Forex Gump

We all know the SNB set a floor on EUR/CHF at 1.0200, but how about the BOJ? Is a EUR/JPY-based intervention in the works?

Boy, did the euro have a bad day on Friday the 13th! Renowned credit rating agency S&P downgraded nine European countries and sent the shared currency to its monthly lows! Thinking of going short? You may want to think twice. Some economic gurus say that the effect of the downgrades will likely be muted in this week’s trading. Here are four reasons why:

ECB President Mario Draghi claims that the ECB’s debt crisis strategy is working. Should we believe him?

Lost amongst all the hoopla surrounding the ECB and BOE interest rate decisions last Thursday was the release of U.S. retail sales figures for December. After last month’s disappointing results, what could be in store for the U.S. economy moving forward?

When it comes to debt problems, the first words that that come into mind are “euro” and “zone.” But lately, there’s this one country that is threatening to take the spotlight away from the euro zone. I’m talking about Hungary.

My man U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim G. visited Beijing earlier this week, and while the value of the yuan and the European debt crisis were also on the agenda, the issue that took the spotlight was that of Iranian oil. Will China join the Western powers and ban the importation of Iranian oil?

You’ve probably read about SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand’s resignation last Monday. The question is, how will it affect the central bank’s future policy decisions? Here’s my two cents on it.

Just when we thought that the European leaders’ meetings last month have done the trick for the euro, Angela Merkel brings Greece’s vulnerability back into the spotlight. Will the EZ leaders’ latest demands send Greece one step closer to a default?

Well, well, well, what a pleasant late Christmas gift! In case you missed all the action last Friday, the U.S. labor market added 200,000 jobs last December, beating forecasts of 155,000. As my man Larry Bird would say, “Boomshakalaka!”

The U.S. ain’t the only economy driving analysts loco by defying their expectations, ya know. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the United Kingdom is also off to a good start for 2012, printing one positive report after another. In fact, the recent figures we’ve seen have been pretty impressive that some analysts are saying that the country may even avoid a recession!