EU bails out Greece

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-31/new-aid-package-for-greece-to-be-decided-by-end-of-june-eu-s-juncker-says.html

European Union leaders will decide on additional aid for Greece by the end of June and have ruled out a “total restructuring” of the nation’s debt, said Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the group of euro-area finance ministers.

Inspectors from the EU, the International Monetary Fund and theEuropean Central Bank are set to wrap up a review of Greece’s progress in meeting the terms of last year’s 110 billion-euro ($158 billion) bailout in the next few days. The EU will then formulate its plan for further aid to Greece, which remains shut out of financial markets a year after the rescue.

“We are waiting for their final judgment,” Juncker, who is also Luxembourg’s prime minister, said yesterday in Paris after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. “Their position will partly determine our position, so it’s too early. We will try to solve the Greek problem by the end of June.”

Bitcoin Market

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/

Bitcoincharts provides financial and technical data related to the Bitcoin network. If you're not familiar with the numbers on the left you can find explanations here.

Bitcoin Virtual p2p currency

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency. Peer-to-peer means that no central authority issues new money or tracks transactions. These tasks are managed collectively by the network.
http://www.bitcoin.org/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-25/ready-to-erase-whiteboards-ideapaint-lands-1-700-lowe-s-stores.html

Ready to Erase Whiteboards, IdeaPaint Lands 1,700 Lowe’s Stores 

Digital advertising shop HUGE has close to two-thirds of its Brooklyn, N.Y., office’s walls covered with IdeaPaint. “You can feel free with your ideas, and not all of them are going to be great. That’s okay -- you can just erase it and start all over,” says HUGE partner Michal Pasternak. Promising sketches are photographed before they are erased, then shared like documents. Flexible office space facility Cambridge Innovation Center in Boston started using the paint expansively last fall; much of its 130,000-square-foot space is covered now. “It definitely has the ‘cool factor’ that we strive to include to make our space unique and keep our clients coming back,” says Anna Whitlock, a customer ‘relationship manager’ at the space.

Domestic Spying, Mainstream Source - NSA, Internet Spying, AT&T

Dollar Drop Boosts Tourist Spending in U.S.

The price is right for foreign shoppers in the U.S. as the sagging dollar boosts their purchasing power on everything from jewelry to vitamins.

“When I come to New York, it feels like I am getting great deals,” said Molly Lewis, a 40-year-old nurse from Manchester,England, who spent an afternoon last week hunting down bargains on Louis Vuitton handbags in Manhattan. “Things are much cheaper here than back home.”

The British pound had climbed 13 percent against the U.S. dollar in the past year, along with gains in the euro and Canadian and Australian dollars. That’s given travelers a zest for spending, which may help U.S. retailers make up sales as budget-wary U.S. consumers stick to the sidelines. Travelers from abroad spent $8.9 billion on food, lodging, gifts and entertainment in the U.S. in February, up 7 percent from last year, according to the Department of Commerce.

The Mall of America, the biggest shopping center in the U.S. with 520 stores, is reporting a surge in international visitors, hitting retailers from Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM) to Coach Inc. in search of American goods.

The dollar has weakened by about 4 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indices. The measure of 10 developed-nation currencies has fallen 15 percent in the past year amid concern the Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy will debase the value of the dollar and spur inflation.

IMF Strauss-Kahn Setup alleged

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/dominique-strauss-kahn/8517387/Dominique-Strauss-Kahn-conspiracy-theories-mount.html 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703421204576329690735300066.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

From the Media Research Center

While reporting on the sexual assault case against International Monetary Fund Chairman Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday's Today, NBC correspondent Jeff Rossen noted how the would-be Socialist Party candidate for the French presidency had "worried his political opponent, current French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would try to frame him with a fake rape..."

Rossen further added that Strauss-Kahn once told a French newspaper that the rape victim would be "promised 500,000 or a million euros to invent this story" by Sarkozy. Following Rossen's report, correspondent Michelle Kosinski highlighted French outrage over Strauss-Kahn's arrest: "I would say that the reaction ranges from disbelief to outright disgust. To see their VIP paraded before cameras, the socialists are calling it 'inhumane'....they're saying that this looks like a humiliating public exhibition like something from ancient times."

The headline on screen during the segment read: "French Conspiracy Theories; Was Banker Set Up as Part of Political Plot?"

After Kosinski's report, co-host Meredith Vieira discussed the case with the former head of the New York City Sex Crimes Unit, Linda Fairstein. Vieira began by touting: "There are some people in France who are speculating that this could be a political set-up." The headline on screen at that time had changed to read: "Sexual Assault or Political Plot?; The Case Against French Banker Strauss-Kahn."

DRS R 3.6 on USD/JPY for the week

http://eesfx.com/portal/30-drs-r/194-usdjpy-for-last-week-5162011-drs-r-36.html See Forum (must be logged in)

About DRS - R http://eesfx.com/portal/drs-r/drs-r.html

Automated Trader Global AlgoMarkets Update

Orc released a new version of the Orc Spreader 2.0, Colt is to buy a majority stake in MarketPrizm from Instinet, and Saxo Bank has begun publishing market data from the OTC FX Options market. Options IT's PIPE Velocity reduced Chicago - New York round trip latency by 2 milliseconds, ISE selected CorvilNet and CorvilClear solutions for its new options trading system, smartTrade Technologies completed CME Group Connectivity Certification for FX Futures, and TOM (The Order Machine) MTF market data is to be included in Thomson Reuters European real-time feeds.

ConvergEx enhanced its NorthPoint platform for mutual funds using alternative strategies, TAG launched Meteor platform for Custom Analytics, Fidessa is to host its Canadian trading platform in Equinix's Toronto IBX data centre, Brazilian brokerage Banif Corretora selected the Progress Apama platform for high frequency trading strategies, and also in Brazil BM&FBOVESPA joined TradingScreen's TradeNet.

Edge combined the data feed and order routing capabilities of RealTick and Sterling Trader with new software, FIX Flyer signed a distribution agreement with German company FIX Solutions,  Direct Edge is offering customers market access to seven major dark pools through Connect Edge, and UBS announced a new suite of intuitive algorithms for trading US Options. 

Euro Slides as Trichet Signals Rate Rise Won’t Come in June

The euro slid against the dollar and yen after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said inflation risks will be watched “very closely,” signaling the ECB may wait until after June to raise interest rates again.

Speaking at a news conference in Helsinki, Trichet refrained from using the phrase “strong vigilance,” which might have signaled a June rate increase. European policy makers left the main refinancing rate unchanged at 1.25 percent today, as predicted by all 48 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Japan’s currency climbed against all of its 16 most actively traded peers. The Australian dollar declined for a fourth day.

The euro dropped 1 percent to $1.4684 at 2:45 p.m. in London, posting the biggest intraday decline since April 18. It earlier climbed to $1.4900. The 17-member common currency slid 1.8 percent to 117.39 yen, while the Japanese currency surged 0.8 percent to 79.93 per dollar.

“By signaling that a June rate hike is not likely, Trichet has put the euro under pressure,” said Kasper Kirkegaard, a senior currency strategist at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “A June hike has to be priced out of the market.”

The central bank last month raised the rate by 25 basis points, the first increase in almost three years. While inflation accelerated to 2.8 percent last month and economic growth is gaining momentum, higher borrowing costs may exacerbate Europe’s debt crisis, which has already forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to ask for external help.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-05/euro-is-little-changed-after-ecb-keeps-key-interest-rate-stable-at-1-25-.html

Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Jump Due to Anomalies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose to an eight-month high last week and productivity growth slowed in the first quarter, clouding the outlook for an economy that is struggling to gain speed.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, the highest since mid-August, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Claims were pushed up by factors ranging from spring break layoffs to the introduction of an emergency benefits program.

Economists had expected claims to fall to 410,000.

A second report from the department showed nonfarm productivity increased at a 1.6 percent annual rate, braking from a 2.9 percent pace in the fourth quarter. The growth pace was above economists' expectations for 1 percent.

"I think we're in a situation where the markets and the Fed have been too optimistic," said Bob Andres, chief investment strategist and economist at Merion Wealth Partners in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

"I don't think we're going to fall off a cliff but the road to real recovery and full unemployment is going to take a long time, and people ought to get back into that mode."

U.S. stock index futures extended losses after the jobless claims data, while government debt prices touched session highs the data. The dollar extended losses against the yen, but rose against the euro.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-jobless-claims-jump-to-rb-1852891451.html?x=0&.v=1

EES Releases Tick Monster High Frequency EA

Tick Monster High Frequency EA

Tick Monster is an automated expert advisor robot that trades off of ticks.  Common filters such as Pivot Points,  SMA, RSI, and EES V Speed, traders can use Tick Monster with their favorite indicators.

With an extensive amount of features, Tick Monster can be used in many different ways.  At it's core, Tick Monster is a high frequency EA.  By changing tick settings, it can be modified to trade less frequently.  It has been designed with the concept of structural and modular programming providing flexibility and choices for traders to decide which modules to use.

For more information, visit: http://tickmonster.com

Tick Monster is available included with eesfx.com subscription

Osama bin Laden killed, buried at sea. Al Qaeda to unleash nuclear hellstorm

SHOT IN HEAD; BIN LADEN IS DEAD.....
Mission was to kill, not capture...
Crowds gather at White House, Ground Zero to celebrate...
Obama: U.S. Carried Out Operation 'At My Direction'...
W: 'No Matter How Long It Takes, Justice Will Be Done'...
Killing brings anger, relief in Arab world...
Heat on Pakistan...
Hamas condemns killing of 'holy warrior'...
WIKILEAKS: Al Qaeda to unleash 'nuclear hellstorm' if Osama killed...

FEAR: Security Tightened at NY Airports, World Trade Center Site... 

NFA bars Clash Financial for greater than 20% commission / equity ratio

NFA's analysis of trades in Clash customer accounts identified commission to
equity ratios that were consistently higher than 20%. Owens generated more than
$91,500 in commissions on invested equity of approximately $314,000 between
July 1 , 2009 and March 31 , 2010. In 2009 alone, Clash customers lost more than
$243,000 while paying almost $50,000 in commissions. Approximately 95o/o of
Clash customers lost money during that year. More than 80% of the trades tested
by NFA had to achieve positive returns of greater than 30% simply to overcome
commissions and fees. In fact, break even points required to cover commissions
and fees reached as high as 81o/o,86% and even 977o.

http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/CaseDocument.aspx?seqnum=2624


NFA permanently bars Georgia firm, Clash Financial LLC

April 1, Chicago - National Futures Association (NFA) has permanently barred from NFA membership Clash Financial LLC (Clash Financial), an Introducing Broker located in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Phil A. Owens, sole principal and associated person of Clash Financial, is also barred from NFA membership and principal status for a period of six years and barred from associate membership for a period of three years. In the event that he reapplies for NFA membership after the expiration of the bar he must also pay a fine of $15,000. The Decision, issued by an NFA Hearing Panel, is based upon an NFA Complaint filed in October 2010 and a settlement offer submitted by Clash Financial and Owens.
The Complaint charged that Owens and Clash Financial recommended trades that maximized commissions without regard for the best interests of a customer and made deceptive sales solicitations.

The complete text of the Complaint and Decision can be found on NFA's website (www.nfa.futures.org).

DBFX leaves retail FX - moves clients to Gain

We'd like to inform you that from Friday 13 May 2011, Deutsche Bank will no longer provide dbFX, its online FX trading platform for individuals and small institutions. dbFX has made arrangements that will allow existing clients to open an account with FOREX.com, one of the largest providers of retail foreign exchange in the market. http://www.dbfx.com/

In a very surprising move Deutsche Bank, a very large forex liquidity provider, and one of the few ‘retail fx banks’ has announced that it is ceasing to provide dbFX (its retail forex arm). This effectively leaves forex traders with only one forex bank trading option – CitiFX Pro. Gain Capital is the big winner here as it acquires client assets (of those who’ll agree to this move) of dbFX’s current clients while FXCM loses what’s probably its largest White Label. In the latest chapter of the battle between two largest US forex brokers Gain Capital takes the upper hand.
This is what dbFX had to say about the reason for this step: “dbFX has been a strongly performing business for Deutsche Bank but has reached a point where in order to reach its full potential it requires significant investment in specific resources which are not consistent with Deutsche Bank’s current strategic initiatives.” If I read between the lines then what I can gather is that perhaps the White Label relationship with FXCM has become too expensive or non-competitive, perhaps of the ever reducing spreads and/or increased competition and regulatory scrutiny in the US. Another good reason would be that by June this year dbFX would probably be required to become an RFED due to its foreign bank status which would require major restructuring and additional compliance – which probably wasn’t worth it for Deutsche Bank.

http://forexmagnates.com/dbfx-is-exiting-the-retail-forex-market-transfers-clients-to-gain-capital-forex-com/