MORNING BRIEFING : Obama wants to limit the activity of banks on Wall Street.

[RTFX-Trading]

MORNING BRIEFING: Obama wants to limit the activity of banks on Wall Street.

What’s new :
France: Noyer (BdF) said that the recovery is fragile and will be slow.
US: Obama wants to limit the activity of banks on Wall Street.
Stocks: bear market, Nikkei - 2.56%, Dow Jones -2.01%, Shanghai -1.52%.
Euro Zone: Consumer confidence up in January.
US: unexpected drop in US crude inventories.
US: Leading indicators rise in December, to a historic high.
US: "Philly Fed" index dropped in January.
US: weekly jobless claims up to 482'000.
Switzerland: ZEW index increases in January.
Euro Area: services sector is slowing down, industry activity up.

Today:


Rates in Asia and Indices:
EURUSD: 1.4142 - 1.4066.
USDCHF: 1.0439 - 1.0396.
EURUSD: 1.6243 - 1.6167.
EURJPY: 127.74 - 126.56.
USDJPY: 90.49 - 89.78.
Dow Jones: 10’389 -2.01%.
NASDAQ: 1’850 -0.93%.
S & P 500: 1,116 -1.89%.
Nikkei: 1’590 -2.56%.
Shanghai: 3'110 -1.52%.
Gold: $1'094.60.
Crude oil: $75.89.

Comments:
The Euro hit a low of 1.4029 against the Dollar in response to concerns about Portugal. The International Monetary Fund has called on Portugal to implement a fiscal recovery plan to prevent further deterioration of public finances. Some investors defend their options barriers at 1.4000, large buying orders are placed between 1.4020-1.4040. Massive stop loss sells are below 1.3975. Points to watch are 1.4020 and 1.4220. My feeling is a drop in the EUR/USD to 1.3560 in medium term.

The US Dollar has benefited from its status as a safe haven following the intent of US President Obama to include in the legislation measures to limit the size and activity of banks to end the excesses that led o the crisis. This statement has caused a sharp decline in stock markets, causing a drop in "carry trades". Subsequently, when Treasury Secretary Geithner said he was concerned about the policy’s implications – that it could affect US companies, the market began to sell the greenback and the EUR/USD recovered to 1.4140.

Have a good day.

Nicolas Longchamp
RTFX Ltd
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