New NFA Forex Regulatory Guide

http://www.nfa.futures.org/NFA-compliance/publication-library/forex-regulatory-guide.pdf
Forex Transactions

Treasuring Thrift: 'In Cheap We Trust'

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112557219
Journalist Lauren Weber knows a little something about being cheap. When she was growing up, her father refused to set the heat above 50 degrees during the winter in New England.

He turned out the lights, even if someone had left a room for just a moment. And for a little while he even tried to ration the family's use of toilet paper. Seriously.

Rather than traumatize Weber, all that — and more — made her the perfect person to explore the roots of frugality in the United States.

Nobody Liking Dollar Deficits Makes Rogoff Favorite

No 'Performance Advantage'

The need for foreign investors may only increase in the final four months of 2009.

After purchases by the Fed, the net supply of long-term U.S. government and agency debt has been about $50 billion a month this year, Dean Maki, head of U.S. economics research at Barclays Capital in New York, wrote in a Sept. 4 report. As the Fed slows its so-called quantitative easing program, net supply may reach $200 billion by year-end, he wrote.

"In the broadest sense, the dollar tends to prosper when a unique U.S. asset attracts foreign buyers," such as high real yields in the early 1980s and the Internet boom in early 2000s, Steven Englander, the chief currency strategist at Barclays, wrote in a research note on Aug. 27. "There is no asset class in which U.S. assets have a clear performance advantage"

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUzQTB9klLmM

High Tech VW Factory in Dresden

Oldest Swiss Bank Tells Clients to Sell U.S. Assets or Leave

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Wegelin & Co., Switzerland's oldest bank, is telling wealthy clients to sell their U.S. assets, or switch banks, because of concerns new rules will saddle investors with tax obligations in the world's biggest economy.

U.S. proposals to extend reporting requirements for banks whose clients buy American stocks and bonds coupled with estate tax liabilities that may be inherited by the heirs of people who have such holdings prompted the advice from the St. Gallen, Switzerland-based bank, said Managing Partner Konrad Hummler.

"We came to the conclusion that it's a threat to our clients," Hummler, who is also president of the Swiss Private Bankers Association, said in an interview yesterday during a conference in Zurich. "It's also a threat to us as a bank because as a custodian we are an executor to the estate. We find this aspect discomforting, so we recommend selling all American securities whatsoever."

Hummler said he plans to raise the subject today at a meeting of the Private Bankers Association, which counts Pictet & Cie., Lombard Odier & Cie. and Mirabaud & Cie. among its members. Swiss banks, which manage $2 trillion, or 27 percent, of the world's privately held offshore wealth, are struggling to protect bank secrecy after the government agreed to hand over the names of 4,450 UBS AG clients to U.S. tax authorities.

Hummler said he wouldn't ask other association members to follow Wegelin's lead. Wegelin, founded in 1741, manages more than 20 billion Swiss francs ($18.7 billion) in client assets.

"Every member is free to decide and act on their own," he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aguVgp1QqgEU

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc's Swiss private bank says more rich foreigners are inquiring about moving to Switzerland, spurred by rising taxes at home and concerns about the erosion of banking secrecy for non-residents.

Switzerland's decision to increase cooperation with the U.S. and neighbors such as France and Germany on tax evasion hasn't dulled the Alpine nation's allure for those who are able to take up residence, said Alexandre Zeller, chief executive officer of HSBC's Swiss bank.

"We're not talking about thousands of people because we're talking about people with a certain wealth, but it's significant," Zeller said in an interview in Zurich. "They come above all from countries which have substantially increased taxes. There's a direct correlation between taxes and the desire of a wealthy person to want to establish themselves elsewhere."

Switzerland is home to expatriate millionaires including seven-time Formula 1 racing champion Michael Schumacher, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad and singer Tina Turner. Wealthy residents who don't have Swiss income can negotiate individual tax deals with regional authorities in Switzerland.

Zeller said any Swiss banking client with a tax-compliance issue in his home country has three choices: do nothing, make a voluntary disclosure, or, if rich enough, move to Switzerland.

Beginning in April, the U.K. plans to levy a 50 percent income tax on people who make more than 150,000 pounds ($244,000) a year. Julius Baer Holding AG Chairman Raymond Baer said in an interview earlier this year that his bank remains attractive to Germans faced with unpredictable taxes. Most Americans remain liable for U.S. taxes even if they live abroad.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ae3NU.gekp.0

The incredible shrinking surplus

Is China deliberately understating the size of its trade surplus?

CHINA'S current-account surplus is seen by some as the root cause of the financial crisis. The good news is that after widening year after year it is now shrinking much faster than expected. In the first half of this year the surplus narrowed to $130 billion, one-third lower than a year earlier, and barely half its level in the second half of 2008. Not only has China's merchandise trade surplus narrowed, but investment income from China's stash of foreign reserves has also dropped. Arthur Kroeber at Dragonomics, an economic-research firm, predicts that the current-account surplus is likely to drop to 5% of China's GDP this year, down from 11% at its peak in 2007. Belatedly, China seems to be doing its bit to rebalance the world economy.

http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=14363126

Yen Trades Near 7-Week High

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The yen traded near a seven-week high against the euro before a European report estimated to show retail sales fell in July from a year ago, adding to signs a recovery in the 16-nation region's economy may be slow.

The yen was also close to its strongest in seven weeks against the dollar as stocks slid for a second day in Tokyo, boosting demand for the relative safety of Japan's currency. The euro traded near its lowest level in two weeks versus the greenback on speculation European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet will signal policy makers will keep interest rates low at today's meeting.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aIPpoF5MLqU0

http://marketoracle.co.uk/Article13165.html The Euro dropped from 1.4376 until it reached and tested Fibonacci 61.8% support for the whole move from 1.4045 to 1.4405. The above mentioned Fibonacci support at 1.4183 will be the most important for the short-term, after it survived yesterday's test (yesterday's low 1.4176) , because a break of this specific support will open the door to a trial to find a new bottom below Aug 17th low 1.4045 within this week. Any attempt to go up will have to break through 1.4252 (short-term 38.2% Fibonacci Resistance), and if this attempt is corrective, it should not go higher than 1.4300, as we can surely say that this is the most important resistance for the moment.

Credit Suisse Investment-Bank Chief Calello Treated for Cancer

Calello, 48, "has begun an intensive program of treatment due to the development of a sudden and unexpected illness," the Zurich-based bank said in a statement yesterday. "Paul will remain as involved in the business as the course of treatment process will allow." Calello has cancer, according to a memo sent to employees. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAUIIgVF7Sns

EES posts strategy to MT4 stats day before hack attack

As you might have noticed, MT4stats.com is currently not reachable or VERY slow.

This is because a lot of servers of the datacenter where MT4 Stats is hosted are under attack.

Server/IT specialists are fixing this now as I am writing this. Hopefully these so called people performing DDOS-attacks are gone very soon, or even better.. get caught.

That's it for now, so no need to worry about it!

MT4 Stats should be up and running again this same evening, during asian session or next morning at UK sunrise. I can not promise you this, it depends on all the IT people from the datacenter located in The Netherlands.

I wish you the best with trading tonight!

Cheers,

Hans

Webmaster MT4 Stats

http://eliteeservices.mt4stats.com/

Forex.com announces metals trading

We are pleased to announce that we will be adding spot gold and silver trading to the MetaTrader platform on September 1st, 2009, enabling clients of FOREX.com UK to trade metals alongside global currencies.

We will be sending a client notification email on September 2nd, 2009. A sample of the email has been included below for your reference.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Relationship Manager or GAIN Capital Partner Services at +1.908.731.0724, or at partnerservices@gaincapital.com.

We're pleased to let you know that spot gold and silver are now available for you to trade on MetaTrader at FOREX.com.

Much like trading currency pairs, spot metals enables traders to take a long or short position in gold (XAU/USD) or silver (XAG/USD) while simultaneously taking the opposite position in the U.S. dollar. The spot metals markets are quoted and traded in a very similar way to currency pairs. Trading is available 24 hours a day from Sunday 11pm GMT through to 10pm Friday GMT.

Spot gold and silver trading is driven by several market factors that currency traders are likely already following, including the strength of the U.S. dollar and the price of oil.

Why trade metals?

		Hedge against inflation - When inflation expectations are high or rising, gold and silver tend to appreciate while other asset classes may see values eroded by inflation. When inflation expectations are low, metals may languish.
		Alternative to USD - Historically, gold and silver are a "safe havens", a country-neutral investment. When the reserve currency comes under pressure, investors seek out other alternatives - like gold and silver.
		Safe haven vehicle - during periods of heightened risk aversion or market turmoil, gold and silver tend to appreciate as investors exit other financial assets (e.g. stocks and bonds) and flock to the traditional role of metals as a store of wealth.

EES featured in Futures Mag: Trader Profile, automating Elite Systems

http://www.futuresmag.com/Issues/2009/September2009/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.futuresmag.com/Issues/2009/September2009/Pages/Gelet-Automating-Elite-systems.aspx

EES - Forex as an Investment of the Future

EES Forex as an Investment of the Future

Forex Factory launches commercial forum, admits there were ‘flaws’ in old policy

BUYER BEWARE

Forex Factory has no affiliation with any product or service offered on the Commercial Forum, nor is an ensorement of any product or service being made. Please read the Forex Factory disclaimer.


Welcome to the beta version of the new Commercial Forum. This forum will contain threads that are dedicated to or started by commercial entities in the Forex industry.

If you've been a member of Forex Factory for a substantial amount of time you might be surprised to see a forum dedicated to commercial activity. For the past 5 years we've fought tooth-and-nail to keep commercial activity off the forums under the presumption that commercial agendas compromise the integrity of the forum discussions. In hindsight we believe this was the right policy, but it hasn't been without flaws. Often our strict policy forced us to do things that we didn't want to, such as banning long-standing valuable members because they started to offer commercial services. Some members were so valuable to the community that we allowed them to bend the rules, which only created more tension by setting up a double-standard. It's been long evident that a policy modification was needed to address these issues.

Earlier this year we came up with a plan for modifying the policies and member-structure to accommodate commercial operators. We haven't implemented the plan because we're busy with some big projects, and we still aren't ready to implement it. The Commercial Forum you are looking at is a temporary measure that resolves a few current issues; the rules, policies, and site changes for the Commercial Forum are still about 30-60 days from being announced. Our plan calls for creating two classes of membership, trader and commercial, then setting up separate forums and permissions that put up a one-way wall. Traders will be able to go into the commercial domain, but commercials will not interfere with the Traders' sections.

Because the Commercial Forum is a temporary measure, and the rules and procedures are not in place, there will be little clarity as to how we manage this forum and what the rules are. When we announce the new policy in 30-60 days the structure will be very clear. Please bear with us during this transitional period.

Fyi, it's not too late to influence our new policy! Please post your ideas here and they will definitely be taken into consideration!

http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=184345

EES responds:

The paradox is the following:

 
 

Those who are "Forex Professionals" meaning anyone whose primary income is from Forex (regardless if you are a broker, trader, programmer, or secretary of a Forex company) have in many cases more knowledge than non-professionals.  But professionals can basically only promote their own product, because it's what they feel is the best solution for Forex market. In other words, if someone asks a broker 'who is the best broker' he will probably say the company he works for, and what's wrong with that?  Limiting discussion to non-professionals ends up being without the knowledge of pros.  This should seem obvious but commercial products are seen as 'bad' where as amateur products are seen as 'real'.  This stigma should be stopped, and this commercial forum is a step in the right direction.  We can contribute our content including strategies for free to Forex Factory due to this significant change. 

 

Link to commercial forum:

http://www.forexfactory.com/forumdisplay.php?f=149

Testosterone-Charged Women Take More Financial and Career Risks

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aL1LRQuQcBf4
Testosterone-Charged Women Take More Financial and Career Risks

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The sex hormone testosterone, already linked to better performance among male stock market traders, may spur women to make riskier financial and career decisions, research showed.

Guaranty Bank Seized, Sold to BBVA

http://www.banktech.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219401165&cid=RSSfeed_TechWeb
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Troubled Texas lender Guaranty Bank has been sold to a Spanish bank after the U.S. government agreed to absorb about $3 billion of its losses, officials say.

Under the deal, announced Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., regulators took over the bank, based in Austin, Texas, then brokered its sale to the American subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in one of the largest-ever government-assisted deals with a foreign firm, The New York Times reported.

You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough - part 2 - origins of Artificial Intelligence

You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough- In this episode, the history of brainwashing and mind control was examined. The angle pursued by Curtis was the way in which psychiatry pursued tabula rasa theories of the mind, initially in order to set people free from traumatic memories and then later as a potential instrument of social control. The work of Ewen Cameron was surveyed, with particular reference to Cold War theories of communist brainwashing and the search for hypnoprogammed assassins. The programme's thesis was that the search for control over the past via medical intervention had had to be abandoned and that in modern times control over the past is more effectively exercised by the manipulation of history. Some film from this episode, an interview with one of Cameron's victims, was later re-used by Curtis in his The Century of the Self. The title of this episode comes from a paranoid schizophrenic seen in archive film in the programme, who believed her neighbours were using her as a source of amusement by denying her any privacy, like a pet goldfish.«

Boeing takes a dive with ‘nightmareliner’

This is quite a turnaround for Boeing, which is America's largest exporter. Barely a year ago, the company was doing well. Or so it seemed. ... http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2009-08-05-boeing-problems-dreamliner_N.htm

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009381335_787flaw250.html
The structural flaw that has grounded Boeing's 787 Dreamliner will likely add months of delay to the new jet program, an executive with one of Boeing's key Japanese partners said Wednesday.

Kiyotaka Ichimaru, an executive at the aerospace division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which makes the 787's carbon-fiber composite plastic wings in Japan, also said the problem announced Tuesday stems from Boeing's engineering design, not MHI's — an assessment confirmed by Boeing.

Ichimaru said MHI engineers are drawing upon the experience of similar problems on the Mitsubishi F-2 jet-fighter program in working with Boeing to fix the problem: a need for reinforcement of the structure where the Dreamliner's wing is joined to the load-bearing box at the center of the fuselage.

Ichimaru doesn't believe the structural flaw represents a fundamental safety concern.

"We are not seeing this as a very, very serious issue," he said in an interview Wednesday.

It's the business consequences of the new delay that may be more damaging. Boeing shares fell another 5.8 percent Wednesday after losing 6.5 percent Tuesday, when the company unexpectedly said it would postpone the Dreamliner's scheduled first flight. The company's stock has lost $5.58 in two days, shrinking its total market value by $4 billion.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2009/08/05/inside-and-outside-the-787-operating-theatre/
Inside and outside the 787 operating theatre

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2009/08/07/us-media-wakes-up-to-dreamliner-nightmare/
US media wakes up to Dreamliner nightmare

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/06/24/boeings-nightmare-liner.aspx
Boeing's Nightmare Liner Two years ago, when its maiden flight was supposed to usher in a new era of high-speed, low fuel-consumption aircraft for the world's airlines -- and a new era of profits for Boeing shareholders -- the "Boeing Dreamliner" name was apropos. But now you need to make it official: The 787 is now and forevermore to be designated the Boeing Nightmare Liner.

Yesterday, Boeing announced its latest delay in the maiden voyage of "ZA001," Boeing's code for the first prototype 787. The stock promptly crashed -- down 6.5% on the day -- and has continued to burn today -- down another 6% as of this writing. Which brings Boeing to a total of over 60% worth of market cap destroyed since the company first began announcing delays in the project.

Dan Rather reports on Boeing's use of composite materials in the construction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and introduces the concerns of former Boeing engineer Vince Weldon to the flying public. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epDtuSJm0eM

Prison Consultant Larry Jay Levine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Jay_Levine

Larry Jay Levine (born July 1, 1961) is an American federal prison consultant. In 2006, Larry Levine founded American Prison Consultants, a legal services firm that provides information and support to offenders that are about to enter the federal prison system. American Prison Consultants also operates under the synonymous name of Wall Street Prison Consultants.

Levine was arrested by a Federal Organized Crime Task Force in 1998, and was convicted of narcotics trafficking, securities fraud, obstruction of justice, and possession of automatic weapons. He was sentenced to ten years in federal prison by former U.S. District Judge Carlos R. Moreno who is now a Justice on the Supreme Court of California. In 2005, Levine was incarcerated at the former Nellis Federal Prison Camp outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, and upon its closure was transferred along with several hundred other Nellis white-collar inmates to the gang infested higher security La Tuna Federal Prison on the El Paso, Texas-Mexican Border. While at La Tuna, Levine single-handedly, filed a Federal Class Action
Habeas Corpus
Lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Prisons claiming that the DOJ had violated its own policies by sending the Nellis inmates into higher custody. Due to Levine's actions, the DOJ was forced to act and subsequently shifted hundreds of its inmates around the country to conform to the lawsuit's claims.

While in custody, Levine served time in 11 different Federal Correctional Institutions in California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma, where he self educated himself in Federal Criminal law, and upon release in 2007, became a renowned International expert on the U.S. Federal Criminal Justice System. Levine's advise, views, and comments, frequently appear in wire service news reports, TV, broadcast radio, magazine, and newspaper articles worldwide. Since the Bernard Madoff scandal, he has become a popular interview subject on CNN, Fox News Channel, CBS News, ABC News, MSNBC, Bloomberg and others.

In July, 2009, Levine was issued a Cease and Desist Letter by the NYSE New York Stock Exchange for copyright and trademark infringements due to Levine's use of images of the New York Stock Exchange and references to the NYSE and crime on the Wall Street Prison Consultants website.

EES Releases V Speed indicator for Spot FX Volatility

V (Volatility) Speed is an indicator that displays the current high-low (range) of each bar on the chart, and displays it in the data window below with a smoothed average of the past x(3) bars. 3 is the default, the longer the period the more long term the value, in other words if you want a short term volatility indication to signal an increase in volatility, a lower number should be used.

EES recommends using this indicator as a measure of volatility, and to signal an increase or decrease in volatility by watching the SMA. A cross up (when the SMA is below the V Speed line and crosses above it) of the SMA indicates a decrease in volatility and conversely, a cross down indicates an increase. The SMA values can be adjusted according to the specific pair and time frame used. V Speed can be referenced by strategies as an indication of volatility.

The name speed is derived from the method to determine how 'fast' volatility is moving, specific to your pair. Monitoring the VIX is not necessarily appropriate. V speed also is a handy tool to display each bars high-low which is the range.

Download this indicator at: http://www.eesfx.com

http://eesfx.com/eesfx/index.php/docs/doc_download/3-ees-v-speed-v11-code.html

Microsoft spends $100 Million to advertise Bing, a lot of it with Google

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/28/ads-for-new-microsoft-bing-search-engineon-google-search/

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/bing/default.mspx

Classification and Identification for FX Systems and Indicators

EES is developing a system of Classification and Identification for trading systems, indicators, and related files. The system will be based on existing international standards, modified for appropriate trading applications.

During recent market analysis, some words and descriptive terms are lacking to describe certain market events. EES will use existing scientific standards as a template to name our own systems and develop a trading nomenclature.

For example, we are developing an indicator that will determine market "velocity" which is the 'speed' of the pair divided by the time.

Another example, how does a trader measure the amount a pair may fluctuate in a range? It would calculate the amount of times the price crosses a line, or multiple lines, inside a trading range.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centimetre_gram_second_system_of_units

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol

To participate in this development, see the thread in eesfx.com:

http://eesfx.com/eesfx/index.php/forum/14-fx-systems/11-classification-and-identification.html

Commodity Traders’ $1 Million Bonus as Oil Doubles

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aafaX5C3qFmA
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street firms are again recruiting commodities traders with promises of $1 million bonuses as prices of raw materials from oil to copper double.

Less than a year after oil tumbled a record 54 percent and the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index was suffering its biggest drop ever, Bank of America Corp. plans to boost commodity headcount by 25 percent. London-based Barclays Plc will increase staff about 6 percent. Morgan Stanley is recruiting traders in shipping. The banks declined to comment on compensation.

Stocks slide, dollar gains

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNHdNnf9dDHY
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks tumbled around the world, led by China, while the yen, dollar and Treasuries rose as investors speculated that a rally in riskier assets has outpaced prospects for economic growth. Energy and commodity prices also slid.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFCS3BWplJOY
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Former Credit Suisse Group AG broker Eric Butler was convicted of fraudulently selling millions of dollars in subprime securities to corporate clients.

Interaction between MеtaTrader 4 and MATLAB Engine

http://articles.mql4.com/833
MetaTrader 4 and the MATLAB mathematical package have gained high popularity among users due to their positive characteristics, including "flexibility" in creation of complex calculation systems. There are three main ways of MATLAB connection with external applications, but only one of them is recommended - use of the virtual desktop MATLAB Engine. This method guarantees the full compatibility with the whole MATLAB package. Many programmers avoid this method for below reasons:

• Many users find it slow. This is true, if compared with the direct function call from DLL libraries of MATLAB. The main delay takes place at the beginning of operation, when the virtual machine is called because of the call of numerous libraries that are uploaded into the virtual space of the calling process (in our case MetaTrader 4).
  
• Transferability of the project. True, when transferring a project to another computer all MATLAB DLL libraries must also be transferred, though as well as when direct call is used, to know the "relations" of the latter ones, i.e. start queue!
  
• Obligatory knowledge of C++ or Fortran. Well, if you know MQL4, you can easily learn C++ and vice versa.
  

Why I recommend this method:

1. This is the most reliable and independent from the MATLAB version method of connection with external programs. You can change MATLAB version and your indicators or Expert Advisors won't notice it. This is the most important advantage.
   
2. It has a relatively quick development method. It doesn't require debuggers, and it will make no difficulties to write the DLL wrapper.
   
3. "Common desktop" for several indicators and/or Expert Advisors. I consider this method useful when we need to make a decision based on data of several indicators or in the implementation of a pyramid trade.
   

This article describes the way of connecting MetaTrader 4 and MATLAB ver. 7.4.0 (R2007a) via a "DLL-wrapper" written in Borland C++ Builder 6. Programmers who prefer Microsoft products will have to adapt examples to their compiler (good luck to you in this complicated matter!).

China offers Silver Investments

Forexcoding.com beta launch

First projects posted to forexcoding.com - http://forexcoding.com

Forex Projects on Code Plex

http://www.codeplex.com/site/search?projectSearchText=forex

Elite eFibo Trader released on MQL4.com

http://codebase.mql4.com/5882

Canadian Intervention Not Likely

http://marcchandler.blogspot.com/2009/08/canadian-intervention-highly-doubtful.html
There is much talk today, circulating NY dealing rooms, that the Bank of Canada is getting ready to intervene in the foreign exchange market. We are dubious are that the BOC would intervene unilaterally on the CAD/USD exchange rate. In fact, we cannot recall a single episode of BOC intervening on CAD/USD in recent years, if ever.Last week, when US dollar had a CAD1.07 handle and Euro-Cad was near 1.5350 that the Canadian dollar looked vulnerable.

Cities Tolerate Homeless Camps – Madoff wowed young regulators

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124994409537920819.html
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Last summer, police responding to complaints about campfires under a highway overpass found dozens of homeless people living on public land along the Cumberland River.

Eviction notices went up -- and then were suspended by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, a Democrat, who said housing for the homeless should be found first.

A year later, little has been found -- and Nashville, with help from local nonprofits, is now servicing a tent city, arranging for portable toilets, trash pickup, a mobile medical van and visits from social workers. Volunteers bring in firewood for the camp's 60 or so dwellers.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08112009/gossip/pagesix/madoff_wowed_kid_probers_183931.htm
YOUNG, inexperienced government regulators were so wowed by Bernard Madoff's ritzy Midtown headquarters that they asked about job openings and dropped off resumes while missing clear evidence he was running a massive Ponzi scheme, a new book claims.

 

Beyond the crisis, mindboggling science and the arrival of Homo evolutis

Flash Trading Ban

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE56R5OA20090728
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Stock Market supports a ban on so-called "flashes," order types that it and other stock-trading venues send to a select group of traders fractions of a second before revealing them publicly, Senator Charles Schumer said on Tuesday.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/153607-flash-trading-is-here-to-stay

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/business/24trading.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1249402696-UgY5aw4sTY/TBSx0WkH0A&pagewanted=print
"It's become a technological arms race, and what separates winners and losers is how fast they can move," said Joseph M. Mecane of NYSE Euronext, which operates the New York Stock Exchange. "Markets need liquidity, and high-frequency traders provide opportunities for other investors to buy and sell."

Goldman Program Packet Sniffing?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alXddMij8xxQ

http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/07/is-case-of-quant-trading-industrial.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/7/750786/-Incredibly-Shrinking-Liquidity-as-Goldman-Flushed-Quant-Trading

http://blogs.reuters.com/commentaries/2009/07/05/a-goldman-trading-scandal/
Did someone try to steal Goldman Sachs' secret sauce?

While most in the US were celebrating the 4th of July, a Russian immigrant living in New Jersey was being held on federal charges of stealing top-secret computer trading codes from a major New York-based financial institution—that sources say is none other than Goldman Sachs.

The allegations, if true, are big news because the codes the accused man, Sergey Aleynikov, tried to steal is the secret code to unlocking Goldman's automated stocks and commodities trading businesses. Federal authorities allege the computer codes and related-trading files that Aleynikov uploaded to a German-based website help this major "financial institution" generate millions of dollars in profits each year.

Google Search: http://www.google.com/search?q=goldman+sachs+packet+sniffing&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe= Goldman Sachs Packet Sniffing

Morgan Stanley hires Citi’s Sopp for FX trading

Singapore: Morgan Stanley has hired Stuart Sopp from Citigroup as its Asia head of G-10 spot currency and forward trading, sources close to the matter said.

Sopp, who was previously Citigroup's Singapore-based head of G-10 spot FX trading, would move to Hong Kong to start his new job at Morgan Stanley, sources said.

The hiring is a sign of Morgan Stanley's focus on forex and flow business, one of the sources said, as investor appetite grows for plain vanilla products after a market meltdown last year saw demand wane for riskier derivatives and hedge funds.

Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley said last month they would join a group of banks supporting a joint venture between foreign exchange settlement provider CLS Group and interdealer broker ICAP plc to reduce risks in processing.

Morgan Stanley is looking to hire sales and trading professionals in all major trading centres across the world, the source said.

Morgan Stanley, which became a bank holding company last year, repaid $10 billion from the government's troubled asset relief program in the last quarter when it posted a third straight quarterly loss.

For Citi, Sopp's departure comes less than a year after he joined the US bank from Deutsche Bank.

A Citigroup spokesman confirmed Sopp's departure. Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the move.

Citi, which vowed to remain focused on Asia, has struggled to retain high-profile executives in the past few months. The bank, one of the worst hit by the financial crisis, has taken $45 billion in bailouts from the US government.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which was bailed out by the British government, lost Ivan Ferraroni, its head of forex sales and trading in Tokyo, to Barclays, according to Barclays on Tuesday.

It comes a few months after RBS lost David Dredge, deputy global head of local markets at RBS and a key risk trader, to Artradis Fund Management, Singapore's largest hedge fund manager.

http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/28135425/Morgan-Stanley-hires-Citi821.html?h=B

EUR/USD Technical Analysis - Short Term Top? Selling Opportunity at Open?

EURUSDanalysis8.1.2009, originally uploaded by eliteeservices.

EUR/USD Technical Analysis August 1st 2009 – EUR/USD short term top - selling opportunity at market open?
EUR/USD could retrace to 1.4190 based on the following factors:
• RSI on hourly above 70
• Intrepidus FX Sell Signal
• EUR/USD is up based on technical break of the hourly channel (see chart 1 below)
• Profit taking on EUR/USD longs
• 1.43 is an established daily high since may (see chart 2)
• Same logic applies on USD/CHF Long
What could cause it to go higher?
• A continued selling off of the USD

Daily EUR/USD with established high near 1.4335

* EUR/USD back and forth price action was not impressive until the better than expected US GDP release was met by a negative equity reaction which sent EUR under 1.41. After digesting the data, which included benchmark revisions, equities took back losses and EUR bounced. The advance accelerated into the 16:00bst month end fix as EUR reached 1.4180. When USD bids nowhere to be found in thin post fixing activity EUR/USD extended to 1.4279 before it ran out of steam.
This is not a recommendation to sell EUR/USD. It means that when the market opens if EUR/USD fails to break through the high, selling could continue to fibo levels and hourly trendline. If EUR/USD breaks the 1.4279 high, expect it to go much higher initially.
There is a lot of fundamental pressure short USD at the moment, so if this is not a short term top, expect the EUR to explode.

Automated Trader updates 8.1.2009

The Q3 issue of Automated Trader is out now, and there's plenty of food for thought.....but first, here's a roundup of this week's news....

Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced the addition of four new electronic options algos to their trading platform, whilst Charles River released news that their Investment Management System is fully integrated with UBS Perimeter algo allowing clients to trade US markets outside of regular hours.

Equinix continued their string of expansion announcements from last week with news that they will open a second data centre in Singapore,
Essex Radez announced the expansion of its feed offering at Equinix NY-4,  AboveNet released plans to expand their dedicated London fibre network,  and Savvis announced that they will host Credit Suisse's Crossfinder trading platform.

CBSX released news that they will use SunGard Assent Liquidity Services for execution and clearing, Baikal continue their use of LSE group firm UnaVista for matching, reconcilliation and data integration, and Standard Chartered have been selected by the Singapore Mercantile Exchange as clearing and settlement bank.

In other news, Senator Charles Schumer fired a warning shot across the bows of the high frequency trading community and threatened legislation with a caution to the SEC to curb traders' flash orders.

On the menu in the Q3 issue of Automated Trader.....

You want alpha with that? And do you want your order well done or scrambled?  We serve up the latest in adaptive routing technology in this issue's cover story.  And don't miss John Howard's interview with the team behind the Danix Master Fund  who've created a healthy low volatility meal consisting of a discretionary main course with a systematic side order.

You wait all year for a round table, and then two come along at once. We've been at the heart of the industry debate on a whole variety of issues this month. First, there's our roundtable debate on latency, in which key industry figures debate not only strategies for managing (and solutions for reducing) the L-challenge, but also the prospect of a latency standard. You wouldn't think you could standardise speed, would you?

If your answer to that question is "No", maybe you should take a look to see what our panel of a dozen industry experts are thinking. Our latency debate is big - more than we could fit into a single issue of the magazine - so we've continued it online, and given you the chance to have your say.  Go to our online debate to find out the panelists views and to add your own - the debate is gathering momentum even as you read this, and if you're not part of it – well, you're not part of it. 

Then there's the big discussion about European equities trading, MiFID and the role of the MTFs. The table wasn't quite round, but the debate – concentration, cost, complexity, competition – was full and frank. That's what you get when you put two exchanges, four MTFs and one exchange/MTF into a small room and invite them to agree on how best to execute in Europe.  Wondering how it's all going to play out? So were we as we buffed up the crystal ball and took a look at where forecasting  might lead us on page 51.  Has the gap between forecasts and reality widened in recent years? And if so, should we adjust our use of forecasts?

David Clayden and our US photographer, Marisa Calin, are on the loose at SIFMA in New York, while Peter Green, CEO of The Kyte Group, discusses an evolution for his firm that might just turn into an evolution for the industry. Are you a big-bank client with a little-bank client profile? Maybe it's time to change.

Enjoy the issue, and see you online.

Jenny Eastham
Managing Editor
Tel: +44-207-183-2208
www.automatedtrader.net

British Academy to Queen: 4000 risk managers but no synthesis, didn’t see the big picture

Risk management was

considered an important part of financial markets. One of our major banks, now mainly in

public ownership, reputedly had 4000 risk managers. But the difficulty was seeing the risk to

the system as a whole rather than to any specific financial instrument or loan. Risk calculations

were most often confined to slices of financial activity, using some of the best mathematical

minds in our country and abroad. But they frequently lost sight of the bigger picture.

http://media.ft.com/cms/3e3b6ca8-7a08-11de-b86f-00144feabdc0.pdf

Order Imposing Conditional Fine Upon Robert Gray

http://www.robbevans.com/pdf/forexlqorder10.pdf

EES joins oDesk

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The oDesk Manifesto for Online Work

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Gordon Brown: Internet & Technology has overrun Elite way of business

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8161650.stm
Technology means that foreign policy will never be the same again, the prime minister said at a meeting of leading thinkers in Oxford.

The power of technology - such as blogs - meant that the world could no longer be run by "elites", Mr Brown said.

Policies must instead be formed by listening to the opinions of people "who are blogging and communicating with people around the world", he said.

Mr Brown's comments came during a surprise appearance at TED Global.

"That in my view gives us the first opportunity as a community to fundamentally change the world," he told the TED Global (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference.

"Foreign policy can never be the same again."

Forex Factory launches Broker Quotes multi-quote tool

Broker Quotes beta launched

After a substantial development period we're proud to unveil Broker Quotes, the first multi-source Forex quotes on the Internet! You can check out the live version in the left column of the News page http://blog.forexfactory.com/?p=879

Tradeview Forex FIFO Solution

As many of you are aware, this Friday July 31st, NFA Rule 2-43 becomes

effective for all US based FDM's and clients. Starting with Trade date

Monday August 3rd, all positions will be closed on a First In, First Out

(FIFO) basis. For those clients using IKON Platinum or IKON Viking

platforms there will be no change to your normal trading activity. For our

Meta Trader clients, however, there will be some changes you should be aware

and prepared for:

 

1. The FIFO roll process will begin everyday at 4:30 PM New York

(Eastern United States Time)

2. From 4:30 until 5:00 PM all Take Profit and Stop Loss orders will

be on a not held and contingent basis

3. Starting 4:30 PM any Take Profit or Stop Loss orders associated

with a FIFO matched position will be automatically cancelled.

4. Any Take Profit or Stop Loss orders on open (meaning not totally

closed positions) will be working.

5. It is your responsibility to verify all Filled/Working and

Open/Pending orders for accuracy

 

We are pleased to have created a solution that meets everyone's (clients and

regulators) requirements. We look forward to your feedback and thank you

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TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT, VISIT HTTP://WWW.OPENFOREXACCOUNT.COM and select tradeview forex

EES - The Forex Conundrum

It's difficult to know what one can say publicly about Forex. If performance is mentioned, it should first be approved by the NFA (as should any marketing material). Comments from insiders and partners are told in trust that it will not be repeated. Talking about market direction could be construed as a solicitation to invest or place a trade, opening potential liability issues. It seems there isn't anything one can mention without someone having a problem. Take a position, someone will be on the other side. And then readers complain about trader's making idiotically benign statements such as 'the market goes up and it also goes down.'

Even as this text goes to print, someone somewhere is thinking "what do they mean by this," and "are they talking about me?"

In an industry that revels in anonymity and secrecy, had its credibility ruined by fraud and misrepresentations, that is misunderstood and widely misinterpreted, is it any wonder that 95% (some sources say 99% others say 90%) lose money? As soon as it seems one trend is forming, forces come from out of nowhere and knock the market to another direction. Examples lately have been the SNB revaluing the franc, and announcements by the Fed purchasing US Treasuries.

Speaking of which, that is one investment that can be recommended without having various persons, agencies, and other organizations irritated by comments – TIPS. TIPS are the only haven investors have left to put their savings. Although not tax free, TIPS provide an excellent hedge against inflation and ultra high credit ratings. In fact, based on the perceptions about Managed Futures, Forex, and day trading, it may be simpler for CTAs to simply stop managing accounts and just invest their client funds in TIPS.

Advice for traders

With all the complexities in Forex, it should be an easy case to make that any trader should only use quantitative automated strategies to trade Forex. In order not to upset your counterparties, any strategy should be market-neutral and not take any 'position' in the market. This is easily done with options and much less easily done in spot Forex. However, with the use of automated trading tools, it is very possible. A trader must extract alpha from spot Forex at the same time, no one should know about it, or else those who are peddling other strategies may become jealous and feel threatened. One should use a broker that charges high commissions, so the broker doesn't see the strategy as some sort of intellectual competition to the broker. A tough market to trade, just ask McDonalds.

Asian Market Update: Nikkei breaks out to October highs despite poor Q1 results from shippers; Bernanke talks down inflation worries, concerned about labor market

Asian Market Update: Nikkei breaks out to October highs despite poor Q1 results from shippers; Bernanke talks down inflation worries, concerned about labor market


- Asian equity markets remained on the bullish track fuelled by continued outperformance of the tech sector across the regional bourses even as the Nikkei shipping names plunged after posting poor Q1 earnings and US Fed chairman cautioned about the ongoing weakness for US labor. Nikkei225 briefly rose to its best level since October above 10,170, gaining nearly 2.5% before retreating back to 10,100. Hang Seng and Kospi were also up over 1.5%, while S&P/ASX and the Taiex were both higher by 1% with about 2 hours to go in Tokyo trading. Ahead of the US Monday open, front-month S&Ps reversed early weakness to rally 0.2% to $980 and benchmark yields advanced by a tick to 3.67%.

- Fed Chairman Bernanke offered a town-hall interview with PBS, defending the Federal Reserve independence against the rising scrutiny of Congressional lawmakers and further justifying bailout of large financial institutions to the angered "main street" audience. Most significantly, Bernanke retained the dovish outlook displayed in his Congressional testimony last week, suggesting that emergency credit programs will be unwound only when there is certainty of economic recovery while offering expectation of low inflationary pressure over the next couple of years despite the massive fiscal and monetary stimulus. Fed chairman also tempered optimism over economic rebound translating into job creation, forecasting unemployment above 10% and also suggesting that 1H of 2010 may not mark the peak of jobless rate as widely believed. With regards to congressional movement to audit the Fed, Bernanke was steadfast in the institution maintaining its independence, noting that politicians should not make monetary policy decisions, with the most likely result to interference being higher inflation.

- Asian trading economic calendar was light but is expected to pick up in days to come, with housing data from Australia and RBNZ decision marking the key events of the week. Japan June Corporate Service Price index registered its biggest decline on record at -3.2% y/y, slightly better than the -3.3% expected. South Korea's Consumer Confidence came in at 7-year high of 109.0, while UK's July Hometrack housing survey saw its best y/y level in 9 months at -7.7%. Over in China, Xinhua press quoted Stats Bureau economist Yao urging policymakers to maintain accommodative stance on monetary and fiscal front - comments in line with recent sentiment suggesting the momentum of economic recovery may not be sufficiently stable.

- In equities, Japan's financials closely tracked the market-leading tech sector after Nikkei press said Nomura, Nikko Cordial, and Daiwa Securities will post a profit in the first quarter because of rising revenues from banks' underwriting business. In other gainers, Fuji Heavy was lifted by over 5% after a JP Morgan upgrade, and Hitachi gained over 5.5% after announcing it would make its separately listed group firms publicly listed. Among notable decliners, Nikkei's shipping names Mitsui OSK, Nippon Yusen, and Kawasaki Kisen reported poor results across the board, dropping sharply after mid-day recess to overall session declines of 3-5%. Elsewhere, Sumitomo Chemical fell 5% even though the company said it was not the source of press speculation on Friday that operating profit may fall 90% y/y to ¥1B. Mitsubishi Motors also refuted press rumor it would post a ¥20B operating loss on 50% drop in sales to ¥300B. Outside the Nikkei, shares of Virgin Blue were halted on announcement it would raise A$231M in new equity. The airline also forecast poor outlook for the current and next year, with FY09 Net loss seen at A$160-A$165M v loss A$19.2M expected and 2010 net at breakeven v a profit of A$28.2M expected. In Korea, tech giants Samsung and Hynix were sharply higher after strong earnings posted late last week, and local press reported that Doosan Heavy's Babcock unit has developed technology allowing coal power plants to generate electricity without CO2 emissions.

- In currencies, European and commodity started off weaker against the greenback but reversed higher as Asian equity markets opened to the upside. EUR/USD traded as high as 1.4240, GBP/USD reached 1.6460 after dip below 1.64, and USD/CHF traded below 1.07. In commodity FX, USD/CAD ranged between 1.0830-80, AUD/USD rose above 0.82, while NZD approached multi-month highs just above 0.66. Japanese Yen was relatively unchanged, trading in a thin 97.70-90 band vs USD but selling off against the other majors.

- Crude oil prices opened the session lower, but have since moved into positive territory and above $68.50. Crude oil is tracking the gains in Asian equities and the commodity currencies against the US dollar. In terms of oil demand related news, the US Lundberg survey showed that the average price of regular gasoline declined by 2.7% to $2.49/gallon in the two weeks ended July 24, after the prior survey showed that prices declined by 3.9%. Despite, the most recent decline in gasoline prices, Lundberg believes that gasoline prices may rise at least 10 cents even if crude oil prices do not rise as retailers and refiners seek to improve their margins. Spot gold is higher by more than 0.10% and is tracking the gains in oil prices. In other metals trading, Shanghai copper and aluminum have moved to multi-month highs, tracking the gains in Chinese equities.

EES 2.0

Email, www, and text messaging are 1.0 – Use the 2.0 web with EES by using:

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McDonalds loses 7% on US Dollar move

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awrz2xNoLSrA
July 23 (Bloomberg) -- McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, dropped the most in nine months in New York trading after second-quarter revenue declined more than analysts projected.

McDonald's fell $3.12, or 5.3 percent, to $55.70 at 2:41 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had the biggest intraday decline since Oct. 24 after losing 5.4 percent this year before today.

Slowing consumer spending and a stronger U.S. dollar contributed to a 7 percent drop in revenue, to $5.65 billion, the company said today in a statement. Global sales at established stores rose 4.8 percent, less than analysts' projected, as visits declined in countries including China.

Foreign Exchange

Currency translation trimmed profit 9 cents a share in the quarter, the company said. McDonald's now expects foreign exchange to cut full-year earnings by 21 cents a share, and forecast it will reduce third-quarter profit by 6 cents, Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen said.

The Dollar Index, which the ICE futures exchanges uses to track the dollar against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, including the euro, British pound and yen, rose more than 10 percent in the 12 months through June.

Foreign Embassies told to Stockpile local currencies for a year

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14446 A top investment advisor, Harry Schultz - who was MarketWatch's Peter Brimelow pick for financial newsletter of the Year in 2008 - is now claiming:

Some U.S. embassies worldwide are being advised to purchase massive amounts of local currencies; enough to last them a year. Some embassies are being sent enormous amounts of U.S. cash to purchase currencies from those governments, quietly. But not pound sterling. Inside the State Dept., there is a sense of sadness and foreboding that 'something' is about to happen ... within 180 days, but could be 120-150 days.

Investment advisor and former Army Counterintelligence officer Bob Chapman is saying the same thing, reporting on the possibility of a so-called "bank holiday" planned for late August or early September. According to Chapman's sources, U.S. embassies around the world are selling dollars and stockpiling money from respective countries where they operate.

Leading trend forecaster Gerald Calente has also repeatedly predicted a "bank holiday".

But the rumors of embassies being advised to stockpile local currency is stunning and - if true - point to a possible huge devaluation in the dollar.

Modern Cave man lives without money

http://men.style.com/details/features/landing?id=content_9817&ref=patrick.net
DANIEL SUELO LIVES IN A CAVE. UNLIKE THE average American—wallowing in credit-card debt, clinging to a mortgage, terrified of the next downsizing at the office—he isn't worried about the economic crisis. That's because he figured out that the best way to stay solvent is to never be solvent in the first place. Nine years ago, in the autumn of 2000, Suelo decided to stop using money. He just quit it, like a bad drug habit.

His dwelling, hidden high in a canyon lined with waterfalls, is an hour by foot from the desert town of Moab, Utah, where people who know him are of two minds: He's either a latter-day prophet or an irredeemable hobo. Suelo's blog, which he maintains free at the Moab Public Library, suggests that he's both. "When I lived with money, I was always lacking," he writes. "Money represents lack. Money represents things in the past (debt) and things in the future (credit), but money never represents what is present."

On a warm day in early spring, I clamber along a set of red-rock cliffs to the mouth of his cave, where I find a note signed with a smiley face: CHRIS, FEEL FREE TO USE ANYTHING, EAT ANYTHING (NOTHING HERE IS MINE). From the outside, the place looks like a hollowed teardrop, about the size of an Amtrak bathroom, with enough space for a few pots that hang from the ceiling, a stove under a stone eave, big buckets full of beans and rice, a bed of blankets in the dirt, and not much else. Suelo's been here for three years, and it smells like it.

Harvard going broke: No more free coffee or warm classrooms

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/harvard200908?fark Outside, along the Charles River, the cherry trees were in bloom. In Harvard Yard, the wide grassy lawn was soft and green. To my left was a bronze statue of John Harvard, the university's first major benefactor, his shoe polished to a high gloss by passersby. Then something else caught my eye: discarded paper cups, torn and crumpled candy wrappers, an empty Evian bottle. The trash can in front of the stately, granite University Hall was overflowing. It was a bad sign.

Smith's audience listened intensely. Already, they had seen evidence of the cutbacks Smith was alluding to. All across campus, as a preliminary measure, thermostats had been lowered during the winter months, from 72 degrees to 68 degrees. Students and faculty were no longer entitled to free coffee at the university's Barker Center. The Quad Express, which shuttles students between the Radcliffe Quadrangle and Memorial Hall, would soon be running every 20 minutes, not every 10 minutes. More recently, despite loud protests from Harvard's athletes, among others, it was announced that hot breakfasts would no longer be served on weekdays at undergraduate residential houses. Instead of bacon, poached eggs, and waffles, students would have to get by on cold ham, cottage cheese, cereal, and fruit.

Increase in malware infections predicted as more workers stay at home to avoid swine flu

Increase in malware infections predicted as more workers stay at home to avoid swine flu

SC Staff

July 20 2009

A 200 per cent increase in the number of roaming and home workers is a result of the growing threat of swine flu.

A report in the Financial Times recently claimed that almost one in eight workers are likely to be forced to stay at home with swine flu. Nine per cent of the workforce is expected to be sick by the end of August when the peak of the first wave of the swine flu pandemic in the UK is expected.

According to Spencer Parker, director of product management at ScanSafe, there has been a significant global upturn in the number of roaming and home workers over the last eight weeks, especially in the UK and US.

Parker said: "Many companies are beginning to implement a disaster recovery plan as swine flu continues its march across the globe. Part of this plan is preparing for the obvious increase in the number of employees that will be working from home. In normal times around five per cent of the internet traffic that we secure comes from mobile or home workers, this is now up to 15 per cent."

Parker also predicted that it will not be long before sophisticated cybercriminals turn their attention to infecting websites designed to inform and advise the public on swine flu, due the huge increase in traffic they are receiving.

According to previous ScanSafe research, roaming workers are 8.5 times more likely to visit illegal file sharing sites than their colleagues in the office and 2.5 times mores likely to visit pornography sites, putting employers at risk of legal liability and exposure to malware.