical or fundamental analysis of any asset will tell us the clear route to future.

YET despite all, all that is expected sometimes as per our "wishes" or desires or will does not seem to happen.
Today was one such day. I was resisting to post today but I did. I will post my readings frequently for the benefit of many of my friends. It is geared for traders and investors who believe in a second opinion, and who prefer to mitigate any potential losses because in my opinion all that is not lost is actually a premium.
Yet losses do happen. Even when when we know the course of the market. Even when we are in a clear trend. We can still lose!! I will write on that again because this is the question many of my friends have asked me time and again.

I will post my readings. Read them with skepticism or with belief you still must make your own decisions based on your own system. No system in this world can be as good as your own.

NB: If you are a micro time trader and you have any special commodity or sector of equities that you want to work, please let me know. I try to post general trends for now based on S&P 500, Gold and few other major commodities. I will try to read into some key sectors too.

Market on Monday Feb 22

2010-02-22T06:54:00.000-08:00

Monday : Negative for trade and travels

The Chinese new year began with a Tiger like run. Each cyclic move is going to be pretty tigerish, aggressive and unpredictable at times this year.

Monday will be a day of uncertainty, fear and shocks.
The expected by many may not be there.
All times CST.

10 AM CST will provide some respite for a short time.
There would be a window of respite again at 12 noon.
Respite for Bulls here that is.
Around 11 AM CST a minor Gold move and then later this evening in Gold futures.
Monday would be a negative day for travel and trades.

Be careful and trade with caution
Expect positive changes today at 8 and 11 pm and then Tues morning 1 AM 5 AM.