May 2011

The Euro declined against 11 out of 16 other major currencies, amidst concerns about a possible restructuring of Greece’s debt. The Euro-USD exchange rate declined by 0.1562 percent to $ 1.4097. European finance ministers are expected to meet today and tomorrow in order to look into Greece’s request for an additional 110 billion Euros from…Read more

Oil futures dropped on fears of a sluggish US economy and renewed concerns over Greece’s sovereign debt issues. WTI crude futures for June delivery dropped by 1.03 percent to USD $ 98.620 a barrel. Brent crude futures declined by 0.47 percent to USD $ 113.30 a barrel. US President Barrack Obama expressed his fears in…Read more

Oil futures advanced amidst signs that the Euro zone was experiencing strong economic activity which is expected to strengthen demand of oil from the region. WTI crude futures rose by 0.39 percent to USD $ 99.65 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose by 0.75 percent to USD $ 113.83 a barrel. The EU’s statistics department…Read more

The Euro Declined against the US Dollar after US Treasury yields increased and it was reported that consumer confidence had increased in the US. The Euro-USD exchange rate declined by 0.1260 percent to USD $ 1.4228.The Thomson Reuters preliminary consumer sentiment index increased to 70 in May from its value of 69.8 in April. An…Read more

Gold and silver prices slipped, as the Chinese Central Bank increased the Reserves Requirement Ratio, oil prices tumbled and the US Dollar regained in value. Gold futures for June delivery fell by 0.21 percent to USD $ 1503.70 an ounce. Silver futures fell by 0.15 percent to last settle at USD $ 34.745 an ounce….Read more

Oil futures declined on the back of signs that the high oil prices were eating into the global demand of oil and were also affecting the recovery of the global economy. WTI crude futures fell by 0.37 percent to USD $ 98.60 a barrel, while Brent futures decreased by 0.02 percent to USD $ 112.96…Read more

Agnes recently did a lot of work in putting together a short course on correlations from a risk and trading point of view. Unlike the boring text book stuff, there are some interesting lessons and applications here if you want to track correlations over a period of time as a trader or risk manager. This…Read more

Interesting questions being posed on the 1+% growth in US business inventories and the 2+% increase in US retail sales. Is it really growth or the impact of QE2 plus the rise of 15% in oil prices in the month of April 2011. Given everything else that has been happening in the last two weeks,…Read more

The Euro advanced against 12 of its 16 counterpart currencies, including the US Dollar, as optimism about a healthy growth in the European economy overtook concerns about the region’s debt crisis. The Euro-USD exchange rate rose by 0.1439 percent to USD $ 1.4212. The EU’s economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in…Read more

Gold and silver advanced on account of rising levels of inflation and the European Debt Crisis. Gold futures gained 0.23 percent to be at USD $ 1504.90 an ounce, while silver futures added 0.03 percent in their value to be at USD $ 35.525 an ounce. Inflation continues to remain high in several economic powerhouses,…Read more