Oil Japan sees upward pressure on yen waning

Oil Japan sees upward pressure on yen waning Foreign exchange dealers are seen beneath an electronic board displaying the Japanese Yen's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo February 22, 2012. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonEnlarge Photo Foreign exchange dealers are seen beneath an electronic board displaying the Japanese Yen's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo February 22, 2012. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Tetsushi Kajimoto MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A senior Japanese Finance Ministry official said the upward pressure on the yen was easing and he saw nothing strange in the currency's movements as it pulls away from record highs below 80 yen versus the dollar. The official, speaking after the first day of the weekend gathering of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers, said the yen was not discussed at the meeting which was dominated by talks on the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis. But the G20 did discuss volatility in currencies as well as crude oil prices, the official said, adding that these issues may be mentioned in the communique expected at the end of the meeting on Sunday. Brent crude futures settled near a 10-month high above $125 a barrel on Friday on heightened concerns over tensions with Iran about its nuclear program. Japanese authorities will continue to respond to excess volatility in currencies, he added, signaling readiness to intervene if speculators push up the yen too high again to deal a blow to the export-reliant economy. 'We hear opinions overall, including at deputies' meeting, that volatility exists in the foreign exchange market, so I expect (G20) may mention that volatility warants close monitoring,' the official said. 'We have said that (the yen's) moves have been excessive including before and after (last year's) earthquake, which was not reflecting economic fundamentals. But I see nothing strange in the current movement,' he added. The yen, meanwhile, tumbled across the board, a downtrend that started with the Bank of Japan's recent monetary easing. Japan's trade deficit, widening interest rate differentials with the United States favoring the dollar and rising crude oil prices also have hurt the yen's prospects. The dollar hit a fresh 7-1/2-month high of 81.062 yen on trading platform EBS and was last 80.990, away from 75.31 yen hit last October when Japan intervened heavily to protect exporters and drew criticism from the United States. The Bank of Japan, along with the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve, is taking unconventional steps to boost the economy. The BOJ boosted asset purchases by 10 trillion yen on February 14 and pledged to keep ultra-easy policy until a 1 percent inflation goal is in sight. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Saturday that policymakers were also closely watching the effects of monetary easing on crude prices. But he said he did not see monetary easing as a big factor and the recent spike was more due to geopolitical tensions and some bright spots in advanced economies after the New Year. 'Generally speaking, we'll closely watch effects and side-effects of monetary easing,' he said. (Additional writing by Krista Hughes; Editing by Ed Lane)

Signals Coca-Cola says it alerted FDA about fungicide

Signals Coca-Cola says it alerted FDA about fungicide Coca-Cola says it alerted FDA about fungicide after finding it in orange drinks Companies: Pepsico, Inc. RELATED QUOTES Symbol Price Change PEP 64.63 -0.38 NEW YORK (AP) -- Coca-Cola Co. said Thursday it alerted the Food and Drug Administration after it discovered via testing its own and competitors' products that some Brazilian growers had sprayed their orange trees with a fungicide that is not approved for use in the U.S. The FDA had said Monday that an unnamed juice company alerted it in December after detected low levels of the fungicide in orange juice products after testing its own and competitors' products. Most orange juice products made by Coke and other companies contain a blend of juice from different sources including Brazil. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola did not say which of its own and others' products it tested contained the fungicide. Its own orange juice products include Simply Orange and Minute Maid. [Also see: Taste Test of Starbucks' New Blonde Coffee] 'This is an industry issue that affects every company that produces products in the U.S. using orange juice from Brazil,' said Coca-Cola spokesman Dan Schafer. He declined to say whether its tests shows fungicide in Coca-Cola products The FDA has said the low levels found of the fungicide aren't a safety risk but they will increase testing to make sure the contamination isn't a problem. The fungicide, carbendazim, is not currently approved for use on citrus in the U.S., but is used in Brazil, which exports orange juice to the United States. Brazil is the biggest producer of oranges in the world, according to the Agriculture Department. Coca-Cola says it continues to work with the FDA on the issue. [Also see: Classic Comfort Foods Made Healthy] In addition to Coca-Cola, Pepsico Inc.'s Tropicana brand is one of the largest U.S. orange juice producers. Coca-Cola shares fell 40 cents to $67.66 in morning trading Thursday. PepsiCo shares fell 28 cents to $64.73 per share.

Earn ICPA - The End Of A Spectacular Rally

Earn

ICPA has has a great rally.  The stock has gone from a 52 week low of $.0008 to almost $.05 a share.  This is why penny stock traders trade penny stocks.  The allure of enormous gains.  ICPA has done just that, and after such a giant rally, its time to sell and move on.

ICPA is showing weakness on the chart, and I think the stock is going back under $.02 and ultimately to $.005.  The stock is nearing a bearing 'death cross' with the 50 and 200 DMA.  The MACD is turning the wrong direction for the bulls.

Anyone buying a stock that is up some 1,500% in the span of a month needs to know the risks associateed with such a purchase.  Just ask yourself one question:  'What would you do with the shares you bought at $.005 or even $.001 should ICPA start to lose momentum?'.   Sell.  And we are right at the start of that selling.

You don't have to look any further than SNPK a stock I thought was going lower.  I wrote a similar post on my blog and a mere 30 minutes later the stock fell over 40%.

Forex BRICS call for open selection of next World Bank chief

Forex BRICS call for open selection of next World Bank chief MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A meeting of BRICS major emerging countries discussed the selection process of the next head of the World Bank and emphasized it should be open to all countries, rejecting the tradition that the job automatically goes to an American, a senior BRIC official said on Saturday. The official, speaking after a meeting of the BRICS - Russia, South Africa, Brazil, India and China - said the United States had not circulated the name of its proposed candidate for the World Bank. Asked whether emerging economies could field their own candidate for the post, the official said: 'That is certainly a discussion we will have.' (Reporting By Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Forex THQI - Chart Update Stock Up 7% Today

Forex

I could do a THQI chart update every day, but I don't think I have to.  Just like I was saying yesterday, THQI pulled back, and today we regained most of that pull back.  Whether we go up big or down big tomorrow, I don't think it affects the bigger picture with this stock.  I think its going higher and over $1 and possibly over $2 and from there who knows.  This was a $36 stock not long ago.

Today the stock showed that there are buyers looking to get into this stock, and I think they will be glad they did.  At some point this year people will be looking back and saying 'You could have had THQI at $.70 a share, look at it now.  I wish I had bought some back then'. 

Forex

Forex

Today's Winners and Losers

Today's Bottom Scan

Forex Greece, creditors laboriously piece together debt deal

Forex Greece, creditors laboriously piece together debt deal ReutersReuters – 1 hour 26 minutes ago Companies: Thomson Reuters Corporation RELATED QUOTES Symbol Price Change TRI 27.82 -0.10 By Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and its private creditors head back to the negotiating table on Saturday to put together the final pieces of a long-awaited debt swap agreement needed to avert an unruly default. After weeks of muddling through round after round of inconclusive talks, the negotiations appear to be in their final phase, with both sides hoping to secure a preliminary deal before Monday's European Union summit. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was expected to meet bankers' chief negotiator Charles Dallara at around 1330 GMT (8:30 a.m. EST) on Saturday, before meeting inspectors from the 'troika' of foreign lenders pressing Athens to step up painful reforms. 'Today will be another tough day,' said George Karatzaferis, leader of the far-right LAOS party, one of three parties in Papademos's emergency coalition government. 'We will see whether we can bear the burden that lies ahead.' The debt swap, in which private creditors are to take a 50 percent cut in the nominal value of their Greek bond holdings in exchange for cash and new bonds, is a prerequisite for the country to secure a 130-billion-euro rescue package. Papademos told Reuters in an interview on Friday he expected the debt talks to be concluded within days. 'We made significant progress over the last few weeks and in the last few days in particular. We are trying to conclude the discussions as quickly as possible. I am quite optimistic an agreement will be reached in the coming days,' he said. But concern has grown that the deal may not do enough to get the country's debt reduction plan back on track, and that Greece's European partners will be forced to stump up funds to cover the shortfall. The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that Greece's international lenders thought Athens would need 145 billion euros of public money from the euro zone for its second bailout rather than the planned 130 billion euros. The magazine said the extra money was needed because of the deteriorating economic situation in Greece, echoing a Reuters report on Thursday. Athens also faces problematic talks with the 'troika' of foreign lenders - the European Commission, IMF and European Central Bank - who have warned it needs to do more to drive through painful reforms before they dole out any more money. 'It's all very dense, difficult and crucial,' a Greek finance ministry official said. 'There is optimism because the country needs to survive and we need to protect its citizens because they have suffered a lot.' Athens and its creditors have broadly agreed that new bonds under the swap would probably have a 30-year maturity and a progressive interest rate. The deal is aimed at chopping 100 billion euros off Greece's crushing 350-billion-euro debt load. But they have wrangled for weeks over the interest rate Greece must pay on the new bonds and pressure has grown in recent days on the European Central Bank and other public creditors to accept a cut in the value of their Greek bond holdings like the private sector creditors. A debt deal must be sealed in about three weeks as Greece has to repay 14.5 billion euros of debt on March 20. Otherwise Greece will sink into an uncontrolled default that might spread turmoil across the euro zone. Papademos promised on Friday this would not happen. 'Greece will not default,' he said. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Saturday that euro zone members were making progress to overcome their crisis but must do more to strengthen their financial firewall, adding that the IMF was ready to help. 'There is progress as we see it,' Lagarde told a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 'But it is critical that the euro zone members actually develop a clear, simple, firewall that can operate both to limit the contagion and to provide this sort of act of trust in the euro zone so that the financing needs of that zone can actually be met.' Senior euro zone officials have expressed optimism on the Greek debt deal, though previous predictions of an imminent agreement have failed to become reality. Greece is in its fifth year of recession, and hopes of an end to the crisis in the near term have virtually gone, because of the combination of squabbling politicians, rising social anger and its inability to get its debt load under control. Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday. Greece said such a move was out of the question, adding that a similar proposal had been made in the past by a Dutch minister without getting anywhere. 'There is no way we would accept such a thing,' a Greek government official told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou, Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Tim Pearce)

Forex THQI - Chart Update Stock Up 7% Today

Forex

I could do a THQI chart update every day, but I don't think I have to.  Just like I was saying yesterday, THQI pulled back, and today we regained most of that pull back.  Whether we go up big or down big tomorrow, I don't think it affects the bigger picture with this stock.  I think its going higher and over $1 and possibly over $2 and from there who knows.  This was a $36 stock not long ago.

Today the stock showed that there are buyers looking to get into this stock, and I think they will be glad they did.  At some point this year people will be looking back and saying 'You could have had THQI at $.70 a share, look at it now.  I wish I had bought some back then'. 

Signals >IDEA CELLULAR LIMITED: Another strong quarter, but faces regulatory risk (Q4FY12 Results update)

Signals
Idea Cellular (Idea) reported strong performance during Q4FY12. Both topline and EBITDA margin were in line. However, the minutes of usage growth was higher than our expectation which came in at the cost of lower revenue per minutes. Idea Cellular has proved to be a strong voice player over the six quarters with consistent gain in market share of 150bp to 14.5%. While the growth rate has been strong, regulatory risk has gone up for Idea which can dent return ratios and margins. We believe the recent TRAI recommendation (dated 23rd April 2012) has led to concerns over the business model and its impact could be as severe as Rs55/share for Idea as against Rs20/share considered in our earlier assumptions. We are maintaining our Hold rating on the stock after considering the risk associated with it. We have also rolled over to FY14E for valuation and arrive at a target price of Rs74 per share after factoring in risks.


■  Topline in line; EBITDA margin below estimates due to one-offs: Idea reported 6.5% QoQ growth in topline to Rs53.4bn against our estimate of Rs53bn. Minutes of usage registered strong 9.1% QoQ on the back of equally strong 6.3mn net addition in subscribers and lower tariff benefits to consumers. Revenue per minute (RPM) declined by 2.5% QoQ to 42.2p/min despite improvement in the share of value added services. EBITDA margin expanded by ~74bp QoQ to 27.3% after adjusting for Rs1.3bn (our estimate of one-off regulatory expenses). This was driven by lower SG&A expenses and marginally lower churn rate.


■  Operational matrix saw mixed performance during Q4: MoU/sub increased to 379 in Q4 from 369 in Q3FY12 on strong addition in net subscribers compared to the last quarter. This indicates improvement in usage on Idea network and support from lower voice RPM (decline of 2.7% QoQ). Decline in RPM can be attributed to an increase in competition wherein players are opting for lower tariffs and higher commissions to gain market share. Both established and newer circles showed strong growth and improvement in operating margin. 3G coverage expanded to 3,000 cities and registered 2.6mn subscribers, giving incremental ARPU of Rs91 vs Rs79 in Q3FY12.


■ Concall highlights: The management guided for Rs35bn capex for FY13. The competition at the circle level still exists leading to pressure on revenue per minutes and dealer commissions.


■ Environment becoming weaker; Reiterate Hold with a cautious stance: Recent TRAI recommendation has increased the risk factor for the industry. There is a strong indication of 1) spectrum pricing going higher than 3G price levels; 2) spectrum re-farming and 3) 2G roaming price going away under One India plan. Risks to our target price are - 1) Reduction in reserve price by Department of Telecom and 2) Hike in tariff. Hence, we are cautious on the sector as we enter a phase where the growth rate of 2G services would come down and regulatory risk can dent the balance sheet further leading to pressure on return ratios which are already low. We reduce our target price to Rs74 (previously Rs82) despite rolling over to FY14E for valuation.


RISH TRADER

Earn Student Loan Crisis Looms: FICO Risk Survey

Earn Daily Ticker Despite recent headlines cheering positive trends in the economy, there is still much to be concerned about, according to FICO's new quarterly survey of bank risk professionals. More than two-thirds of risk managers are seriously concerned about the debt loads held by students in the country. 67% of respondents believe delinquencies of student loans will rise, up a considerable 19% from the previous survey. 'They are worried about the amount of student loans that are out there and the ability of those students to repay them,' says Mark Greene, CEO of FICO, which provides credit scores used by both consumers and creditors and is widely considered the industry standard. With tuition prices on the rise each and every year, it is no surprise that the total amount borrowed is also on the upswing. The student who graduated in the class of 2009 had an average of $24,000 in student loans. But that's just the average. Some students are accountable for sums totaling $100,000. (See: The Economic Agony of Today's Twenty-Somethings) The Federal Reserve reported last year that student debt has actually surpassed credit card debt and predicts the total amount owed has topped $1 trillion. Greene's advice to students is: 'Be careful what you borrow.' 'Clearly education has a great return on investment so there is no suggestion you should avoid taking out loans, but be careful what you are getting into,' he says. 'Manage your student loans as carefully as you would your mortgage, your credit card or something else.' Other problem areas listed in the survey include credit card debt and mortgage debt. Credit card debt increased 8.5% to $5.6 billion in November from October, the biggest gain since March 2008. 45% of risk managers surveyed expect credit card delinquencies to rise while 21% expect a decline. And 54% of respondents believe credit card balances will rise. Those figures are more pessimistic than the previous quarter. As for mortgage debt, 47% of risk managers predict mortgage delinquencies will rise while 13% expect to see a decrease. 'If you are looking for risk managers to declare that we've turned the corner, they are not declaring that yet,' says Greene. Do you think the economy is improving or still has a long way to go? More from The Daily Ticker: Forget Harvard and a 4-Year Degree, You Can Make More as a Plumber in the Long Run, Says Prof. Kotlikoff Brain Drain: Most College Students Learn Next to Nothing, New Study Says Jame's Altucher's 8 Alternatives to College Related Quotes: ^GSPC 1,292.18 -0.30 -0.02% BAC 6.76 -0.11 -1.60% C 31.36 +0.09 +0.29% GS 98.96 -0.80 -0.80% JPM 36.44 -0.22 -0.60% WFC 29.54 -0.08 -0.29% PNC 61.51 +0.21 +0.34% FAZ 31.80 +0.23 +0.72% FAS 75.30 -0.53 -0.70% XLF 13.83 -0.04 -0.26% ^DJI 12,432.54 -16.91 -0.14% DFS 26.16 +0.30 +1.16% V 100.99 +1.88 +1.90% MA 342.76 +1.29 +0.38% MS 16.92 -0.18 -1.05%