Currency: Peace and safety in the currency markets

Stagnation is the best word to describe the international currency markets Thursday. Investors enjoy themselves in their shelter from the news from both debt crisis as well as the macroeconomic front. But it is only a matter of time, according to analysts.

Bonds: The Spanish problems pours in

The yield spread between South and North Europe widened considerably Wednesday, when there were major decline in interest rates in Northern Europe and significant increases in Southern Europe and especially Spain.

Europe: Mining industry under pressure despite positive market

It was much of the day relatively quiet on the European stock markets Tuesday. But as investors got new economic data from the United States in the form of particular consumer confidence a trickling market turned - if not flashy – to a plus. Consumer confidence surprised positively with an increase of 70.3 against the expected 63.1 got liquidity back in the market.

Europe: Investors pulled back

European investors pulled back from the stock market Monday after a weekend, which showed that Germany and France still does not quite agree to how the crisis should be handled. While France wants as quickly as possible a launch of a joint bank union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel does not want to set a time for it.

Commodities: Gold still rides on the wave from the debt crisis

The price of gold rose Friday morning after analysts at Bank of America and Deutsche Bank made their estimates for prices in the coming year. This happens after the Federal Reserve announced a third round of quantitative easing and the Bank of Japan a few days ago announced that the bank would raise fund for bond purchases.

Bonds: Europe in small side steps

European bond yields Thursday painted a picture of a somewhat indecisive market after a number of key areas such as European consumer confidence and U.S. business outlook index from Philadelphia Fed more or less equalized Wednesday’s fluctuations.

Currency: yen and yuan in trampolining

At Wednesday's currency market it was especially Asian currencies, which attracted attention. Both the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen gave it as a spring gymnasts against the dollar and the two currencies internal balance of power could clearly be read in the Japanese central bank support programs.

Bonds: Falling interest rates in both the north and south

A fall in the European stock markets Tuesday had investors seeking back in the safe haven in the bond market.

Stocks: Profit taking in New York

The U.S. investors followed the trend in Europe and took some of their winnings home after days of sharp rises. The leading index seeped through the day and was in the red by market close.

Gold heading towards $ 2000 per ounce

The price of gold may be headed for a new record within six months. So believes the Canadian investment bank TD Securities, who sees the price reach $ 2000 per ounce as the new quantitative easing in the U.S. may increase inflation.

Stocks: Europe high in the air - Wall Street loses steam

It was a really good day on the European stock markets, and the investors can largely thank the U.S. central bank chairman Ben Bernanke for that. In the U.S. the stock market flew out of the starting blocks from the morning in New York, but the air is four hours later gone a little out of the balloon.

Investors welcome the Fed's checkbook

The U.S. investors after some indecision decided that the new round of central bank bond purchases provides better prospects for companies.

Bond purchase of 40 billion dollar a month

The Fed, sets in motion a large-scale purchases of mortgage bonds and ratchets up the printing press. Moreover Operation Twist continues.

Bonds: Interest rate increases after German yes

Wednesday's developments in the bond market showed increasing interest in the strong northern European economies.

Europe: German court voting in favor of participation in the ESM

The German Constitutional Court has approved its participation in the European Stability Mechanism, ESM.

Currency: Quiet market opens up new opportunities

The players in the international currency markets is again Tuesday extremely reluctant to take new positions on the books. But the quiet markets is not so bad that it's not good for something.

Europe: Marginal fluctuations without actual trend

The European stock markets closed Monday with marginal losses. Investors were unsure of the direction of the market should, and risk appetite was again up for debate.

The weekend's weak economic data from China and Japan suggest a slowdown in global growth, and new initiatives from the Chinese authorities can become a reality, just as the Federal Reserve, monetary policy meeting Thursday may result in additional quantitative easing to increase growth and specifically employment.

Weak U.S. economy may force Bernanke to take action

A majority of analysts expect the Fed at its meeting Thursday will announce support acquisitions to boost the U.S. economy.

The continued weakness in the U.S. data is likely to force the Federal Reserve to initiate another round of bond purchases with the aim of forcing borrowing costs down and boost the U.S. economy.

Keep your trading (or transaction) costs down

The cheapest online brokers' charge 0.05 percent in commercial brokerage, and most major banks, three times more. So if you do not use the bank's consulting, you should go for the cheapest prices.

In stock trading one often tends to only focus on whether a stock can be sold at a price higher than it is purchased for.

Currency: Euro pushed up by poor job report

The past week has been in the common European currency's favor, and Friday the enthusiasm for the euro had no end.

For not only did the European Central Bank Thursday put heavy lines in the currency as one of the three major global currency units. The central bank also launched a European version of the American "operation twist" with the purchase of short-term bonds from the debt-ridden southern European countries.

Shares and interest rates fall after disappointing job report

The disappointing U.S. employment report draws negative track the financial markets, where both equities and interest rates fall.

The German DAX stock index fell by 0.4 percent, as the job report was announced.  After a few minutes the DAX index recovered again.

Europe: ECB opened the floodgates

There was distinct relief in European markets after the ECB's presentation of a rescue plan for the euro and the debt-ridden southern European countries. After days of anxious waiting markets could relate to something real, and the investors were not disappointed. Quite the contrary. The wait was finally over, and it created intense activity and sharply rising prices.

Europe: Cautious dance before the ECB meeting

With the exception of London's FTSE 100 index, which fell 0.3 percent, there were generally small increases on the European stock markets on Wednesday.

The general European Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.1 per cent. to 265.56 after taking small jumps up during the day. Among the index stocks, the British soft drinks manufacturer Britvic rose to the top with an increase of 12.6 percent to 369.9 pence. The increase began early in the day, when Bloomberg News reported that there is talk of a merger with soft drink competitor AG Barr, which among other things produces the popular Orangina-soft drink.

Currency: Speculation on the ECB's intentions strengthens euro

Euro strengthened against the dollar and the yen on Tuesday morning on speculation that the ECB's president, Mario Draghi, will give the debt-ridden euro countries a helping hand by buying their bonds in the market.

According to Jean-Paul Gauze, who sits in the European Parliament for France, Mario Draghi said to the European parliament that he was open to the possibility of buying government bonds years in the market with a maturity of up to three.

Moody's: EU credit in the balance

The credit rating of the EU is in danger of being lowered.

The rating agency Moody's said that it has changed its outlook for the current assessment of the EU in a negative direction. It is usually a warning that creditworthiness will soon be downgraded.

Commodities: Large price increases after Bernanke speech

Oil prices rose over the weekend on top of Jackson Hole Symposium and Ben Bernanke's speech, which did not offer clear signs of new quantitative easing, although unemployment in the U.S. economy worries head of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the U.S. oil production is these days resumed after Hurricane Isaac, and is Monday morning up to 28 percent of normal capacity.

Currency: Utter silence ahead of the ECB meeting Thursday

If there was quiet in the international currency markets late last week, there is deafening silence Monday. The market responded only briefly to chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke's speech on the financial summit in Jackson Hole on Friday night.

Beware of “cheap” stocks

We are all looking for cheap stocks. Because if they are cheap, they will soon rise. So say our logic. But when is a stock cheap? Here are a review of  the most common tripwires when speaking generally about cheap stocks.

The best that could be desired as a private investor is to buy a cheap stock. To buy cheap and sell expensive is what we all dream about. But just wanting to buy a cheap stock unfortunately opens for a whole series of errors that may come to cost much money.