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Black Swan Hunting for 2011

Mon, 12/27/2010 - 09:53 by Owain Bennallack

This article has been adapted from our sister site across the pond, Fool U.K.

The entire point of author Nassim Taleb's ironically now ubiquitous "Black Swan" metaphor was that nobody in the white swan-strewn Old World foresaw the black version of the bird until they encountered Australia, where millions of black swans were waddling about their business.

Gold, oil ignore dollar's rise

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:47 by Rakhi

New York -- The U.S. dollar headed higher Friday, but nobody told oil or gold, which defied logic and climbed as well.

Oil prices reached $87.35, flirting with a two-year high, while gold advanced, adding $14.60 to come close to the $1,400 mark, closing at $1,393.90 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar index, a pro-rated measure of the greenback against six major currencies, turned higher, rising 0.92 percent, which tends to undermine commodity prices.

Gold, however, found popularity as a hedge against Thursday's surge in equities. Suspecting a downward correction in equities enhances gold's reputation as a safe haven.

In China, a voice for some appreciation

Sun, 10/31/2010 - 00:04 by Prince damin

Beijing -- An adviser to the People's Bank of China said the country's currency could appreciate 3 percent to 5 percent without undue harm to the economy.

"Based on historical experience, yuan appreciation of 3 to 5 percent is affordable for China," adviser Li Daokui said during a public forum, China Daily reported Saturday.

China has been under increasing pressure to allow its currency to appreciate. The value of the yuan was pegged to the U.S. dollar at the onset of the global economic downturn in 2008 and has been allowed marginal flexibility since then. Some U.S. economists say the yuan is now undervalued by 20 percent to 40 percent.

Dollar pulls higher, gold lower Tuesday

Wed, 10/27/2010 - 09:43 by Prince damin

New York -- The U.S. dollar snapped a downward trend Tuesday, putting pressure on the price of gold and oil, while the British pound made headway, climbing 1 percent.

Mixed corporate reports rattled equity markets, but the dollar index jumped 0.77 percent. The British pound made gains after the Office of National Statistics said the gross domestic product rose 0.8 in the third quarter.

Gold prices slumped on the Comex board at the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropping to $1,338.60 per troy ounce, down 0.02 percent. Crude oil prices closed at $82.52 per barrel from an intraday high of $82.88.

China says capital inflow abnormal

Fri, 07/09/2010 - 10:07 by Rakhi

Beijing -- China faces abnormal flow of capital into the country, blamed partly on expectations of appreciation of the yuan, the government said.

The pressure is expected to continue as a result of these expectations, China Daily reported Friday, quoting analysts. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China's foreign exchange regulator, was quoted as saying the interest rate difference between the yuan and the U.S. dollar, currently about 2 percentage points, is another reason for more money coming into the country.

No short-term yuan appreciation seen

Fri, 11/13/2009 - 10:56 by shalini.bahadur

Beijing -- China is not expected to allow the yuan to appreciate against the U.S. dollar in the short term, Chinese experts said.

The yuan appreciation in the face of growing Chinese trade surpluses is one of the topics expected to be discussed when U.S. President Barack Obama visits China next week.

The United States also wants China to encourage domestic spending that would further open its markets for U.S. exports.

There have been indications China might allow its currency to move up, which would ease the pressure on the greenback in world currency markets.