Archive for the ‘Financial Glossary’ Category

Swiss unlimited forex intervention plan opens new round in currency wars

May 9th, 2012 Paul Smith

Switzerland opened a new round in the global currency war on 6 Sep 2011 as the Swiss National Bank’s decision to cap the Swiss franc for the first time since 1978 marked a bid to protect trade hurt by record currency strength against the euro and dollar. The Swiss central bank said it is “prepared to buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities” to keep the euro above 1.20 francs. The franc plunged a record 8.1% against the euro on the SNB’s unilateral move, putting it head-to-head with the $4 trillion-a-day forex market that drove the franc up more than 16% against 9 major peers in the past year.

The move may help stabilize markets by forcing investors to return to riskier assets, said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs in London. The initiative may leave Norway and Sweden vulnerable to gains in their currencies as countries such as Brazil and Japan fight to limit appreciation amid a flight from the euro debt crisis and near-zero US interest rates.

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Tags: Currency, New Currency

TSX tumbles, commodity prices slide amid Greek political turmoil

May 5th, 2012 Paul Smith

 

TORONTO — The Toronto stock market tumbled more than 200 points Tuesday as commodity prices retreated amid worries that Greece could run out of money next month.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 155.8 points or 1.3% to 11,704.85 in a broad-based retreat while the TSX Venture Exchange declined 59.05 points to 1,338.37.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.53 of a cent to US100.17 cents after slipping below parity with the greenback earlier in the session, going as low as US99.77 cents.

Traders avoided risky assets after a prominent Greek politician called on the country’s two main party leaders to renege on their support for the multibillion-euro bailout that is keeping Greece afloat. Alexis Tsipras’ Radical Left Coalition came in a surprise second in Sunday’s indecisive election and the country is struggling to form a new government.

“The popular mandate clearly renders the bailout agreement invalid,” he said.

U.S. markets also retreated but finished well off the worst levels of the day. The Dow Jone

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Tags: Commodity Prices, Prices

The 5th Edition Of The Carnival Of Credit Score And Debt

April 19th, 2012 Paul Smith

Welcome to the 5th Edition of the Carnival Of Credit Score And Debt which is a blog carnival that focuses solely on debt, credit scores, credit reports, and other credit topics.

PT presents Is It Always Good to Pay Off Your Car Loan Early? posted at Prime Time Money, saying, “A look at how much you will save by paying off your car loan early–and whether it will always be worth it.”

Michael Pruser presents What?s the Difference Between Your Credit Score and Credit Report? posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “The terms are heard everyday, but do you know the difference between your credit score and credit report?”

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents 5 Common Mistakes People Make When Trying To Get Out Of Debt posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Trying to get out of debt but having trouble paying down your credit card bills? You may be maki

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Tags: 5th Edition, Credit Score, Debt

Get UOB Singapore to implement electronic statements

April 9th, 2012 Paul Smith

Spread the word. You can write in too with your own variation.

To UOB Singapore via internal email (under Email Us icon after login to internet banking) :

“As Earth Hour is today and Earth Day is coming up not too long after this, I am writing in to request that UOB Singapore consider implementing electronic statements for all UOB accounts, whether credit cards or savings accounts, in order to save on paper and transport costs as well as the associated waste and greenhouse emissions involved. Of all the banks I am a customer of, including DBS/POSB, Citibank, OCBC etc, UOB is the only bank that has not provided such a facility as far as I know. Hence, please do consider providing this capability or if there is one already, please point me to where I can sign up for it. Thank you.”

Tags: Singapore, Uob Singapore

Sound Byte: Hands on with the HTC One smart phones

April 4th, 2012 Travis Brown

HTC recently unveiled the ultra-slim One line of smart phones, and Consumer Reports senior editor Mike Gikas was there to get some hands-on time with two of these models: the One X and One S (the One V wasn’t quite ready for prime time).

His initial impression? The HTC One phones “promise to maintain the company’s track record for serious image-taking prowess.” Mike visited the “Into Tomorrow” show to fill Dave Graveline in on the details. Listen to our Sound Byte to see what else Mike had to say about these phones, and check out our original post on the HTC One phones for lots more information.

About Sound Bytes
Every week, Consumer Reports experts produce a short audio segment which covers a wide variety of issues regarding consumer electronics and technology for “Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline.” The Sound Byte featured on the Consumer Reports News Blog was aired on the prior weekend’s “Into Tomorrow” broadcast.

About Into Tomorrow
Now in its 17th year, “Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline” covers the latest in consumer electronics and technology available today and into tomorrow.

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Tags: Phones, Smart Phones

Closing Bell: TSX posts fifth weekly decline, quarterly gain

April 1st, 2012 Paul Smith

 

After making strong gains in the first two months of the year, Canada’s benchmark stock index ended March with its fifth straight weekly decline, though it managed to hold on to a 3.65% gain for the quarter.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost two per cent for the week, paring its losses on Friday with a gain of 52.82 points, or 0.43%, on the day, closing at 12,392.18. Six of the 10 sub-indexes advanced, led by technology, up 3.21%, and materials, which gained 1.35%.

Robert Kavcic, economist with BMO Capital Markets, notes that seven of the S&P/TSX’s sub-indexes underperformed their S&P 500 counterparts in the first quarter — only health care, consumer staples and utilities did better.

“Despite the strong overall performance in the first quarter, there might still be some gas left in the tank for equities. Recall that sentiment was very depressed in late 2011, providing a springboard for stocks in Q1 — sentiment has since normalized, but has yet to run bullishly amok,” Kavcic said.

Research In Motion, which announced disappointing quarterly earnings after market close the previous day, was responsible for the gains in the tech sector. Company co-f

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Tags: Gain, Weekly Decline
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