InvestMacro Forex News

By The Sizemore Letter

The annual InvestorPlace contest has a host of double-digit winners, including $DDAIF and $INTC.

It has been an interesting ride for the stock market in 2013, with the S&P 500 up about 16% year-to-date.

So how are the stock pickers faring in our Best Stocks for 2013 feature, which was meant to provide 10 buy-and-hold picks that deliver big gains from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31?

As a whole, not bad. Here’s the rundown as of the closing bell Thursday, May 23:

• Sherwin-Williams (SHW): +21%
• Intel (INTC): +19%
• Mylan (MYL): +16%
• Two Harbors (TWO): +15%
• Daimler (DDAIF): +11%
• Fomento Economico Mexico (KOF): +10%
• Global X Funds Greece ETF (GREK): +8%
• Qualcomm (QCOM): +4%
• Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD): -7%
• Vale (VALE): -24%

Daimler is going strong with a nice dividend and upside potential in China’s luxury market, even if some data in the nation isn’t looking so hot.

As for Intel, the semiconductor company has a wide moat and a big market share even if it has mobile struggles in a post-PC age. We’ll have to see how the new CEO steps up to the plate.

It’s worth noting that collectively, the list has unperformed in 2013. But there still are many months left to go before the end of the contest … so stay tuned to see which pick wins!

This piece was originally published on The Slant.

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By www.CentralBankNews.info Here’s today’s Central Bank News’ link list, click through if you missed the previous link list. The list comprises news about central banks that is not covered by Central Bank News. The list is updated during the day with the latest developments so readers don’t miss any important news.

By www.CentralBankNews.info     Hungary’s central bank cut its base rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 percent, as widely expected, but made no further immediate comment in a decree from the bank’s monetary council.
    The National Bank of Hungary has now cut its rate 10 times in a row. At its last meeting in April, the bank said it would consider further rate cuts if the outlook for inflation remained in line with the bank’s target and sentiment in financial markets remained positive.
    Hungary’s inflation rate fell to 1.7 percent in April from 2.2 percent in March, continuing the trend of declining inflation since a peak of 6.6 percent in September 2012.
    The central bank targets inflation of 3.0 percent and said last month inflation was likely to remain below this target this year and settle around the target in 2014.
    Hungary’s Gross Domestic Product expanded by 0.7 percent in the first quarter of this year for annual contraction of 0.9 percent, less than the 2.7 percent shrinkage in the fourth quarter.
    Since starting its easing cycle in August last year, the central bank has cut rates by a total of 250 basis points with rates cut by 125 points this year.

     www.CentralBankNews.info

London Gold Market Report
from Adrian Ash
BullionVault
Tues 28 May, 08:05 EST

ALTHOUGH silver rallied, the price of gold held onto an earlier drop Tuesday morning in London, retreating from last week’s closing levels as UK and US traders returned from national holidays.

 Gold edged down to $1380 per ounce, half-a-percent below Friday, even as the US Dollar slipped on the currency market.

 Silver recovered to $22.33 per ounce, just 10¢ shy of last week’s finish.

 World stock markets rose sharply meantime, adding 1.7% to London’s FTSE100. Major government bonds fell, nudging interest rates higher.

 “The business cycle puts gold in an uncomfortable position,” reckons Bank of America analyst Michael Widmer in London.

 “Higher growth, rise in nominal [bond] yields and subdued inflationary pressure have all limited investor buying.”

 UBS precious metals team agrees, saying that 2013’s “strong rally in equities…has presented an obstacle” for the gold price. Because the metal now faces competition for investment capital.

 However, “some moderation of the trend of rotating out of gold in favor of equities may be in store,” the Swiss bank’s bullion analysts said in a note Friday. Because “much of this [rotation] has already been done.”

 One major route to gold-price exposure, exchange-traded gold trusts have lost 443 tonnes of gold so far in 2013 – a drop of nearly one fifth – says a note from Barclays Capital. But they still hold 109 tonnes of “cash negative” positions, it warns.

 With those investors looking to cut their losses on gold, “prices continue to be exposed to downside risk in the near term,” says BarCap. “But once this metal is flushed out, we believe prices are more likely to stabilize.”

 “Some people still have faith in gold,” says Yvonne Wang at metals consultancy Beijing Antaike, speaking to Bloomberg on Monday about the latest central-bank gold reserves data from the International Monetary Fund.

 As a group, central banks added more than 30 tonnes of gold to their foreign currency reserves in April, the IMF says.

 More than half that sum came from commercial banks in Turkey putting physical gold on deposit at the central bank in Ankara.

 Russia led actual purchases, growing its central bank gold bullion holdings by 0.8% to 989 tonnes.

 “I think [this] news will help to steady the gold price decline,” says Wang.

 End of business Tuesday will mark expiry and settlement for the June contract in US gold futures.

 The heaviest interest is concentrated at $1400 per ounce, so “it is no surprise to see the market within touching distance of that level,” says David Govett at precious metals broker Marex.

 “If we rally at all today, expect some initial selling ahead of this, but if we manage to break through, then some short covering” – forcing a spike in prices as bearish traders rush to close their positions.

 Betting against gold prices by hedge funds and other speculators through US futures ended last Tuesday equal to nearly 340 tonnes – the highest level in at least 20 years – according to data released Friday.

 Subtracting those bearish bets from the bullish contracts held by speculative traders, the group last week cut their “net long” position on gold for the 3rd week running.

 That’s “the longest streak of liquidations we’ve seen since October last year,” says Standard Bank’s analysis.

 Meantime in Asia, “We are not seeing any signs of slowing down,” said one Singapore dealer to Reuters this morning.

 “People are still thinking it is a good price to go in at.”

 After India tightened controls on gold imports at the start of this month, gold dealers in Hyderabad have now “run out” of gold coins, according to the Deccan Chronicle.

 India’s government yesterday moved to try and curb interest in gold still further, blocking owners of exchange-traded gold funds (ETFs) from raising loans against those shares through Indian banks.

 Neighboring Pakistan, in contrast, may cut its import tax on gold according to theBusiness Recorder. Because the 1% duty imposed six years ago has now been blamed for increased smuggling and lower bullion-import revenues.

 Gold smuggling to India could rise by 40% to 140 tonnes in 2013 reckons the Thomson Reuters GFMS consultancy. That would account for nearly one ounce in every six sold to consumers in the world’s heaviest gold buying nation.

 Adrian Ash

BullionVault

 Gold price chart, no delay | Buy gold online

Adrian Ash is head of research at BullionVault, the secure, low-cost gold and silver market for private investors online, where you can buy gold and silver in Zurich, Switzerland for just 0.5% commission.

(c) BullionVault 2013

Please Note: This article is to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it.

EURUSD — The EURUSD Tests Support 1.2880

The UK and U.S. had a bank holiday yesterday, thus the markets’ liquidity was low, thus it didn’t contribute to the stable (or unstable) movements’ formation. Consequently, the currency was sluggishly trading in narrow ranges, including the EURUSD as well, which spent the entire day between the 1.2915 and 1.2948 levels. During the Asian session, the rate dropped to the support at 1.2880, but managed to return to the starting position soon. Thus, the pair’s overall picture hasn’t undergone any changes, the situation remains the same: the pair itself remains under pressure, but it manages to confidently stay above the support in the levels proximity of 1.2900-1.2880, as well as above the 50-day MA. The Parabolic SAR is still below the price chart. In general, the range of 1.2880-1.3000 was formed there, whose breakdown would indicate the movement direction in the pair.

The GBPUSD attempted to increase above 1.5142. It managed to do it, but not for long. Having tested the 1.5156 level, the pair came under pressure again and dropped to 1.5087. Having rebounded to the level of 1.5114, the GBPUSD pair closed the yesterday’s trading day. during the Asian session, speculators were purchasing the U.S. dollar. As a result, the pair decreased to 1.5063, but managed to recover to the levels that preceded by the decrease. Thus, the pair is still holding above the punched resistance line, keeping the growth potential. A drop below 1.5050 significantly worsen the prospects for the pound.

Like most of the currency pairs, the USDCHF pair spent the whole boring day yesterday in a narrow range. The level of 0.9592 was the low of the day, the high — 0.9647. During the Asian session, the pair managed to increase to 0.9685, and after a pullback to 0.9655, the pair returned to the previous level. Thus, the dollar has found a strong support near the 96th figure, enhanced by the 100-day MA and this time, it is approaching the 97th figure. If it has been passed, this would confirm the uptrend resumption, as well as the drop below 0.9600 — this would weaken the U.S. currency.

The USDJPY bears failed to break the bulls’ defense near the support at 100.70. This time, the bulls returned to the market, and the pair increased again, having reached the level of 102.05. According to the daily chart, the pair is no longer overbought both on the weekly and monthly charts, the RSI is still in the overbought zone, thus it’s not the fact that the ongoing dollar’s increase will continue. However, if the 102.60 resistance has been passed, it would jeopardize the pair’s highs near 103.70. The drop below 100.66 may be the confirmation of the pair’s downward correction.

provided by IAFT

By HY Markets Forex Blog

The price of West crude oil continues to fall for the third time in a row since last week’s reports of the China’s weak demand from the industrial activity. Meanwhile the Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is due to release the review of its aim for oil production in a meeting scheduled for May 31.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded below $94 a barrel since last Friday and later dropped on Tuesday to 0.62% at $93 .57 a barrel  ,while Brent futures fell 0.11% to $102.51 a barrel .

According to a survey taken by Bloomberg news, the U.A.E members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are expected to keep their output target at 30 million barrels per day when the members meet in Vienna .The U.A.E’s energy minister, Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, says the current prices are “suitable and fair, “according to the official WAM news agency.

The OPEC members gathering this week would tackle the disagreements regarding possible splits between the African and Arab members of the OPEC and the disagreement over the impact of the increase in U.S oil production.

According to the minister OPEC, Global demand of crude oil is predicted to remain weak throughout the year. Last Wednesday, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank would continue to purchase assets until the labor market improves. The Oil prices dropped ever since the Fed Chairman’s statement.

Exports to the U.S from three of OPEC’s African members, Angola, Algeria and Nigeria, have fallen to the lowest in decade’s .Falling to 41% between 2011 and 2012 .While exports from Saudi Arabia to the U.S have increased by 14% in 2012.

The post Crude prices extends fall before OPEC meeting appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

By HY Markets Forex Blog

Gold prices struggles as it drops while the U.S. dollar strengthen, proving the economy is improving.

The yellow metal is still struggling just below the $1,400 level for the fourth time on Tuesday.

Among the expected data releases Is the data from the US consumer confience and the Shiller Case composite house price index for investors.

Spot gold dropped 0.46% to $1,388.35 at 5.34am GMT. The yellow metal has dropped by 17% so far this year after getting a break during the two sessions last week. Dollar rallied by 5.1 percent against a six currency basket and was traded at 83.840 with predictions by the Federal Reserve, which may scale back quantitative-easing measures that assisted the metal cap a 12-year bull run in 2012.

Recently gold managed to retrieve its safe-haven status and received a boost from Asia after a fright over the Japanese market and withdrawal from investors. The Japanese central bank inserted 2 trillion yen into the markets to help the government bond yield rally at the beginning of the trading session.

Last week, US Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke refused to withdraw the current pace of monetary stimulus until the economy improves; however the Fed currently buys $85 billion of Treasury and mortgage debt every month. Spot gold is heading for a second monthly loss as it dropped 5.9 percent in May.

Cash silver fell by 0.9% to $22.4805 an ounce while Platinum had a slight fall at $1,450.75 an ounce.

The post Gold declines as dollar strengthens before U.S data appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

There’s always strength in numbers.

The equities market is definitely due for a prolonged break, but one subsector I always follow is restaurant stocks. These are key benchmark stocks, and the performance of these stocks offers up an unscientific survey on consumer spending and sentiment.

So many restaurant stocks experienced a breakout at the beginning of the year. Then they took a break and re-accelerated again.

If there is more confidence in the economic landscape, consumers spend money on eating out or ordering in food.

Restaurant stocks are a group where you can make good money as a stock market speculator. Peter Lynch (the famous manager of the Magellan Fund) always advocated for this sector, telling investors to look here for opportunities. He wrote a chapter on it in his book Beating the Street.

What Lynch advocated, and I agree with wholeheartedly, is that a successful restaurant company must have an experienced and capable management team, proper financing, and a deliberate and methodical approach to expanding the concept. He advocated that a company’s slow and steady business expansion is what wins the race at the end of the day.

The great thing about restaurant stocks is that they don’t have to have a brand-new concept to be successful.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ/CBRL) is one of the many companies that have been hugely successful over the last few years.

Cracker Barrel has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 18 and is yielding 2.3%. The position has doubled on the stock market since the fall of 2011.

The company’s revenues in its latest quarter grew 4.4% to $702.7 million. Comparable store restaurant sales increased 3.3%, while earnings grew an impressive 37% to $35.17 million. The company just boosted its quarterly dividend by 25%.

Among other successful restaurant stocks, we recently considered Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ/BLMN). (See “Fast Food Breakout: New Names Crushing the Competition.”)

Bloomin’ Brands is the new Outback Steakhouse. The company’s other brands include Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, and Roy’s.

Since Bloomin’ Brands listed in the summer of 2012, the company has almost doubled in value.

Any aggressive investor should consider restaurant stocks as part of their ongoing search for new positions.

Even during tough times, restaurant stocks can surprise to the upside. McDonalds Corporation (NYSE/MCD) proved this with its value menu during the recession.

There have been a lot of interesting new initial public offerings (IPOs) in restaurant stocks. I would be researching all of them. The key to a good restaurant company is the package: experienced management, good backing from Wall Street, and a deliberate plan for expansion that preserves profitability. Company-owned (not franchised) stores are also a big plus.

There are always going to be new winners in restaurants stocks. Follow the group for the next big thing.

Article by profitconfidential.com

The one-day sell-off last week in Japan’s equities market with the benchmark Nikkei 225 plummeting more than seven percent in one day should not be ignored; in fact, the drop may be a harbinger of things to come. I don’t have a crystal ball, but my market sense is tingling.

The reality is that the sell-off in the equities market was not a surprise, given that the Nikkei has advanced 70% over the past six months. And this advance was driven largely by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aggressive 10-year stimulus strategy to jumpstart the dormant Japanese economy.

Yet what was more concerning was the lack of a follow-through by the Nikkei equities market after the sell-off, as the index rallied a mere 0.9% the following day.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

The market’s fear is that if the selling continues on the Nikkei, this could drive down confidence in the equities market and trigger deeper losses on the horizon, including declines in domestic trading.

The Japanese equities market could easily go lower, given the advance so far.

For Prime Minister Abe, should the Japanese equities market reverse course and decline, the move would likely erode confidence in Japan and test Abe and the country’s resolve.

In my view, as I have discussed in these pages in my previous commentary on Japan (read “Japan Not Home-Free Despite Strong GDP”), the country’s aggressive fiscal and monetary policy is not a sure bet to get Japan out of its economic abyss.

In fact, the aggressive printing of money in Japan will create a bloated national debt level on the country’s balance sheet, which is already one of the weakest in the world.

The ability to drive the economy by spending trillions may work in the upcoming years, but I wouldn’t feel good about amassing the amount of debt that Japan is.

The sell-off in the Nikkei equities market could make investors uneasy on this side of the Pacific.

Domestically, the market is concerned about the Federal Reserve looking at a possible reduction of its bond-buying program as early as June during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that is scheduled for that month.

The fear is that more selling in the Nikkei equities market may trigger deeper losses to come not only in Japan, but elsewhere; so there may be some apprehension to jump into stocks at this point.

The chart of the S&P 500 below suggests that a possible correction may be in the works, as shown by the ovals. Note also that in 2012, the S&P 500 gained a mere seven points from May 1 to October 31—historically the weakest six months for stocks, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac—but advanced 13.4% for the year, so we could be headed for some slack.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

I would want to see a bigger sell-off here before considering injecting new capital into stocks.

Again, while the advance has been financially rewarding, I still feel a correction is on the horizon. A big sell-off could be an opportunity to buy.

Article by profitconfidential.com

By MoneyMorning.com.au

Most people don’t realise their car is actually a powerful computer. Computers in modern cars control the multimedia system, sat-nav, dashboard and engine. And approximately one third of all computing in cars is just to tell you what’s going on.

Have you ever wondered…how does the car start after pushing the start button? How does it know there’s 24km left to empty? How does it know the rear left tyre is at 34 psi?

Because as a car moves through the production line, sensors, computers and millions of lines of computer code are installed.

Mercedes Benz claims their new S-Class model has over 30 Million lines of code. And that’s just for the multimedia system.

In comparison, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Jets uses about 5.7 Million lines of code to operate its on-board systems. A Mercedes is more complex than a fighter jet!

But there’s more to these car-computers than just sat-nav and MP3′s. One of the aims of car makers is using technology for safety. Companies like Mercedes, Volvo and Audi are all working on their own version of a revolutionary safety project…

Automated Driving!

The World Health Organisation estimates 1.24 million people die every year as a result of car accidents. The most common cause of these accidents is human error. Worryingly, half of the fatalities are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Further to this, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates car related injury and death has a lifetime economic impact of over $70 billion.

That’s why the need for auto-cars and auto-safety is so important. It will help eliminate human error from car-accidents. It might even eliminate car-accidents completely. That’s the real goal of auto-car technology.

It’s closer than you might think too. Mercedes said they could have put automated driving in the new S-Class. But they weren’t 100% confident the system would pick up everything, just yet.

They’re so close it means within the next 12 months we could see an auto-car on the market.

It’s not just car makers that are working on auto-cars either. Google gets a lot of press about its driverless cars. And for good reason. They’re doing great things with the technology.

Google fitted a Lexus with a complex array of lasers and sensors. With this technology, the driver can sit back, relax and let the car drive itself. The Google Lexus has logged thousands of driverless miles. And a fleet of Google Priuses with the same tech has logged over 500,000 driverless miles.

There’s a good chance if you live in the US you’ve passed one and didn’t even know.

You’ll continue to hear a lot about Google’s driverless cars, but don’t expect to be heading down to a Google dealership anytime soon. Remember, they run a search engine. They don’t make cars.

The other car maker that might put out a complete auto-car is Tesla Motors. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been talking with the team at Google about automating the Tesla range. As reported by Bloomberg, Elon thinks, ‘autopilot is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars.’

Tesla has been working on the technology in house but aren’t quite at the stage of Mercedes or Audi. That is, they don’t actually have a test model yet.

When I look closer at the tech involved in auto-cars I see opportunity. But the opportunities might not necessarily lie with the car companies themselves. It might be with manufacturers of the tech used for these systems.

Take for example a company like nVidia. It makes cutting edge graphics hardware. It’s likely there’s nVidia tech in your smartphone or tablet.

You see nVidia have partnered with Audi, Tesla and a number of other car makers. They use nVidia technology mainly for multimedia functions. But one of the key partnerships is with Audi.

Audi use nVidia tech in new safety systems. nVidia say their hardware can detect pedestrians, read speed limit signs, improve navigation and avoid collisions. All functions crucial for an auto-car.

Its companies like nVidia that may benefit from auto-cars as more adopt the technology. And the future might just be a world with no road accidents ever again.

Sam Volkering
Technology Analyst, Money Morning

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From the Archives…

The Day Japan and China Shook the Aussie Market
24-05-2013 – Kris Sayce

Why the Only Thing That Matters in the Markets is Japan
23-05-2013 – Murray Dawes

When Soros Buys Gold Stocks, You Better Take Note…
22-05-2013 – Dr Alex Cowie

Look for Small-Cap Resource Stocks with Plenty of Cash
21-05-2013 – Dr Alex Cowie

Why Bank Stocks have Outperformed Resource Stocks…
20-05-2013 – Kris Sayce