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Forex Forecasts: A Rare Long-Term View

When I worked in London's interbank Foreign Exchange market, the Holiday season would usually make me smile. Not the season itself, although the excessive celebration was fun, but the people I would meet during the inevitable round of social parties. Often, once people found out what I did for a living, they'd ask me a question which usually went something like "I'm going on vacation in six months, should I buy my currency now or later?"

Impressive rupee recovery on forex inflows



he rupee has regained about two per cent of its lost value in two weeks, after hitting a historic low of Rs108.57 against the greenback on December 4.

In the week ended December 13, inflows of $505 million from the UK’s Department for International Development, Islamic Development Bank and other multilateral institutions has to be credited, in large part, for the swift comeback of the rupee.

This inflow also boosted the SBP’s forex reserves to about $3.468 billion, from $2.963 billion a week earlier. Pakistan’s overall forex reserves climbed to $8.526 billion from $8.060 billion, according to recently released SBP statistics.

12 Attractive Stocks For 2014 That Performed Superbly In 2013

With a new year upon us, I would pick the same dozen stocks for 2014, as I expect they will again be standout performers for at least the 12 months. Here are the 12 stock picks:

Apple AAPL +0.83% (AAPL), Bank of America BAC -0.95% (BAC), Coca-Cola KO +0.45% (KO), CVS Caremark (CVS), Facebook (FB), Ford (F), Home Depot (HD), McDonald’s (MCD), Pfizer (PFE), TJX Cos. (TJX), United Health Group (UNH), and Walt Disney (DIS).

Major Banks Suspend Traders for Forex Trading Collusion



About a dozen traders from leading international banks have been suspended over allegations that they improperly shared client data and timed trades in a bid to boost profits in foreign currency exchange (Forex) trading.

Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Citigroup (C), Barclays (BCS), UBS (UBS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) have suspended some London-based employees involved in Forex trading. Among the suspensions were three Forex traders who served on a Bank of England committee that monitors London-based Forex trading markets

Gold heading for biggest annual loss in 32 years



Gold hit a six-month low on Friday, on course for its largest annual loss in 32 years, as the U.S. Federal Reserve's first step away from ultra-loose monetary policy further undermined the investor case for holding bullion.

However, trading volumes in Shanghai are still well below the year's peak of 43.27 tonnes, which was reached on April 22 after global prices plunged by a whopping $208 over two sessions and unleashed pent-up demand.

Silver rose 0.5 percent to $19.38 an ounce. Spot platinum was up 0.7 percent at $1,323.75 an ounce, while spot palladium rose 0.6 percent to $697.75 an ounce.

Market News International’s FX Bullet Point News Now Available on MT4 and MT5 platforms

The wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Börse Group, Market News International (MNI), has today announced the launch of MNI FX Bullet Points now available on the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) FX trading platforms by MetaQuotes.

Oil Rises, Natural Gas Soars

The price of oil rose 1 percent Thursday as stockpiles declined and new indications that demand is rising in the U.S., the world's largest crude consumer.

The price of natural gas soared more than 4 percent to $4.44 per thousand cubic feet — the highest price since July of 2011 — after the government reported a huge draw in supplies, the result of cold temperatures across the U.S. in recent weeks.

The Energy Department said Thursday that natural gas supplies dropped by 285 billion cubic feet last week and are 261 billion cubic feet below the five-year average.

Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery rose 83 cents to $98.63 a barrel in midday trading. Brent crude for February delivery, a benchmark used to price international crudes used by many U.S. refiners, rose 76 cents to $110.39.

Get Ready For Some Gold Volatility (source - kitco.com)

While the "big three" global central banks all have meetings next week, all eyes will be glued on the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on December 18 for the release of the meeting statement and his press conference. The big question, of course, is will the Fed taper its monthly asset bond purchases at this meeting, or will it wait until 2014? Either way, gold prices are likely to see volatile trade.

What are the big picture macro factors gold traders need to remember here?

1. Tapering is not tightening.
2. Tapering is coming, either in December or early 2014.
3. Expansive monetary policy is not the only reason investors purchase gold.
4. There are a bevy of risks lying ahead for the Fed with its "exit" strategy from these historically significant monetary policy actions.
5. The gold market is close to major multi-month chart support.

AUD/USD near 4-month lows in thin trade

The Australian dollar edged down against its U.S. counterpart in thin trade on Wednesday, hovering close to almost four-month lows as expectations for the Federal Reserve to soon begin tapering its stimulus program continued to support the greenback.

AUD/USD hit 0.9138 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9105, slipping 0.21%.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.9038, the low of September 4 and resistance at 0.9204, Tuesday's high.

The release of mixed U.S. economic data on Tuesday did little to shift expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to taper its stimulus program at one of its next few meetings.

Bitcoin hits news record, approaches USD1000 level

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The price of virtual currency Bitcoin rose to a new record high on Wednesday, with the price of one Bitcoin briefly reaching USD977, as the Bitcoin community prepares to hold its own Black Friday event.
The currency approached the USD1000 level, with BTC/USD briefly rising to 977 on the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, the Tokyo based MT Gox before falling back to USD960. This compares to a price of about USD200 in October.

Bitcoin entrepreneur Jon Holmquist has launched a website called Bitcoin Black Friday, aimed at raising awareness about the controversial cryptocurrency, by offering deals on the biggest U.S. shopping day.

A number of businesses including Reddit, CheapAir.com, the first online travel agency to accept Bitcoin, and Gyft, which offers gift cards for retailers such as Amazon.