Forex Crunch Forex Factory Market Goes Live

Forex Factory Market Goes Live
Forex Daily Outlook – February 24th 2010
The King Wants and Gets a Weak Pound
Currensee Raises $8M for Expansion Outside the US
Video Weekly Outlook
Forex Daily Outlook – February 23rd 2010

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:19 PM PST

Forex Factory has launched a live version of its unique aggregated broker quotes. This is a serious step forward in the system, making it more accessible.

Forex Factory launched the system three months ago as an independent multi-broker forex quote system. In my initial report about Forex Factory Market, I wrote that this is a great development, as FF is an independent forex portal, which doesn’t lean on a single broker. The quotes from brokers vary, and FF shows them all in one place.

Now this tab gets a boost by adding the “Live” feature. No need to refresh the page. This makes it more accessible to many users that don’t like hitting the refresh button and are used to quotes that are automatically updated.

In their blog post announcing the feature, they mention that this feature needs to be turned on each time, thus not wasting resources from their servers and from your local computer. Having performance in mind is important for usability. Not all websites take it into consideration.

I’m happy to see this development, and I hope to see the Market tab and Forex Factory continue to evolve.

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.

Forex Daily Outlook – February 24th 2010

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST

Ben Bernanke’s testimony will be the centerpiece of today’s events, including releases from many countries. Let’s see what’s awaiting us.

For those of you who haven’t noticed, I have a spot on Forex TV, where I talk about the markets. In these interviews I speak about currencies that I cover in the weekly outlooks, and also to additional ones. Here’s the latest video outlook. OK, let’s start the review:

Australia starts the day with two interesting quarterly releases: Wage Price Index is expected to rise by 0.8%, similar to last quarter’s move. A bigger rise will trigger inflation fears.

At the same time, the Construction Work Done figure is predicted to rise by 2.1%, slightly less than the previous quarter. On the other side of the day, CB Leading Index will probably tick up.

The Aussie is on the rise. For more, read the AUD/USD forecast.

Germany’s economy disappointed the markets with no growth in Q4, according to the initial release. This stagnation is predicted to be confirmed in the final release. If the number is revised to the downside, this will hurt the Euro.

After yesterday’s Ifo survey disappointed, the German GfK Consumer Climate is also expected to dip: from 3.2 to 3.1 points. Later in Europe, Industrial New Orders are predicted to drop by 1.1% after a surprising 2.7% rise last month.

For more on the Euro, check out my EUR/USD forecast, and Casey Stubbs’ latest technical analysis.

After Mervyn King hurt the Pound yesterday, External BOE MPC Member Adam Posen will also have his chance, in a public appearance. For more on this week’s events in the Pound, (there’s a big release on Friday), check out the GBP/USD forecast.

In Canada, Corporate Profits are expected to rise once again. USD/CAD is struggling around 1.04, a very important support line. Read more about the loonie in the USD/CAD forecast.

Ben Bernanke will start testifying at 15:00 GMT and will shake the markets. It doesn’t always matter what he does say, it’s what the analysts make of it. The focus will be on the meaning of his latest move – the hike of the interbank discount rate.

Will he continue to downplay it? That’s the big question. Although the dollar has retreated from the highs it reached after the decision late on Thursday, it’s still strong, especially against the more vulnerable currencies. Also Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be testifying later in the day.

New Home Sales are predicted to edge up from 342K to 354K. This is usually a big market-mover, but today it will be overshadowed by Bernanke.

That’s it for today. Happy forex trading!

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.

The King Wants and Gets a Weak Pound

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 04:58 AM PST

Mervyn King continues to dominate the Pound’s agenda, and not in a positive way. His big hints about more QE pound the pound as it makes another attempt to break the support line.

The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, hurt the Pound once again. In his appearance in parliament, the agenda was inflation – the quarterly Inflation Report Hearings. But these aren’t the headlines that King produced.

Together with his colleagues from the central bank, he began by saying that economy is still fragile, already a weak start. Concerning the official agenda, inflation, he continued to shrug it.

What about the Quantitative Easing program? This program, officially called the Asset Purchase Facility, means that the bank buys bonds to increase liquidity, and practically spills pounds, devaluing the currency.

The program was expanded up to 200 billion pounds, and the money recently ran out. In the recent decision, there was no additional allocation of money to the program. End of story?

No. Mervyn King and his colleague David Miles said in parliament that “there’s a strong case to expand the program if the economy is weaker”. Although there is an “if”, the fact that these policymakers didn’t rule it out means that it sure is possible, and that bad for the Pound.

British Pound

Before we see the reaction, it’s important to notice their specific words about the currency. Deputy governor Charles Bean said (emphasis mine):

“I expect to see the economy gradually pick up steam through this year, reflecting: the substantial stimulus from policy, much of which is still working through; the lower level of sterling, which should gradually boost exports and discourage imports;

So, a low sterling is good for the economy and is something the bank wants. The punch comes from King himself, which wraps everything together. When asked about the QE program, he mentions the Pound:

“Despite the depreciation of sterling we haven’t so far seen much evidence of a pickup in net trade in the UK, which is an important part of our rebalancing. ”This is a decision we look at month by month.”

Although this wording is very indirect, we can understand that King wants a weaker British Pound, and doesn’t hesitate to wave the gun of more Quantitative Easing.

Forex market reaction and technical levels

GBP/USD fell from 1.5548 to 1.5393 in reaction to this event. Over 150 pips. This was a strong reaction that stopped the Pound from climbing to last week’s trading range, which peaked above 1.58.

It wasn’t strong enough to push the Pound over the cliff. GBP/USD kept a safe distance. The important line is 1.5350, a historical peak and a bottom tested recently. This is the key level.

If the Pound recovers from the King’s blow, the initial and minor resistance line appears at 1.5520. Above that, 1.5770 supplies stronger support. 1.5833 is an important resistance line, but it’s too far now.

GBP/USD Forecast – More moving events on the road.

There are more important events this week. King American counterpart, Ben Bernanke, will also appear before a committee in Washington and will also have his share of moving the markets.

Regarding the Pound, there’s a major release on Friday – British GDP. As King said, the recovery is fragile – only 0.1% growth in Q4. Will this be revised to the downside? We’ll wait and see…

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.

Currensee Raises $8M for Expansion Outside the US

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Social forex site Currensee got new funding from investors. These funds will fuel expansion into the UK, Europe and Asia, development of the platform and the Trade Leaders program in which you can follow and mimic real trades of successful traders.

Raising money for start ups isn’t so common since the breakout of the financial crisis. It’s quite impressive that Currensee managed to get new funding at these times. It seems that investors believe in the transparent platform and the opportunities on the road ahead. The investors are Northbridge Venture Partners and Egan Managed Capital.

Also Currensee’s supported brokers list is expanding: CMS Forex have hopped on the wagon, and more are on the way. As I’ve mentioned before on the PT Multistation review, connecting to forex social networks is a good sign for a broker. Going social and transparent means for me that a broker is more reliable.

I hope that more brokers will connect with Currensee and other social platforms. It will sure benefit these brokers.

For more on Currensee’s funding, here’s the official press release:

Currensee Raises $8M in Series B Financing

Fuels international expansion, advanced social analytics and Trade Leader program

Boston, MA – February 23, 2010 – Currensee Inc., the first Forex trading social network that connects traders from around the world based on real-time trades, today announced that it has secured $8 million in Series B financing for total funding of $12 million. Led by Northbridge Venture Partners, the round includes new investor, Egan Managed Capital. Travis D. Connors, partner at Egan, will join the Currensee Board of Directors.

"Currensee is one of the most disruptive companies we've seen in the financial services sector," said Jim Moran, General Partner at Northbridge Venture Partners. "In a space that has been viewed as the Wild West for investors, the Currensee team has made tremendous progress – bringing transparency, collaboration and innovation to the Forex industry for the first time. As we look ahead, we're excited to welcome Egan Managed Capital as we work together to support the shake-up Currensee is creating in the world of Forex."

Currensee brings trust and transparency to Forex trading by enabling members of its trader network to see each other's actual trades and positions, trading strategies and performance to make more informed trade decisions. Currensee traders from over 70 different countries have become members of the trading social network and linked their live brokerage accounts with one of the 100+ brokers supported by the platform. The company recently announced the launch of the Currensee Marketplace, full MT4 support, the innovative new Tweet My Trades™ feature and a unique partnership with Thomson Reuters IFR Markets.

"The Forex market is ready for change and we are now in an even better place to accelerate our international expansion and product development to bring that change to the market," said Dave Lemont, CEO Currensee. "We continue to bring trust and transparency to Forex traders around the world and we've already seen broad traction from the traders who have joined our trading social network over the past year. We are ready to advance the platform, take the trader network to the next level and become the primary destination for Forex traders."

With the financing, Currensee will accelerate expansion in the UK, Europe, and Asia, where Forex trading continues to grow at a rapid pace. The financing will also fuel development of Currensee Market Watch™, the first real-time social sentiment indicator that shows what traders are doing based on actual trades, and will include advanced data options, such as real-time market depth, and new customization features. In addition, the funding will drive the Currensee Trade Leaders ™ program, the first Forex social trade automation service that allows traders to follow the most successful Trade Leaders in the Currensee platform and create their own Forex investment portfolios.

"We are impressed with the differentiation Currensee has demonstrated in the Forex marketplace," said Connors. "The innovation around Trade Leaders, auto execution, transparency and the social trade collaboration are what make Currensee unique. We're excited to invest in the team, the product and the opportunity to create a winning position in the financial services and Forex industry."

About Currensee

Currensee brings trust and transparency to retail Forex trading. The Currensee trading social network connects retail Forex traders from around the world so they can see each other's actual trades and share trading strategies in real-time to make more informed trade decisions. Currensee traders from over 70 countries have become members of the trading social network and linked their live brokerage accounts with one of the 100+ brokers supported by the platform. The unique Currensee Market Watch Social Indicators™ aggregate the wisdom of the network and deliver social trade data and a new way to look at the market. Currensee is funded by North Bridge Venture Partners and Egan Managed Capital and is a member of the National Futures Association. For more information, visit us at www.currensee.com. Follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/currensee) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/currensee).

About Northbridge Venture Partners

North Bridge Venture Partners is an active, bi-coastal, early-stage venture capital firm based in Boston, Massachusetts and San Mateo, California. Established in 1994, North Bridge provides seed-to-growth financing and company-building expertise. Together with North Bridge Growth Equity, our mid-market focused growth capital fund, North Bridge manages over $3 billion. For North Bridge Venture Partners, success is derived through a partnership with entrepreneurs that produce industry-leading companies in large emerging markets. Historically, the firm’s partners have played a significant role in organizing, starting and building successful companies. Working in concert with entrepreneurs, North Bridge adds value by providing strategic guidance, sharing operating experience, industry specific knowledge, team-building skills and an in-depth understanding of both private and public financings. North Bridge’s sector focus includes Software, Communications, Healthcare Technology, Digital Media, and Materials. For more information about North Bridge go to www.northbridge.com.

About Egan Managed Capital

Egan-Managed Capital is a New England focused venture capital firm that provides funding for early-stage high-technology start-ups. Egan-Managed Capital delivers field-tested strategies, first-hand technology expertise and hands-on management involvement. Some of the region's most promising start-ups have been funded by the firm, including Pyxis Mobile, OnePIN, OwnerIQ and uTest. Founded in 1997, the firm currently manages funds with $233 million in committed capital. For more information on Egan-Managed Capital and its team please visit www.egancapital.com.

Disclosure: I’m affiliated with Currensee.

Video Weekly Outlook

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 03:41 PM PST

On the weekly interview on Forex TV with Julie Sinha, I spoke about the market’s mood in the upcoming week, calendar events to watch, the bearish and the bullish pairs and the possible breakouts. Enjoy!

The kiwi dollar is expecting an interesting week, with important quarterly releases. Also the Swissy awaits interesting events, but they come on Friday, a day that the SNB also feels a need to do its own forex trading…

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.

Forex Daily Outlook – February 23rd 2010

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST

A busy day expects traders, with a major survey in Europe, American consumer confidence and lots more. Let’s see what’s awaiting us.

There’s still lots of talk about Bernanke’s mini rate hike. Although Monday saw some recovery, there’s still a notion that the Federal Reserve will be one of the more aggressive central banks regarding rate hikes.

The kiwi dollar will rock at the start of the day upon the release of the quarterly Inflation Expectations. The 2.6% figure is predicted to accelerate.

In its neighbor, Australia, RBA Deputy Governor Ric Battellino will make a public appearance and might hint something about future rates. For more on the Aussie, read the AUD/USD forecast.

In Switzerland, the UBS Consumption Indicator will probably show more improvement in the Swiss economy.

In France, Consumer Spending leaped by 2.1% last month and is now expected to cool down by 0.6%. A more important figure comes from Germany, where the Ifo Business Climate is predicted to rise from 95.8 to 96.3 points. This will shake the Euro.

The last European figure comes from Belgium – the NBB Business Climate will probably rise from -7 to -5 points, still in the negative zone. For more on the Euro, read the EUR/USD forecast and Casey’s latest technical analysis.

Mervyn King will have his chance to shake the Pound today: in an official hearing in parliament, he’ll speak about inflation (which he denies) and the economy et large. These hearing may take many hours, and his comments usually hurt the Pound.

Apart from King, also his deputy Paul Tucker will make a public appearance and might move the Pound. Also in Britain, BBA Mortgage Approvals are predicted to slip from 45.9 to 45.3K.

For more on the Pound, read the GBP/USD forecast.

In the US, S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI is expected to show an annual drop of 2.9% in house prices, less than last month’s number -5.3%. Year to year comparisons will start showing rises soon.

The main release in the US is the CB Consumer Confidence which will probably edge down from 55.9 to 55 points, still on high ground. Also in the US, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis President James Bullard will speak. He had a role in calming the markets after the rate move.

Japan’s Trade Balance closes the day. It’s predicted to remain almost unchanged.

That’s it for today. Happy forex trading!

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.