Exchange Rate Now!

It hardly sound like an enviable name – PIGS. Yet, this is the exact term creatively coined by some journalist which represents the 4 nations in Europe which currently faces the real possibility of financial collapse.

P – Portugal
I – Ireland
G – Greece
S – Spain

It is amazing how Portugal and Spain came to be liken to a financial weakling but years of accumulating debts, borrowings and poor financial controls brought it to the same state with Greece. Amongst the European Union now, leaders must be asking themselves what should be the collective next steps instead of just verbatim. The next step would really have to be (more…)

Just when everyone thought that we had recovered from the global financial crisis which started in late 2008, the Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are now reeling from a long overdue aftermath and plunged in late Feb 2010.

The direct impact on forex led the a spike in US Dollar against major currencies like the Euro and the Japanese Yen. The hope is now on the drop in unemployment rate to stabilise the economy and bring back the much needed confidence into the stock markets around the world and as a result bring more predictability into the forex market.

As at 6 Feb 2010, the US Dollar was trading at 

1 U.S. dollar = 0.733460466 Euros

or  Euro = 1.3634 U.S. dollars. Nowhere near the levels last seen in Dec 2008 but surely a worrying sign even for USA, as a appreciating US Dollar may hamper exports and put a damper on economic growth.

Adding more complexity to the equation is the result concern on European debts. Countries in European Union (EU) like Greece, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and other countries in Europe like Iceland still could not shake off the stigma of an imminent collapse in financial system. If this scenario truly materialize in the Eurozone, it could lead to (more…)

While most major economies are trying to revive themselves from the financial crisis which shocked the world in Oct 2008, another mini-crisis occurred recently when President Obama mooted plan to further control and constrict major financial institutions (Banks and Hedge funds) for reaching a critical size that will enable them to weld substantial market influence.

Another spanner was thrown by Greece recently, howbeit it only affects the Euro zone.

One of the countries in Europe which had already adopted the Euro as the national currency, Greece financial stability came under scrutiny recently due to concerns if the Greek government can actually pay off the national debt and guarantee the levelling of government bonds.

Things cumulated into a jittery forex trading market on 28th Jan 2010 when a sell-off of Euro began, enabling forex traders who punt on the US Dollar smiling all the way to the bank (more…)