Forex Gump

European bond auctions have been hogging the spotlight lately, and not in a good way. With bond yields rising here and there, the idea of joint euro zone bonds has resurfaced as a potential savior for the region. But why, oh why, is Germany against this idea?

Two days ago, a Greek government official was caught on the wires saying that Greece only has enough cash for the next 20 days. If they do not get funds, they will have to default and they won’t be able to pay government salaries and pensions.

When the term “safe haven” is brought up, the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and gold are usually the first things to come to mind. But lately, one currency has been acting more and more like a safe haven, at least in Europe. Everyone, meet the British pound!

We’re nearing the end of 2011, but sadly, it looks like European officials aren’t making any progress in finding a solution to the ongoing debt crisis. In fact, it seems that the tension is getting on everyone’s nerves as officials are starting to play the blame game and point fingers at each other.

It has been almost three weeks since the FOMC’s interest rate decision yet investors, as well as traders, are still confused as ever about the committee’s plan. It is for this particular reason that the upcoming meeting minutes will be watched very closely.

Hearing EZ leaders bicker about how to address the debt crisis isn’t new to us. Now Germany and France are at it again. What are they arguing about this time? The ECB.

Japan has been notorious for intervening in the markets to weaken the yen. They did this back in October 31 when they pushed USD/JPY as high as 79.50. Unfortunately, it appears that their efforts are short-lived, as the pair has almost returned to its pre-intervention levels.

In its latest interest rate decision the Bank of England voted to keep its asset purchases target steady at 275 billion GBP. Does this mean that the central bank is done stimulating the economy? Here are four reasons why the BOE might go for more QE.

Not sure what to do with the Aussie? Well, here are 4 reasons why you might wanna consider taking a short bias on AUD/USD!

Uh oh. It looks like President Obama is done playing good ol’ Mr. Nice Guy to China. In a conference earlier this week, he told Chinese officials that the yuan is just moving TOO slow. Do I smell a trade war brewing?