Classic FX

[JahDave]

I guess this means we have to determine if we have paid more than $600 dollars in fees to our brokers in any given year and get their info to send them a 1099 as well.

 

[Depth Trade]

I guess this means we have to determine if we have paid more than $600 dollars in fees to our brokers in any given year and get their info to send them a 1099 as well.

Hello JahDave, I welcome your comment. I would not worry about it, by tax time next year, this economy will be finished. 'They' are running this economy straight into the ground. There won't be any businesses to collect money from

Have entered the following position. I have re-modeled my strategy, so will not be posting positions as previously.

Usd/jpy: long 93.95 1
s/l 93.84 2
position is 8.9 times account balance.

 

[trendie]

hi Depth Trade,

I think this is going to be a dumb question, but I don't understand the purpose of the trades.
What I mean is, the return so far, seems little in terms of the swings we have experienced.
Is this particular journal a hedge-journal for another much more profitable account?
I could make sense of that, in that the -200 or so pips might be a consequence of another journal which may be showing a 1000+ pips elsewhere.

Also, I appreciate that the pip-count may be misleading, as you may actually be money-positive, even though you are pip-negative.

I am trying to understand whether this journal is meeting your expectations.
Or indeed, whether the returns so far, fall within acceptable parameters of the profile you have set for the journal.

the only advantage I see is that it is a weekly journal, so provides you with much more free time.

(trying to make sense of a journal that seems to be providing little return)

 

[pssonice]

what is your question about his last trade ?

"I think this is going to be a dumb question, but I don't understand the purpose of the trades."

>>> Today, 5:49am Usd/jpy: long 93.95 1 s/l 93.84 2 <<<

He entered the market minutes before a breakout.
Right now his s/l 93.84 2 will be activated

 

[Depth Trade]

Re: what is your question about his last trade ?

"I think this is going to be a dumb question, but I don't understand the purpose of the trades."

>>> Today, 5:49am Usd/jpy: long 93.95 1 s/l 93.84 2 <<<

He entered the market minutes before a breakout.
Right now his s/l 93.84 2 will be activated

Hello Pssonice, I will have to respond to your question tomorrow, it is almost 1am where I am at.

Have exited Usd/jpy position.

Usd/jpy: out 94.00 6

 

[Depth Trade]

hi Depth Trade,

I think this is going to be a dumb question, but I don't understand the purpose of the trades.
What I mean is, the return so far, seems little in terms of the swings we have experienced.
Is this particular journal a hedge-journal for another much more profitable account?
I could make sense of that, in that the -200 or so pips might be a consequence of another journal which may be showing a 1000+ pips elsewhere.

Also, I appreciate that the pip-count may be misleading, as you may actually be money-positive, even though you are pip-negative.

I am trying to understand whether this journal is meeting your expectations.
Or indeed, whether the returns so far, fall within acceptable parameters of the profile you have set for the journal.

the only advantage I see is that it is a weekly journal, so provides you with much more free time.

(trying to make sense of a journal that seems to be providing little return)

Hello trendie, not sure how I missed your post, please let me respond to it later today, for now I just want to post a trade I just entered.

Have entered the following position. Position size is about 3.5 times larger than previous full position.

Usd/cad: long 1.0142 6
s/l: 1.0113 2

Will update balance here shortly.

 

[Depth Trade]

hi Depth Trade,

I think this is going to be a dumb question, but I don't understand the purpose of the trades.
What I mean is, the return so far, seems little in terms of the swings we have experienced.
Is this particular journal a hedge-journal for another much more profitable account?
I could make sense of that, in that the -200 or so pips might be a consequence of another journal which may be showing a 1000+ pips elsewhere.

Also, I appreciate that the pip-count may be misleading, as you may actually be money-positive, even though you are pip-negative.

I am trying to understand whether this journal is meeting your expectations.
Or indeed, whether the returns so far, fall within acceptable parameters of the profile you have set for the journal.

the only advantage I see is that it is a weekly journal, so provides you with much more free time.

(trying to make sense of a journal that seems to be providing little return)

Hello Trendie, the purpose on this journal is to build a reputation as someone who can profitably trade currency, an easy way to show people without having to send account statements to people, here I can cover more territory by having more people have access to my positions.

As far as having 'another journal', no I am not posting all of the positions I have been taking. Right now I am long Silver from 17.81 that I did not post on here, only because I wanted to keep this a currency only journal. I sold off half of this silver position last week and am holding the remainder.
The win probability with this strategy is about 75%, wins being about 4.5%.
I am also holding positions in Eur/chf and Gbp/usd. I was holding a smaller position in usd/jpy which I closed in a larger pip profit than the one I had posted yesterday.

Pips count can be misleading, like I posted earlier, my last positions have been much bigger in ratio to earlier positions, yes pip count can be meaningless, so I will update using percentages.

Is my journal meeting my expectations? It has been lately, I am in the process of modifying my strategy, to make it harder to figure out what I am doing. Recently I have figured out a whole Psychological aspect to trading that I was never able to grasp before these last few days/ weeks, I have spent the last 10 years working on the technical/ fundamental angle of it, over looking and not able to understand or work into my strategy the human nature of it.
Now looking over the past 3 weeks I can see how I could have traded my strategy with over 90% accuracy instead of what ended up being around 50%?

..But to answer your question, 'what is the purpose of this journal'? I guess to give me some feeling of not being alone as I work. As you must know, trading can be a lonely endeavor. Yeah I have friends that I meet up with every friday to play cards and have some drinks and every saturday my girlfriend and I go out, but as far as the days go, I spend a lot of time alone and enjoy the idea of being around other traders, even though I barely have any contact with others on this forum.

Back to trading, yeah it is going good. As stated before, I went long usd/jpy from 93.95 and got out shortly after, making a nice profit. I should have taken the next signal to rebuy in, but I did not want to scare my girlfriend by staying up all night or by checking the computer every few hours during the night. You can imagine how let down I was to see usd/jpy making a massive move upwards in the direction of my positioning bias in the last 24 hours.
That won't happen again
The Usd/cad trade I took earlier today was stopped out, but I have re-entered at 1.0112 with a S/L of 1.01, I am going to play this out exactly how I should have played out the usd/jpy in the last day.

., So to answer your question is it going as expected? It is going awesome right now, I can't think of what could go wrong.
The future will tell us, that's for sure.

Have a good week Trendie.

 

[Depth Trade]

Hello trendie, not sure how I missed your post, please let me respond to it later today, for now I just want to post a trade I just entered.

Have entered the following position. Position size is about 3.5 times larger than previous full position.

Usd/cad: long 1.0142 6
s/l: 1.0113 2

Will update balance here shortly.

This usd/cad position was exited at 1.0141

Usd/cad: out -0.02 %

 

[Depth Trade]

Hello Trendie, the purpose on this journal is to build a reputation as someone who can profitably trade currency, an easy way to show people without having to send account statements to people, here I can cover more territory by having more people have access to my positions.

As far as having 'another journal', no I am not posting all of the positions I have been taking. Right now I am long Silver from 17.81 that I did not post on here, only because I wanted to keep this a currency only journal. I sold off half of this silver position last week and am holding the remainder.
The win probability with this strategy is about 75%, wins being about 4.5%.
I am also holding positions in Eur/chf and Gbp/usd. I was holding a smaller position in usd/jpy which I closed in a larger pip profit than the one I had posted yesterday.

Pips count can be misleading, like I posted earlier, my last positions have been much bigger in ratio to earlier positions, yes pip count can be meaningless, so I will update using percentages.

Is my journal meeting my expectations? It has been lately, I am in the process of modifying my strategy, to make it harder to figure out what I am doing. Recently I have figured out a whole Psychological aspect to trading that I was never able to grasp before these last few days/ weeks, I have spent the last 10 years working on the technical/ fundamental angle of it, over looking and not able to understand or work into my strategy the human nature of it.
Now looking over the past 3 weeks I can see how I could have traded my strategy with over 90% accuracy instead of what ended up being around 50%?

..But to answer your question, 'what is the purpose of this journal'? I guess to give me some feeling of not being alone as I work. As you must know, trading can be a lonely endeavor. Yeah I have friends that I meet up with every friday to play cards and have some drinks and every saturday my girlfriend and I go out, but as far as the days go, I spend a lot of time alone and enjoy the idea of being around other traders, even though I barely have any contact with others on this forum.

Back to trading, yeah it is going good. As stated before, I went long usd/jpy from 93.95 and got out shortly after, making a nice profit. I should have taken the next signal to rebuy in, but I did not want to scare my girlfriend by staying up all night or by checking the computer every few hours during the night. You can imagine how let down I was to see usd/jpy making a massive move upwards in the direction of my positioning bias in the last 24 hours.
That won't happen again The Usd/cad trade I took earlier today was stopped out, but I have re-entered at 1.0112 with a S/L of 1.01, I am going to play this out exactly how I should have played out the usd/jpy in the last day.

., So to answer your question is it going as expected? It is going awesome right now, I can't think of what could go wrong.
The future will tell us, that's for sure.Have a good week Trendie.

Have exited my long usd/cad position.

Usd/cad: out +7.43 %


Classic Fx
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 7.45 %
A.P.R + 96.85 %

 

[Depth Trade]

Are You Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse And The Next Great Depression?

Have exited my long usd/cad position.

Usd/cad: out +7.43 %


Classic Fx
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 7.45 %
A.P.R + 96.85 %

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/...1000-points-in-a-matter-of-minutes-on-may-6th

8 Theories For Why The Stock Market Plunged Almost 1000 Points In A Matter Of Minutes On May 6th


In one of the most dizzying half-hours in stock market history, the Dow plunged nearly 1,000 points on Thursday, May 6th before bouncing back to close down 347.80 points. This represented the biggest intraday decline since 1987. But what made this crash so absolutely shocking is that it happened in the course of less than an hour. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. the Dow lost over 700 points before dramatically bouncing back about 600 points. Two of the 30 stocks in the Dow, Procter & Gamble and 3M, plunged more than 30% in just 15 minutes. Accenture went from trading at around 40 dollars a share all the way down to one cent before bouncing back. Traders and investors were left completely stunned and wondering what in the world had just happened.

So what did happen?

The following are some of the most common theories being put forward to explain what happened....

#1) A Bad Trade

It has been widely suggested that a "fat finger trade" was responsible for triggering the panic. According to CNBC, "sources" have told that network that a trader (possibly at Citigroup) entered a "b" for billion instead of an "m" for million in a trade involving Procter & Gamble.

However, Citigroup has already announced that it has found "no evidence" that it was involved in any erroneous trades. In fact, a statement was released in which Citigroup spokesman Stephen Cohen said this....

"At this point, we have no evidence that Citi was involved in any erroneous transaction."

#2) A Computer Glitch

New York Stock Exchange spokesman Rich Adamonis says that "there were a number of erroneous trades" on May 6th, and that these could have been caused by computer error.

And the truth is that trading in the financial markets is more automated and more reliant on computers than it ever has been before. Trading literally moves at lightning speed now, and a number of analysts are warning that the pace of the market is so fast at this point that it is really easy for things to spin out of control very quickly.

But if this was really primarily caused by a "computer glitch", how are investors supposed to have any confidence at all in the market? After all, if a computer error can wipe out half your account in less than an hour, why invest at all?

#3) Cascading Stop Losses

Once the market hits certain technical levels, it is going to automatically start triggering stop loss orders. Once those stop loss orders are triggered, it will push the market down further thus triggering more stop loss orders.

While there have been some protections implemented to guard against this kind of thing, the reality is that it does still happen.

#4) Hackers

Hackers have become more sophisticated and more cunning than ever before. In fact, the bigger a target is, the more enjoyment most hackers get out of taking them down. Is it a possible that someone could have hacked in to the New York Stock Exchange?

#5) Cyberterrorism

Rogue nations and terrorist organizations have been developing their "cyber warfare" capabilities for some time now. We have been repeatedly warned that someday we will see an "Internet 9/11". Could this stock market plunge be a preview of that?

#6) Fear Of The European Debt Crisis Spreading

There are mounting concerns in the financial markets about Greece's financial condition and that the European debt crisis could spread around the globe.

In fact, the Dow has lost 631 points, or more than 5%, in just the last three days amidst worries about the situation in Greece. This represents the biggest three day drop since March 2009.

#7) Stop Hunting

Anyone who has spent much time in the Forex market knows what this is all about. The truth is that some of the big financial sharks in the marketplace seem to really enjoy blowing out stop losses.

So could have this have been a situation where a stop loss hunting expedition spun wildly out of control?

#8) A Real Panic

There is also the possibility that this was a real financial panic. There are huge concerns about what is going on in Europe and the currency markets are fluctuating wildly. The Dow was already down several hundred points even before the massive plunge took place. The reality is that there is a lot of fear in the financial markets right now.

But if it was a real panic, then why did the Dow bounce back so quickly? Well, it is the job of the "plunge protection team" to keep the stock market from declining too rapidly. So did the "plunge protection team" swing into action today? Well, the truth is that we will probably never know because the general public is not supposed to know when they intervene.

In any event, the next couple of days should hopefully make all of this a lot clearer. The trading during the afternoon of May 6th at the big firms will be gone over with a fine-toothed comb, and the exchanges will be closely analyzing their systems for any glitches.

It has already been announced that some of the most erroneous trades will be cancelled. The Nasdaq and NYSE's ARCA trading unit have both said that they will cancel trades executed between 2:40 p.m. and 3 p.m. on May 6th where a stock price rose or fell more than 60 percent from the last trade in that security at 2:40 p.m.

But this episode shows just how vulnerable our financial markets really are. After witnessing what we saw today, it is going to be really hard to have confidence in the system.

In fact, even if this was just one "bad trade" or a "simple computer glitch", the reality is that this episode is going to inject even more fear into a marketplace that is already filled with tension.

When fear grips a market things can go south very, very quickly. The truth is that markets tend to fall more quickly than they rise, and if a wave of panic starts sweeping over the financial markets we could see things get quite messy in the coming days.

Classic Fx
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 7.45 %
A.P.R + 96.85 %

 

[Depth Trade]

Have entered the following position.

Usd/jpy: long 92.12 8
s/l: 91.75 9


Classic Fx Intraday
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 7.45 %
A.P.R + 77.48 %




Growth, rate worries drive euro near 4-year low

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and TALI ARBEL, AP Business Writers Martin Crutsinger And Tali Arbel, Ap Business Writers – Fri May 14, 7:08 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The euro sank to near a four-year low against the dollar Friday on renewed worries over the European debt crisis. The stronger dollar could spell trouble for a U.S. economy still recovering from a deep recession.

A stronger dollar against the currency used by 16 nations in Europe would translate into cheaper European vacations for American travelers. But it would hurt U.S. exports because American-made products would be more expensive in those markets.

The euro slid to a 19-month low of $1.2355 in late trading in New York, close to what would have been the lowest point in four years against the dollar.

Economists said the tumbling euro could reflect fears that the European debt crisis will turn into a replay of the Lehman Brothers disaster. The collapse of the New York investment bank in September 2008 spread panic through the financial system. Credit froze as a result.

"If this turns out to be the same kind of financial crisis that we saw after Lehman Brothers where people just get scared to lend money to anybody, then it would be a major problem for us," said David Wyss, chief economist at New York's Standard & Poor's.

The euro's slide seemed to be triggered by intensified worries over a nearly $1 trillion rescue package to deal with European debt problems. The European economy was already facing weak growth this year. Investors fear that if interest rates spike and countries slash spending further, the region could fall back into recession.

That fear gripped Wall Street for a second straight day Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 163 points, or 1.5 percent, and broader stock averages fell even more.

"Europe was just barely growing before the debt crisis came to a head, and it is hard to see how many of those countries keep from falling back into recession," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

The euro-zone countries account for about 15 percent of total U.S. exports. Weaker growth in that region, along with the stronger dollar, would reduce demand for U.S. exports. The U.S. manufacturing sector, led by rebounding exports, has been a bright spot for the U.S. recovery.

Still, dimmer prospects for Europe could be offset by continued economic rebounds in Asia and Latin America, analysts noted.

Brian Bethune, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight, forecast that the European debt problems will keep pushing the euro lower. It's likely to hit $1.17 against the dollar this summer, he said.

U.S. interest rates will likely decline as foreign investors shift money out of European debt and into U.S. bonds, he said. The European crisis has already pushed mortgage rates in the United States down and helped sustain the housing rebound in this country. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell this week to the lowest point since December.

Oil and other commodity prices have fallen as well, a response to the stronger dollar and weakness in Europe. This will help keep inflation low in the United States. It will also give the Federal Reserve more reason to delay raising interest rates, another plus for U.S. growth.

"With a higher U.S. dollar, lower crude oil prices, that assures the Fed that there is no inflation lurking in the weeds," Bethune said.

The emergency financing deal sealed last weekend initially pushed the euro above $1.30. But concerns over the cost to European countries and the impact on the continent's growth have weighed on the currency since.

Greece, Spain and Portugal are raising taxes and cutting government spending to control their debt. That could halt their recoveries and slow growth in Germany and France.

"People are still very worried about longer term solvency issues for euro," said David Gilmore of Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex, Conn.

In an interview published Friday, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet dismissed suggestions that the bank's decision to buy government bonds of indebted countries might stoke inflation. Higher inflation decreases the value of a currency. It can also prompt central banks to raise rates.

"The euro is in a no-win situation at this point," wrote currency strategists from Brown Brothers Harriman in a research note.

Future growth in Europe could be constrained if investors feel shaky about the banking sector's stability and willingness to lend, said Robert Sinche, chief strategist at Lily Pond Capital Management LLC in New York.

That could spread beyond the continent.

"The disintegration of the European currency could be very shaky for markets globally," said Brian Kim, senior foreign exchange strategist for UBS AG.

But for many trackers of currency markets, that's not a realistic concern. The European monetary union itself is not at risk, said Michael Woolfolk of Bank of New York Mellon.

"Talk of the implosion of the eurozone itself is, I think, overblown," he said. Even if heavily indebted countries such as Greece or Portugal left the 16-nation union, the common currency's union would end up stronger, he said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner rejected a suggestion made by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker in speech on Thursday that the world could be facing "the great problem of the possible disintegration of the euro."

Asked about that comment, Geithner said Friday that he disagreed with Volcker. "I think Europe has the capacity to manage through this," he said in an interview broadcast by Bloomberg Television.

The euro has tumbled more than 15 percent against the dollar since the year began.

Other European currencies slid as well. The British pound fell to $1.4560 from $1.4643 late Thursday. The dollar rose to 1.1308 Swiss francs from 1.1147 francs.

The dollar was higher across the board against emerging-market currencies in Latin America and Asia where investors sought safety in the U.S. currency. It also gained against the Nordic currencies and the Canadian, New Zealand and Australian dollars.

The dollar fell to 92.21 Japanese yen from 92.84 yen. The low-yielding yen is also considered a safe-haven purchase.

 

[Depth Trade]

Have entered the following position.

Usd/jpy: long 92.12 8
s/l: 91.75 9


Classic Fx Intraday
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 7.45 %
A.P.R + 77.48 %

Usd/jpy long position exited.

Usd/jpy: out 92.57 2

+1.4%


Classic Fx Intraday
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 8.85 %

 

[Depth Trade]

Usd/jpy long position exited.

Usd/jpy: out 92.57 2

+1.4%


Classic Fx Intraday
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 8.85 %
A.P.R. +85.0 %

Have entered the following position.

Usd/jpy: long 92.47 1
s/l: 92.32 7
t/p: 92.65 1



Spanish union calls public sector strike over austerity plan for 2nd June 2010


Spanish union calls public sector strike over austerity plan for 2nd June 2010

A Spanish union Thursday called a strike of public sector workers for June 2 over the socialist government's tough new austerity measures.

The public sector branch of the UGT union also called for demonstrations from May 20, the day the measures announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero are to be presented to parliament, the UGT said.

The UGT said it will ask other unions to join the walkout over the government plan, which includes a pay cut for the public sector.

Another major union, the CCOO, earlier also said it's management would vote on a strike call.

But the leaders of both unions ruled out calling a general strike in all sectors of the country.

"It would be irresponsible on our part to call a general strike which would contribute to the economic deterioration of the country even more," the secretary general of CCOO union, Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, said after a meeting with Zapatero along with his CCOO counterpart.

Zapatero on Wednesday announced austerity measures worth 15 billion euros over two years in a new bid to shore up Spain's public finances after stocks plunged last week over fears it could follow Greece into a debt crisis.

The cuts are on top of a 50-billion-euro (63-billion-dollar) austerity package announced in January designed to slash public deficit to the eurozone limit of three percent of gross domestic product by 2013 from 11.2 percent last year.

Zapatero had said just last week that he planned no additional austerity cuts.

The latest measures include a five-percent pay cut for public sector workers from June, and a pay freeze from 2011. Pensions except for the poorest will also be frozen in 2011.

The government also plans to scrap a 2,500-euro payout to parents for the birth of children, a key part of Zapatero's social platform to boost Spain's lagging birth rate.

"It is not easy for the government to approve" these measures, Zapatero said on Wednesday, adding that belt-tightening would have "an obvious social impact" in a country struggling with 20 percent unemployment.

Spanish media said Thursday that the public sector pay cut was the first since the restoration of democracy after the 1939-75 dictatorship of general Francisco Franco.

Spain's credit rating was cut by Standard and Poor's last month and it has been named along with Portugal as possible new weak links in the eurozone after debt-laden Greece.

As the new measures were announced, Spain became the last of Europe's big economies to emerge from recession, with official data showing fragile growth of 0.1 percent in the first quarter.

Spain, Europe's fifth largest economy, went into recession in the second quarter of 2008 as the global financial meltdown compounded a crisis in the Spanish property market, which had been a major driver for growth in the preceding years.

 

[Depth Trade]

Have entered the following position.

Usd/jpy: long 92.47 1
s/l: 92.32 7
t/p: 92.65 1

I have cancelled the t/p (target) order. I am not going to be able to manage this position manually over night, but I think it is going to up, so we will just leave it open to the up side.

 

[Depth Trade]

Have entered the following position.

Usd/jpy: long 92.47 1
s/l: 92.32 7
t/p: 92.65 1

Have exited this Usd/jpy position. I am still holding this position long on my private account, but have exited it in my signal service due to not having internet access in a few hours.

Usd/jpy: out 92.61 8

+1.1 %


Classic Fx Intraday
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 9.95 %
A.P.R. +95.57 %

 

[pssonice]

great calls, u r the man !

!

 

[pssonice]

USDJPY -9284 ... top

.

 

[pssonice]

USDJPY -9272 ... no bottom

!

 

[Depth Trade]

Have exited this Usd/jpy position. I am still holding this position long on my private account, but have exited it in my signal service due to not having internet access in a few hours.

Usd/jpy: out 92.61 8

+1.1 %


Classic Fx Intraday
start date (10/04/10)
Closed Balance
+ 9.95 %
A.P.R. +95.57 %

Hello everyone, hope all is well out there in trading land. I have been hiding out for the past few weeks, but plan on making a come back here soon. My trading has been going super, I am just working on how I can present it without making it to obvious how or why I am positioning the currency.
My plan is to continue to post somewhat as I have, but time the entrances/ exits off of an indicator to mask the entrance/ exits along with the times positions are entered.
See 'ya soon


Wall Street operative Geithner rebuffed in Berlin on mission to make world safe for derivatives

Posted by inthesenewtimes on June 1, 2010

Webster Tarpley

Tarpley.net

28th May, 2010

On themost important stop of last week’s desperate mission to make the world safe for derivatives, US Treasury Secretary Geithner has been dealt a decisive rebuff. Geithner’s obvious attempt to sabotage the recent prohibition enacted by the German government against naked credit default swaps (among the most toxic of derivatives) was rejected in Berlin on Thursday by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

At their joint press conference, Geithner and Schäuble could hardly hide the atmosphere of tension and hostility, even though both were determined to mask the clash for domestic political reasons. A Handelsblatt blog pointed to the language of mutual dislike, and this newspaper headlined that the transatlantic conflict was escalating. The Washington Post published a photograph on Friday, May 28, 2010 showing the German minister scowling at the feckless featherweight Geithner. Geithner assured the journalists that there was a “broad agreement on regulatory reform,” but in reality there was no such common ground.

Schäuble has now emerged as the strongman in the German cabinet, due precisely to his willingness to take the point in the fight against derivatives. “Ban Bolsters Schäuble’s Sway,” headlined the Wall Street Journal. German officials are reported to be increasingly dismissive of the carping criticism coming from other countries which have failed to act against the world derivatives plague. The Germans know exactly what they are doing, Schäuble stressed: “We have done our national homework,” he added.

It is abundantly clear that Germany is determined to act unilaterally against speculation, especially in the form of derivatives. This means maintaining the current ban on naked credit default swaps, and supplementing this with a ban on naked short sales of German stocks, euro-denominated government bonds, and of the euro itself.

Geithner, as always, is operating behind a mask of duplicity. During the press conference, he did not directly address the German ban on naked credit default swaps which has caused such consternation in the City of London, Wall Street, the US Treasury, and the Federal Reserve, where derivatives are regarded as sacrosanct. Geithner also failed to address the question of a Tobin tax or securities sales tax on speculative financial turnover, which the German government is attempting to push through the ponderous elephantine Brussels bureaucracy of the European Union. Geithner also did not talk about the regulations largely targeting the Anglo-American hedge fund wolfpack which are also being developed in the Byzantine corridors of the eurogarchy.

These are matters of extremely serious strategic conflict. As the Washington Postnoted on May 28, “… differences have emerged on the host of issues between the United States and Europe… some European officials – including Schäuble – want to tax all financial transactions for a fund that might be dedicated to crisis resolution or that might go into each government’s general account.” Given the increasing pressure on national budgets, it is of course imperative that the revenue generated by a Tobin tax be kept in-country to prevent the savage dismantling of the social safety net which is increasingly demanded by the financiers and their agents and dupes. Under no circumstances should these funds be kept in a fund which will inevitably be used for further bailouts of bankrupt zombie banks. As the Washington Post further commented: “Europe wants to more strictly clamp down on what it views as speculation, while … US officials speak more frequently about the risk of stifling innovation if regulations become too rigid.” Modern societies need innovation in the area of scientific discoveries that can lead to new technologies, and do not require any more variations of the available brands of derivatives cyanide, arsenic, and strychnine. The world has had enough of toxic derivatives to last us until the end of the century and beyond.

Geithner’s true intentions can be read from his systematic sabotage and gutting of the financial reform bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate. The most important feature of this bill was the ban on derivatives speculation by commercial banks proposed by Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. This would have partially restored the blanket ban on most types of derivatives which was in force under the New Deal from 1936 through 1982 thank to the Commodities Exchange Act signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Geithner has attacked this provision, and is teaming up with Obama handler Rahm Emanuel to remove it during the upcoming House-Senate reconciliation process.

Geithner was also an active participant in the efforts to torpedo the McCain-Cantwell amendment, which would have restored the New Deal era Glass-Steagall law, which rigorously prevented commercial banks from engaging in stock jobbing and related forms of investment banking, including derivatives.

Geithner has also talked about stress tests for European banks. It should be recalled that the stress tests for US banks carried on last year under Geithner’s supervision were worse than useless, since they systematically excluded from consideration the main cause for bank insolvency in the current era – off-balance-sheet toxic derivatives. This blatant mockery should not be repeated in Europe.

As for the hedge fund hyenas, they are adamant about their intention to bring the crisis currently impacting the southern tier of the euro back home to the United States. In his New York Times article “Easy Money, Hard Truths,” David Einhorn, a leading hedge fund operator involved in the infamous February 8, 2010 Manhattan planning session for the current assault on Europe, is categorical in his forecast that the European crisis will happen here as well. To spare the American people endless and useless misery, it is imperative that we mobilize every legal and regulatory tool in the New Deal armory to put the hedge fund predators out of business while banning or taxing derivatives. The goal must be to prevent a needless national bankruptcy of this country and preserve the present constitutional system of representative government from the chaos and anarchy the speculators are eager to visit upon us.

 

[Depth Trade]

(yawn) just slaughtering the market. Sniped on a short on Eur/usd and a long in Usd/chf for +3%
Did not post the trades, because I am waiting to set up a collective2 account to have an audited verification of my trades. Will return to continuation of postings next week.



China ready to say goodbye to dollar

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:09:55 GMT

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China
The head of China's Central Bank has declared that the country is ready to end pegging its currency in dollars, but said that any changes would be gradual.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, described the decision as a "temporary" response to the global financial crisis, but gave no timescale for any change in policy.

"If we are to exit from irregular policies and return to ordinary economic policies, we must be extremely prudent about our choice of timing," Zhou said. "This also includes the [yuan] exchange rate policy."

His comments come as the US administration accuses China of artificially keeping the value of the country's yuan low.

"China and its currency policies are impeding the rebalancing [of the global economy] that's necessary," President Obama had told Bloomberg last month.

"My goal over the course of the next year is for China to recognize that it is also in their interest to allow their currency to appreciate because, frankly, they have got a potentially overheating economy," Obama said.