Following last night’s finale of ABC’s The Bachelor, USA Today says that South Africa hopes to boost tourism revenue. Bachelor Brad Womack took the final two contestants on a series of exotic dates in the country, which tourism promoters hope will spark interest. Interested travelers already have the option to book “The Bachelor Ultimate South Africa Getaway,” a 10 day7 night package that includes round-trip airfare from New York or Washington, and flights within South Africa, four nights at Cape Town’s One&Only hotel, and other extras. Package rates start at $6,875 per person.
RANsquawk Market Wrap Up – Stocks, Bonds, FX
Market Wrap-Up covering Stocks, Bonds, FX, etc. Japan in focus, radiation, quantitative easing, FOMC decision.
Swedish and Norwegian Kroner Sink as Traders Flee Risk
As Japan braces for a potential nuclear meltdown, banks and global investors watching the crisis have begun to reevaluate their currency positions given the rapid shift in risk appetite.
As many large investors turned to safe-havens following the devastating earthquake and tsunami, forex traders have watched the value of the Japanese yen and US dollar regain much of their former glory versus a number of the more peripheral currencies, like the Scandinavian kroner.
Many banks have begun to adjust their expectations regarding interest rate hikes given the deteriorating global risk sentiment. Australia and New Zealand have even hinted at a possible reduction in rates by mid-year given the dramatic shift seen this past week.
Additionally, finance ministers in both Sweden and Norway have begun to propose higher capital requirements for banks and stricter controls on lending. The measure has been attacked by businesses as undermining competition, but financial overseers appeared favorable towards these initiatives given the region’s higher exposure to risk in comparison with its larger euro zone neighbors.
The impact of the shift in risk sentiment, a decrease in business confidence regarding the region’s proposed bank regulations, and falling commodity prices have combined to undercut the strength of both Sweden and Norway’s currency values. Against the US dollar, the Swedish krona (SEK) fell from 6.3071 to 6.4749 over the past three days, while the Norwegian krone (NOK) underwent a similar shift from 5.5704 to 5.7214.
Nuclear Meltdown: How To Trade It
This video discusses the market crash in Japan after radioactive material spewed out from nuclear power plants. It talks about the master levels, reveals the key trades and major supports and resistances and looks at key plays to profit from in the coming days.
Rumors Of Insider Trading Swirl Around Berkshire Hathaway’s Deal
Rumors of insider trading surround Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK.B) deal to buy Lubrizol (NYSE:LZ) announced just yesterday, after analysis by Bloomberg showed call trading surged suspiciously on March 9th, 5 days before the deal was announced, to 2,931 contracts, far higher than Lubrizol’s 4-week average trade volume of 413. A single block of 2,168 April $110 calls traded for $2.35 each that day, their value surging 11-fold to $24.70 yesterday. The company’s common stock jumped 28% to $134.68. Ophir Gottlieb, head of client services at Livevol Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of options market analytics said, “That is more than suspicious. It looks like a naked purchase of calls, and that’s highly suspicious if not straight insiders trading.” Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE:EVR) were the financial advisers to Lubrizol, while Jones Day was legal counsel. Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP was legal counsel for Berkshire.
TopNotch’s Technical Levels after Heavy Volume Globex Selloff
E-mini S&P charts from Tim “TopNotch” Haefke shows the last real low of 1163.00, before the move to new highs. It then shows the # 3 trend line as the year mini low of 1250.75.
RANsquawk Afternoon Briefing – US/European Activity, Radiation, Energy Markets
US/European afternoon briefing covering Japan nuclear reactor, radiation, European equities, US Market activity. Energy markets slightly off lows.
Forex Blog: SuperTrend Technical Trading Indicator for Metatrader 4
By Zac, CountingPips.com
An interesting Metatrader Indicator that I have come across and have been experimenting lately with is the SuperTrend Indicator.
This is very straight forward visual indicator based on support and resistance levels. SuperTrend shows an uptrend in green and a downtrend in red. The trend changes when the established support or resistance level is breached.
The default input settings are for 10 periods and a multiplier of 3.0 but you can experiment with these settings to make the support/resistance levels tighter or looser.
James from theforexarticles.com has written a lot about this indicator and uses it in his 4-Hour Trading System (he gives away the 4-H system for free in his email newsletter).
To play around with this indicator, see the MT4 SuperTrend download link from theforexarticles.com and at TradeWays for a Metatrader5 indicator download.
Microsoft Reportedly Halts Zune, Intros New Internet Explorer
Microsoft (MSFT) is going to stop producing new versions of its Zune music and video player due to weak demand, Bloomberg reports. Bloomberg cited a person familiar with the decision, who said a move away from the Zune will the let the company shift its focus to other devices.
Google to Test Mobile Phone Payment System With Four Months
Google (GOOG) shares are down while Bloomberg reports that the Internet company plans to start testing a service that lets users ring up purchases using their phones. Citing two people familiar with the deal, the report says that the company will pay for installation of thousands of specialized cash register systems from VeriFone (PAY). The trial will take place in New York and San Francisco within four months. Google shares are down 0.96%, or $5.49, to $564.29.
