Market Steadies On Greece Deal

Posted on February 22, 2012 by OptionsClick

editorial cartoon of the european bailout of the greek state ship for binary options news update

Things are about to go swimmingly well in Greek waters ... or are they?

Early Asian trading indicates a show of investor caution as doubts grew that the 130bn Euros bail out money secured by Greece will not be enough to solve the debt problems of the country. The news that Greece had secured the 130bn euros initially boosted markets yesterday with large gains seen in the commodity markets and in the Euro. However, the politically unpopular austerity reforms has yet to be implemented and with public sector lay offs and harsh pension reforms ahead, many investors envisage political and economic trouble ahead in Greece. The EUR/USD was slightly ahead, up 0.03% trading at 1.3238, whilst the GBP/USD was up 0.07%, trading at 1.5790.

The largest gains made in the currency market were seen in the USD/JPY pairing, up 0.37%, trading at 80.04. The Japanese Yen is coming under increasing pressure as a safe haven currency as investors are now speculating on whether or not the Bank of Japan will intervene to ensure the Yen stays affordable in the export market.

The commodity markets which saw healthy gains made during the week was pegged back in Asian trading as investors cashed on gains and a strengthened greenback, and some took more risk positions. One of the biggest fallers so far was in the precious metals market, with Silver falling 0.55%, trading at 34.240. The other precious metal; Gold was down 0.06%, trading at 1757.55 a troy ounce. Natural Gas dropped the largest amount – 1.15%, primarily on the mild winter weather and high supply levels.

Investors should keep an eye out for industry data on home sales being released in the US later today. This is a leading indicator of the demand in the housing market and the forecasted figure is expected to be up to 4.67m from the previous 4.61m indicating a boost for the USD.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of OptionsClick, blog.optionsclick.com, OptionsClick.com or any of its staff. The contents of this article are in no way intended to be advice or any other form of counsel for any trader of binary options or any other investor. Please be advised: Investing of any kind always carries a relative risk. As with any market trading, it is always possible to lose your investment. Always be sure to do your own research, seek professional advice, and make your own, well-educated decisions when it comes to financial investments.

Commodities Soar On Greek Deal

Posted on February 21, 2012 by OptionsClick

binary options news illustration of hercules and his thirteenth labor eur funded greek bailout. image inspired by J. Frank

Who's bailout is trying to save your ship?

The news that EU, IMF and ECB officials have finally agreed to supply 130bn euros of bailout money to Greece to avoid a messy default on the loan repayment of 14.5 bn euros for March 20th, sent the commodity markets soaring in Asian trading. The deal will see Greece bring its debt to GDP ratio down to 121% by 2020 from its current levels of approximately 160%. The news of an agreement sent the Euro higher against most major currencies, but it was in the commodity markets that the most gains have been recorded. Gold was up 0.98%, trading at 1742.75 an ounce, whilst Silver registered the largest increase, with a rise of 1.7%, trading at 33.780.

Crude Oil continued the rise seen yesterday as the weakened greenback and increased saber rattling between Iran and the West (it was the French’s turn to ramp up the rhetoric yesterday) helped push the price of Crude Oil up 1.60% trading at 105.25 a barrel.

The gains made in the USD in very early Asian trading were quickly wiped out once the Greek deal had been announced. At one point the EUR/USD fell 0.36%, trading at 1.3194. However, once the deal was hammered out, the greenback found investors moving into the Euro, with the EUR/USD now up 0.17%, trading at 1.3264 (7.07amGMT) ahead of European markets opening. The Euro is continuing to climb against most major currencies – EUR/CHF was up 0.03%, trading at 1.2074 after losing ground earlier in the trading session. The USD however, is so far holding on to gains made in the Cable, with the GBP/USD down 0.06% trading at 1.5840 and the USD/JPY up 0.24%, trading at 79.82 Yen, showing the indifference in sentiment that investors are holding about the news of an agreement emanating from Greece.

Today is a quiet day on the economic calendar with the highlight being a 10am release of the consumer confidence report released by the European Commission. The forecast of which is expected to be slightly down (-21 from the last reading of -20)

MARKET CLICK – MONDAY, FEB 20 2012

Posted on February 20, 2012 by OptionsClick

Trader Mavens! Every Monday we give away $250 cash!

Congratulations to last week’s winners

Iran Cuts Oil to Britain and France, Greece to Get Bailout

Iran has stopped selling Oil to Britain and France in retaliation for recent sanctions.

Greece and Euro Zone agree to terms of second bailout package. This is sending European stocks and the Euro up.

China’s relaxing of monetary policies put them in line with other central banks thus promoting a positive economic growth outlook. This news is leading Asian stocks up and investors towards Gold as a hedge against inflation.

US markets gained last week and the Dow Jones looks to push past 13,000 this week on good news from Greece and their approved bailout package.

ASSET	CHANGE	LAST	TREND	PLATFORM
NIKKEI	+ 95.65	9479.82	UP	HIGH/LOW
S&P 500	+ 3.19	1,361.23	UP	HIGH/LOW
NASDAQ	- 8.07	2,951.78	UP	HIGH/LOW
GOLD	+ 10.50	$1,736.40	UP	ONE TOUCH
OIL	+ 1.67	$104.91	UP	HIGH/LOW
EUR/USD	+ 0.0029	$1.3211	UP	HIGH/LOW
USD/JPY	- 0.09	79.52	DOWN	HIGH/LOW
DOW	+ 45.79	12,949.87	UP	HIGH/LOW
GOOG	- 1.88	604.64	UP	HIGH/LOW

How will you profit this week at OptionsClick?

WHAT SHOULD I TRADE? EUR/USD, GOLD, OIL

WHAT ARE THE TRENDS? Gold and Oil are looking to rise this week along with US markets and the Euro.

WHAT PLATFORM SHOULD I USE? Use the ONE TOUCH orHIGH/LOW platforms for best results this week.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? Keep up to date with news from Iran. Continued tensions will lead to higher prices, and positive progress may send prices slightly downward.

USD Under Pressure

Posted on February 20, 2012 by OptionsClick

binary options news editorial ahmedinajad cartoon

Who's your oil dictator?

The greenback found itself under pressure in early Asian trading as China’s central bank slashed the reserve requirement for Chinese banks meaning they could hold less cash and potentially lend more out. This move pushed investors across the globe into more risky positions on the felling that China regards inflation as less of a worry and that the time is right for more expansionary policies to be implemented.

As Greece edged ever closer to securing the EUR 130bn bailout fund money on Friday, investors showed renewed optimism for the Euro, in time for the loan repayment of 14.5 bn euros due by Greece, on March 20th.

To compound the pressure on the USD as a safe haven, Iran announced over the weekend that it was to stop selling oil to Britain and France ahead of the July 1st ban that the EU imposed on Iranian Oil exports. Crude Oil gained over 1.6% on Friday and in early Asian trading the price of Crude Oil has risen 1.65%, trading at 105.31.

The rising oil prices coupled with Chinese strength and renewed optimism over Greece helped to send the greenback down against most major currencies. The EUR/USD pairing was up 0.54%, trading at 1.3210 whilst the GBP, buoyed by encouraging retail sales, was up 0.28%, with the Cable trading at 1.5873.

Against the commodity linked Aussie, the USD was down 0.64%, trading at 1.0774 whilst against the oil linked Canadian Dollar the USD was down 0.47%, trading at 0.9926.
Investors will keep an eye on events in Greece when European markets open and whether or not the return for a risk appetite can be sustained.

Greek Optimism boosts end-of-week trading

Posted on February 19, 2012 by OptionsClick

binary options editorial cartoon of new greek budget plans versus the euro

How's Euro Greek Vase?

In what was a very volatile trading week, the final trading sessions ended on an optimistic high as Greece edged ever closer to securing the 130bn euros of bail out money needed to secure the next tranche of funds and avoid a messy default on its loan repayment, due on March 20th. Such a default would send monetary institutions around the world into chaos and could well spell an end to the Euro or at least Greece’s involvement in it. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos managed to pass through the coalition parliament tough austerity measures that include public sector redundancies and pension reforms. However doubts emerged over whether or not Greece can meet its target of its debt-to-GDP ratio to 120% by the year 2020. On the optimism of Greece finally reaching a deal; the EUR/USD ended Friday 0.07% up, trading at 1.3139.

Boosting the British Pound on Friday was the release of January’s retail sales figures. The increase of 0,9% was better-than-expected and was seen by investors as building on the 0.6% volume increase seen in December. Earlier in the week, unemployment figures in the UK received a boost when UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the 3 months to December, the smallest increase in nearly a year. However, the unemployment rate of 8.4% now stands at the highest level for 16 years and there was also a new record for the amount of young people (16 – 24) unemployed, increasing 22,000 to 1.04m, giving an unemployment rate to 22.2%. The markets reacted positively to the UK data and the GBP/USD was up 0.18%, trading at 1.5828.

In the commodity markets, crude oil surged on Friday on the back of renewed Greek optimism and increased tensions in Iran. The price if crude oil saw the biggest gains made in the commodity markets, increasing 1.60%, trading at 104.28 a barrel.

Euro Falls on Greece Setback

Posted on February 16, 2012 by OptionsClick

trading goes sledding on downward financial headlines in this binary options cartoon from optionsclick blog

Are you trading Touch and Go or sledding High and Low?

The EUR dropped in Asian trading as a raft of disappointing economic news from Europe added to the already worrying news that the EU leaders cancelled a meeting yesterday which was to sign off the Greek bailout funds; citing fears that Greece does not have the political support to implement strong austerity measures passed in the Greek parliament this week.

The Euro fell against most major currencies, falling 0.42% against the USD, trading at 1.3012 and the EUR/JPY fell to 102.09 in Asian markets, a decline of 0.39% The pair is expected to test support at Monday’s low of 101.84, , and test the resistance level of Wednesday’s high at 103.49.

Latest figures published yesterday show that both the Netherlands and Italy saw contractions in their economies by 0.7% in Q4 of 2011 – their second months of contraction. Germany, the powerhouse of the Eurozone, registered its first negative quarter since 2009, showing a decline of 0.2%. Surprisingly France posted growth of 0.2% with the French economy growing by 1.7% for 2011 whilst Germany recorded 3% growth for the year.

European Growth Rates

	3^rd Quarter	4^th Quarter	2011
Eurozone	0.1%	-0.3%	1.5%
Germany	0.6%	-0.2%	3.0%
France	0.3%	0.2%	1.7%
Italy	-0.2%	-0.7%	0.4%
Austria	0.2%	-0.1%	1.2%
Netherlands	-0.4%	-0.7%	1.3%

The decline in the EUR saw a move into the USD as investors looked for a safe haven. The greenback was up marginally against the other safe haven; the Yen, increasing 0.02%, trading at 78.45 whilst against the Swissie, the USD/CHF was up 0.37%, trading at 0.9270.

As a result of the strengthening US Dollar, commodities across the board fell with a 0.24 decline in Gold and a 0.31% decrease in the value of Silver, trading at 33.305.

As well as the usual close monitoring of the Greek situation, investors should keep an eye out for government data on building permits and housing starts published in the US as well as a statement by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Japan Intervenes to Boost Economy, Greece Undertakes Superhuman Role

Posted on February 15, 2012 by OptionsClick

greek public order minister christos papoutsis aka: superminister in a binary options news editorial caricature

What color does your superminister wear?

The Bank of Japan yesterday made a market-pleasing move to provide stimulus and boost growth in its economy. The announcement to increase its asset purchase programme by 10tn Japanese Yen ($130bn) comes just a day after official data published showed that the Japanese economy contracted by 2.3% in the last Quarter of 2011, a figure that was more-than-expected.

The easing measures move, aimed to halting the gains seen in the Yen, had an immediate effect as the Yen fell against the EUR and the AUD, with EUR/JPY advancing 0.26% to 103.29 and AUD/JPY increasing 0.42%, trading at 84.22. The USD/JPY pairing saw a slight increase of 0.06%, trading at 78.49.

Meanwhile, the Greek Minister of Public Order, Mr. Christos Papoutsis, has stated that Greece has already undertaken “superhuman efforts” to keep the Hellenic nation from being the next FAIL meme. His comments came in response to the cancellation of an important Euro Zone members meeting to try and tackle the debt crisis tearing at the seams of the European Union.

Growing tensions in between Iran, Israel and the West helped push Crude Oil up with the price at one point in Asian trading, breaking the 102.00 a barrel price, the highest it has been since the 19th January. At time of writing the price has slipped back a little, with a barrel trading at 101.86, a rise of 0.77%. The signs that sanctions by the EU and the U.S. against oil exports from Iran were starting to have an effect also lent support. This weekend saw U.S.-based companies in control of over 100 super tankers confirming that they would halt loading cargoes of Iranian crude oil, firming up sanctions against the 4th largest producer of oil.

Today investors should look out for Bank of England inflation report, Governor King talking and unemployment claims all being released in the UK today. Ahead of the important releases, the GBP/USD was up 0.18%, trading at 1.5724

Euro down on credit downgrades

Posted on February 14, 2012 by OptionsClick

binary options cartoon of cupid and his eur / usd options trading the binary options news

What asset is your heart set on this Valentine's Day?

Fresh from a greek inspired rally, the Euro fell in Asian trading after Moody’s the credit ratings agency downgraded 6 European nations with threats to downgrade a further 3. Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta were all downgraded and negative outlooks applied to France, Austria and the UK. The negative outlook makes it likely that France, the UK and Austria will lose their much coveted AAA credit rating.

The action by Moody’s dampened the appetite for risk shown by investors following on from a deal reached between Greece, the IMF, the ECB and the EU for 130bn of euros in order to secure a next tranche of funds and prevent a default on its loan repayment due on March 20th. The EUR/USD was down 0.38% in Asian Markets, trading at 1.3137 whilst the EUR/JPY reached 102.11, falling 0.18%. This is up from a session low of 101.84 and from a high of 102.36 with the pair expected to find support at 101.84, the previous low, and likely to find resistance at Monday’s high of 103.18.

The strengthening of the greenback meant that there was a fall in commodities with Gold down 0.42%, trading at 1717.65 whilst the other precious metal – Silver, also fell, decreasing 0.6%, trading at 33.520. The broad strength of the USD also saw the greenback up against the Japanese Yen, with the USD/JPY increasing 0.52%, trading at 77.98.

Investors should keep an eye out for eurozone industrial output figures released and U.K. inflation data being published today and the Bank of Japan is scheduled to provide a press conference later in the day to discuss monetary policy.

MARKET CLICK – MONDAY, FEB 13 2012

Posted on February 13, 2012 by OptionsClick

Trader Mavens! Every Monday we give away $250 cash!
Congratulations to last week’s winners

Stocks Climb on Greek Austerity Vote

With default looming, and despite angry protesters, Greece voted in favor of austerity measures for it’s 130B Euro bailout package. But on Feb 15th EU finance ministers must vote again to approve or deny the 2nd bailout package.

Euro and stocks rise on news of the Greece vote. However Germany warns that Greece may still miss deficit goals which would again jeopardize the future of Greece’s economy.

Japan’s economy shrank 0.6% (more than expected) in 4th quarter 2011. The Bank of Japan is scheduled to make a policy decision Tuesday in response to the Fed’s announced commitment to near zero interest rates.

Oil advanced on news of Greece’s approved austerity measures and sanctions against Iran. The sanctions appear to be affecting shippers decisions to continue loading oil from Iran thus implying a potentially lower supply of oil flow to western countries.

Gold continues to advance upwards of it’s recent lows. Analysts believe that resistance is expected at $1,760 for now, and the next mark of resistance should be at $1,800.

ASSET	CHANGE	LAST	TREND	PLATFORM
NIKKEI	+ 51.49	8,998.66	UP	HIGH/LOW
S&P 500	- 9.31	1,342.64	UP	HIGH/LOW
NASDAQ	- 23.35	2,903.88	UP	HIGH/LOW
GOLD	+ 5.40	$1,730.70	DOWN	ONE TOUCH
OIL	+ 0.94	$99.61	DOWN	HIGH/LOW
EUR/USD	+ 0.0047	$1.3254	UP	HIGH/LOW
USD/JPY	+ 0.02	77.56	UP	HIGH/LOW
DOW	- 89.23	12,801.23	UP	HIGH/LOW
GOOG	- 5.55	605.91	UP	HIGH/LOW

How will you profit this week at OptionsClick?

WHAT SHOULD I TRADE? JPY/USD, EUR/USD, GOOG, GOLD, OIL

WHAT ARE THE TRENDS? Gold should continue to rise until resistance levels and EUR should rise with Greek bailout approval.

WHAT PLATFORM SHOULD I USE? Use the ONE TOUCH or HIGH/LOW platforms for best results this week.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? News regarding Greece will lead trends as they also will affect outlooks in other struggling EU countries.

	Recent Popular Trends
	GOLD HIGH
	GOOG HIGH
	USD/JPY LOW
	EUR/USD TOUCH

Greek Vote Boosts Euro

Posted on February 13, 2012 by OptionsClick

athens - the birth place of civil, western democracy - binary options cartoon by optionsclick blog binary options news udpate sevice

Panic in the Streets of Athens

Following on from the Greek parliamentary vote to accept strict austerity reforms in order to receive money from the bail out fund, the markets received a boost with investors showing support for the Euro and making moves away from the safe haven USD. The acceptance by the Greek parliament comes after weeks of negotiations with the IMF, EU and ECB and means that Greece is closer to securing 130bn euros of the bailout fund and now looks likely to have prevented a default on its loan repayment due on March 20th. The EUR/USD was up 0.48%, trading at 1.3262, reaching a two month high. The much maligned EUR was also up against the GBP and the JPY, increasing 14% to 0.8388 in the EUR/GBP rising 0.31% at 102.74 in the EUR/JPY.

The prevention of a default and the boost it has given to the Eurozone helped push other markets up. In the commodity markets, Gold was up 0.34%, trading at 1731.25 an oz and Silver increased 0.71%, trading at 33.843 as investors abandoned the USD. Traditionally Gold prices strengthen as the USD declines and vice versa. The USD was down against most currencies as the appetite for risk returned to the markets. Against the swissie, the USD was down 0.55% trading at 0.9114, but the biggest movement was seen against the commodity linked Aussie, with the AUD/USD up 0.73% trading at 1.0571. This was on the back of the news that the number of new home loans granted in Australia increased more-than-expected in January, rising to a seasonally adjusted 2.3%, from 1.4% in the December, beating the expected rise of 1.9%. Crude Oil also made gains on the Greek vote, up 0.89%, trading at 99.91 a barrel.

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Market Steadies On Greece Deal

Commodities Soar On Greek Deal

USD Under Pressure

Greek Optimism boosts end-of-week trading

Euro Falls on Greece Setback

Japan Intervenes to Boost Economy, Greece Undertakes Superhuman Role

Euro down on credit downgrades

Greek Vote Boosts Euro