Author: FX_Trdr

Westlake (WLK) had its estimates increased by Wells Fargo (WFC), as lower ethan costs will add to the bottom line. A market perform rating was issued.

In trading on Monday, waste management shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.1%. Helping drag down the group were shares of Swisher Hygiene (SWSH), down about 3.2% and shares of Clean Harbors (CLH) down about 1.4% on the day.

The first trading day of the holiday shortened trading week opens today with investors sending stocks lower as talks to avert the fiscal cliff seem to have stalled. Good morning, this is Kristin Bianco with the Week Ahead Market Report for December 24, 2012.

By CountingPips.com

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures speculators continued to add to their overall short position in the US dollar last week for a fourth straight week.

Non-commercial large futures traders, including hedge funds and large speculators, registered a US dollar short position total of 6.39 billion on December 18th after totaling a short position of 1.03 billion on December 11th, according to the CFTC COT data and calculations by Reuters which calculates the dollar positions against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

Individual Currencies Large Speculators Positions:

EuroFX: Currency speculator sentiment for the euro improved last week for a fourth straight week and to its highest level (lowest short level) of the year. Euro net short positions or bets against the currency declined to 9,736 contracts on December 18th from the previous week’s total of 31,623 net short contracts on December 11th. Euro positions are at their best level since August 30th 2011 when positions were short by just 384 contracts.

The COT report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions as of the previous Tuesday. It can be a useful tool for traders to gauge investor sentiment and to look for potential changes in the direction of a currency or commodity.

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.)

GBP: British pound sterling positions increased just slightly last week to advance for a fourth straight week. British pound speculative positions rose to a total of 28,036 net long contracts on December 18th following a total of 27,954 net long contracts on December 11th. December 18th’s total is the second highest level all year for pound sterling positions after the October 30th total of 30,094 contracts.

JPY: Japanese yen speculative contracts rebounded slightly last week to stem their recent sharp decline that brought yen sentiment to its lowest level in over five years. Japanese yen positions improved to a total of 89,163 net short contracts reported on December 18th following a decline to a total of 94,401 net short contracts on December 11th.

CHF: Swiss franc speculator positions increased last week for a fourth consecutive week and to the highest level of 2012. Speculator positions for the Swiss currency futures registered a total of 4,280 net long contracts on December 18th following a total of 3,209 net long contracts as of December 11th. Swiss franc positions are at their highest level since September 13th 2011 when long positions equaled 5,493 contracts.

CAD: Canadian dollar positions increased higher to rise for a second consecutive week. Canadian dollar positions advanced to a total of 74,278 net long contracts as of December 18th following a total of 62,533 net long contracts that were reported for December 11th.

AUD: The Australian dollar positions decreased last week after rising for three straight weeks and reaching a new 2012 high level. Aussie speculative futures positions declined to a total net amount of 97,496 long contracts on December 18th after totaling 103,376 net long contracts as of December 11th. Australian dollar contracts have risen seven out of the last nine weeks and hit the highest level of the year on December 11th.

NZD: New Zealand dollar speculator positions dropped sharply last week following three straight weeks of advances to a new 2012 high level. NZD contracts decreased to a total of 14,230 net long contracts as of December 18th following a total of 24,600 net long contracts on December 11th. The New Zealand dollar speculator positions were at their highest level in 2012 on December 11th after surpassing the previous high on February 20th at 24,211 contracts.

MXN: Mexican peso speculative contracts dipped slightly last week after three weeks of increases. Peso positions decreased to a total of 147,749 net long speculative positions as of December 18th following a total of 149,271 long contracts that were reported for December 11th. Peso positions on December 11th registered a new 2012 highpoint and surpassed the September 25th level of 141,256 contracts that was the previous high level for this year.

Article by CountingPips.com – Forex News & Market Analysis

This fifty first week of 2012 comes to a close with investors fretting that a fall off the cliff is becoming a more likely possibility. Hi.

Ameren (AEE) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley (MS) to overweight with a price target of $37.50, as the recent exit from the merchant generation business should add to earnings. Shares are lower by about a third of a percent.

Stocks are sharply lower on news budget talks have broken down between Republicans and President Obama. House speaker John Boehner says he still wants a deal with the President to avoid massive tax hikes in January.

In trading on Friday, agriculture & farm products shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.8%. Leading the group were shares of Westway Group (WWAY), up about 8.7% and shares of Ceres (CERE) up about 0.7% on the day.

Blackrock (BLK) was initiated with a rating of overweight by JP Morgan (JPM), as the firm believes that Blackrock’s fixed-income and equity ETFs will provide growth. Shares are higher by about 1.5 percent.

CIS Acquisition (CISAU) announced the pricing of its IPO and commencement of public trading on December 19, 2012. The initial public offering was of an aggregate of 4,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit.