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European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Greece’s plan to cut the euro-area’s largest budget deficit will win the backing of investors and credit-rating companies. “At this stage my working assumption is the Greek government decision will be convincing,” Trichet said in an interv...

Charles Schwab warned first-quarter earnings will fall short of fourth-quarter levels as the brokerage said February trading fell 14%.

The greenback and Japanese yen weakened across the board on Friday versus most of their major counterparts. In Asia, the single currency traded with a firm undertone following Thurday's strong rise. Traders later reacted to earlier news of President Obama had picked San Francisco's Fed President Jan...

Stocks may have a hard time finding traction ahead of the Fed's Tuesday meeting, but the trend for the market is clearly higher, strategists say.

Janet Yellen and two other likely nominees are expected to be a key counterweight to the Fed's most 'hawkish' policy makers.

Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in February from a month earlier. Sales excluding the volatile autos sales increased 0.8%. Compared with a year ago, sales rose 4%.

U.S. equity markets finished down on Friday and barely avoided a closing price reversal top which would have signaled the start of a possible retracement to the downside. The March E-mini S&P 500 and NASDAQ made new highs for the year while all three indices closed higher for the week. Friday saw...

The Euro closed the week higher and in a position to continue the rally as financial tensions have eased enough in Greece to warrant the beginning of a short-covering rally. Technically, the main trend is up on the daily chart with 1.4009 a possible near-term target. Although most of the strength...

There is a growing divergence in the state of the financial market’s fundamentals and its general level of activity. In the past week, there have been developments that have degraded the fidelity of the Euro Zone, leveraged the threat of a financial crisis in China and added risk to the very assets that are used to establish risk-free returns.

U.S. equity markets finished down on Friday and barely avoided a closing price reversal top which...

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There is a paradox at play when it comes to learning to trade in that beginning traders need to be much more patient than experienced traders. This is because beginners need to focus on taking just trend trades, and avoid counter-trend trading; while experienced traders can take both.

SUMMARY The week provided a long period of consolidation that finally saw the Dollar break supports...

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The Euro closed the week higher and in a position to continue the rally as financial tensions have...

For more information, read our latest forex news and reports.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Friday the yen's strength is out of step with the country's fragile economic recovery, urging the government to take "firm steps" to counter the growth-limiting effects of a strong currency.

Volatility perked up modestly for the active NYMEX crude contract Friday such that the market would test a new eight-week high of $83.16 before reversing course and potentially forging a bearish breakout. With the week’s close pulling the market below a trendline that has guided the commodity upward for over a month now, a speculative barrier has been removed. What is needed now is momentum; and such 

 

Swiss Franc Vulnerable As SNB Threat Grows

Fundamental Forecast for Swiss Franc: Neutral

- Swiss National Bank leaves benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25%
- Consumer Prices Decelerated to 0.9% from 1.0%, despite a 0.1% increase in February
- The Swiss unemployment rate fell to 4.4% from 4.5%, but was unchanged at 4.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis.

After starting the week on a choppy note the Swiss Franc saw its appreciation begin to accelerate despite the SNB reaffirming their commitment to prevent excessive franc appreciation. The statement came following the central bank’s policy meeting where they left the benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25%. Building optimism and an unexpected surge in Euro-zone industrial production were the main drivers of Franc support to end the week. The Swiss unit has tracked the single currency as its economic fortunes are dependent on the Euro-area’s recovery. Policy makers have looked to limit the local currency’s appreciation against the Euro but despite the threat of intervention the EUR/CHF closed below 1.4600 for the first time in over a year. The Franc also reached the highest level in a month against the dollar and yen as markets reversed the flight to safety flows generated by the issues in Greece.

Friday Currency Wrap-Up: The US Economy Is Still Trending Higher
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Japanese Yen: Speculation for Intervention to Intensify Ahead of BoJ

Fundamental Forecast for Japanese Yen: Bearish

- Current Account Surplus Widens on Rising Exports
- 4Q GDP Expands Less-Than-Expected
- Machine Tool Orders Jump at Record-Pace in February

The Japanese Yen continued to pare the sharp rally from February, with the USD/JPY crossing back above the 50-Day SMA (90.44) to reach a fresh monthly high of 91.08, and the exchange rate looks poised to test the 200-Day SMA (91.86) over the following week as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledges to temper the appreciation in the low-yielding currency. At the same time, Finance Minister Naoto Kan said that the government stands ready to intervene in the currency markets during a speech in front of the Diet, while Deputy Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda argued that the economy remains “in a mild deflationary state” and assured to “pay attention” to the Bank of Japan interest rate decision next week as policy makers aim to balance the risks for the economy.

The day's economic data was mixed, the volume was light and the market was directionless. According...

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The day's economic data was mixed, the volume was light and the market was directionless. According to our sources on the CME floor, most of the locals had left for the day by mid-session and this made for extremely quiet market conditions. The S&P has never settled higher 11 days in a row (cash or futures) but came close to doing so today. The cash S&P 500 index settled down a quarter, just under positive territory. The June futures contract traded sideways into the close but