Independent Investor

The euro fell to a year-and-a-half low on Friday, with analysts expecting an even further fall over the remainder of Q1 following the decision by Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the ratings of nine Eurozone countries over persistent concerns over the strength of the single currency and ongoing pressures on significant economies including Greece.
The euro has been subject to weak trading, falling to its lowest level against the dollar in a year and a half in light of the impact of S&P’s decision to downgrade French debt, in addition to …

The US trade deficit increased by over 10.4% in November as a result of record imports fuelled by strong demand for foreign manufactured goods and the high cost of importing oil after another year of strong oil prices, marking the first growth in the trade gap in five months.
The US trade deficit increased in November by 10.4%, the first growth in the deficit in five months as a consequence of higher imports and import costs and weaker exports on previous months.
According to US Commerce Department figures, the trade deficit grew …

France has lost its AAA credit rating, along with several other European economies afflicted by ongoing concerns about the viability of the Eurozone at credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, leading to higher borrowing costs for servicing already burgeoning national debts.
France has become the latest casualty of the ongoing Eurozone crisis after credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the French AAA credit rating, leading to a rise in borrowing costs and the costs of servicing the national debt.
The decision will lead to more significant borrowing costs for the …

The price of oil futures has been suppressed by an indicated delay in sanctions on Iran which would effectively ban Iranian oil, as the EU seeks to offer a six month timetable for members to establish alternative sources of fuel.
The market for oil futures suffered its worst trading week of 2012 so far following an indication from senior EU officials that suggest a ban on Iranian oil could be delayed for a further six months in order to prevent supply issues.
Futures were down over 2.3% on the week after an …

Futures traders have benefited from further rising prices in the orange juice futures market, which some analysts have forecast will lead to higher prices for consumers´, amidst concerns over the integrity of several key orange crops globally which it is feared could lead to a supply shortage.
Concern over the impact of persistent drought on Mexico’s pending orange crop has sent the orange juice futures market rallying up over 3.6% last week, providing an opportunity for commodities traders to capitalize on forecast supply-side issues.
Orange juice futures for March closed up to …

The Swiss stock exchange was plagued by technical issues on Friday morning, leading to a delay in access to some of the most commonly traded markets of up to 3 hours- the latest in a series of technical glitches, giving rise to calls for more robust trading infrastructure across the industry as a response to growing trade volumes.

Trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange was subject to a lengthy delay on Friday morning, following a significant technical issue which affected trading across some of the country’s largest companies and most …

The realm of financial spread betting and other trading systems are continuously being developed.  Recently, there are new exchange traded funds or ETFs brought to the market by one of the biggest instruments in the industry nowadays, which is HSBC. It is in this light that more opportunities are now available to many investors, most especially to those who are engaged in the financial retailing.
We all know what ETFs mean in the world of financial trading. In a general sense, it is a kind of investment fund that is being …