Author: FX_Trdr

Increasingly worried analysts have cut their earnings growth expectations for the S&P 500 by a stunning 83%.

In an era of intense government surveillance and secret court orders, a multimillion dollar business has emerged among telecommunications carriers, with the average telephone wiretap costing the government more than fifty thousand dollars. (July 10)

U.S. regulators have labeled insurer American International Group Inc. and General Electric Co.’s finance arm as potential threats to the financial system, designations that bring stricter government oversight.

The sudden resignation of Barnes & Noble Inc’s chief executive could indicate the struggling bookseller is closer returning to basics: bookstores. William Lynch, CEO since 2010, quit just two weeks after the company reported a 34 percent drop in revenue in its Nook business, a venture he spearheaded that has cost Barnes & Noble hundreds of millions of dollars.

By CountingPips.com

The weekly Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Monday due to 4th of July holiday (usually Friday release) by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures traders and speculators increased their total bullish bets of the US dollar last week after four weekly decreases.

Non-commercial large futures traders, including hedge funds and large International Monetary Market speculators, raised their overall US dollar long positions to a total of $22.37 billion as of Tuesday July 2nd. This was an advance from the total long position of $13.28 Billion that was registered on June 25th, according to position calculations by Reuters that derives this total by the amount of US dollar positions against the combined positions of euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

USD net long positions are now at to their highest level since June 11th when bullish positions equaled $28.28 billion, according to Reuters data calculations.

What is the COT Report:

The weekly cot report summarizes the total trader positions for open contracts in the futures trading markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators).

Individual Currencies Large Speculators Positions in Futures:

The large currency speculator net positions showed weekly declines for each of the individual major currencies last week.

Individual Currency Charts:

EuroFX:

EuroFX:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: EuroFX

British Pound Sterling:

GBP:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: Pound Sterling

Japanese Yen:

JPY:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: Yen

Swiss Franc:

CHF: 

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: Franc

Canadian Dollar:

CAD:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: CAD

Australian Dollar:

AUD:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: AUD

New Zealand Dollar:

NZD: 

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: NZD

Mexican Peso:

MXN: 

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: MXN

The Commitment of Traders report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions data that was reported as of the previous Tuesday (3 days behind).

Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and a net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar.

(The graphs overlay the forex spot closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.)

See more information and explanation on the weekly COT report from the CFTC website.

Article by CountingPips.com

After ten seasons, So You Think You Can Dance has finally landed its ultimate dance partner: Paula Abdul! The former American Idol judge will be making her debut as a guest judge on the Fox reality dance competition, the network recently announced. Abdul will join Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy at SYTYCD’s judging table for tonight’s episode.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services is downgrading Italy’s credit, saying the country’s economic prospects are getting weaker.

Relentless media coverage is hindering SAC Capital executive Michael Steinberg’s chances at a fair trial because it mostly presumes his guilt on insider trading charges. To fix the problem, Steinberg’s legal team asked for permission to have potential jurors fill out a questionnaire to identify any potential bias among them.

Barnes & Noble Incorporated said that William Lynch has stepped down as CEO, effective immediately, just weeks after the book retailer announced weak sales, big losses and the declining popularity of its Nook e-readers.

According to data analysis firm CoreLogic, fewer U.S. foreclosures were completed in May compared with a year ago, while the number of houses in the foreclosure process also declined as the market continued to heal.