Western Union takes the cake!

Recently, a friend of mine sent me some money as a present and he sent the same through WU. At first, I thought that all this 'fast service' was more of a joke than anything else. Anyway, I went to the nearest Western Union office and was very pleasantly surprised when I was able to take delivery of the payment without any hassle whatsoever.

The recent move by Western Union to open shop 24*7 in all four major metros all over India has helped a long way in dealing with this problem of money delivery. Normally, one would have to go to the bank to take delivery of one's payment but with all banks having a strict timeline in which to do business, it is not often that one can take delivery of such payment after working hours. But thanks to Western Union, even that is taken care of with their offices being open 24*7. So, if it is 10 pm and you want to take delivery of a Western Union payment after working hours, well, that is no problem at all, as long as you are in one of the 4 major metros in India!

Wall street rises on Buffett promises!

Well, the bond insurers must be feeling like the manna has started pouring, and one cannot really blame them for feeling that way after all that they have been through in the last few weeks. With the news that Buffett has promised to help ease their money problems, the bond insurers are feeling a little bit easier to breathe these days.

Not that this means that all the problems are over, but just that money has finally started to flow in a little bit to allow everyone to take a little time off. With this news, the Wall Street has started to rally. It seems that any news that is good these days seems to push the market upwards and anything that is even the least bit negative has the opposite result. One can almost imagine that the Markets have become overly sentimental as a result of the recent upheavals. Either way, the momentum for today seems to be good and one can only hope that it carries over for tomorrow as well!

$146 Billion package passed by the house!

The stimulus plan of George bush has been passed and for the common man on the street this means tax rebates from $600-$1200. The stimulus package is one that had been designed in a hurry and the markets do not like it all that much. I have to say that I cannot blame in this; my personal opinion is that this stimulus package is too short sighted and it seems to serve more as a band aid to an all ready hemorraging economy than a cure for what ails it.

For one, it still does not address the huge problem of the credit crunch as well as that of the housing market, both of which are still intent on riding the economy far in to the doldrums. For one, had the administration envisioned a plan by which the housing rates were regulated and bought more pressure on the banks to increase their lending, that would have taken care of half of the problem. As it is, the housing market and the credit crisis barely got a mention in the 'state of the union' speech.

I think that we can all agree that George bush has some really good writers on his team and I am sure that they must have devoted whole sections of the state of the union speech to the current problems. I am betting that George bush forgot all about it and meandered on. Either way, the current stimulus plan is kind of like the 'Watergate' episode and they are still yet to learn that there is no point in closing the barn door long after the horses have escaped!

Wall street turns bleary eyes on to info for next week!

With all the battering that the Wall street had taken over the last few days, it has turned its bleary eyes on to the information like the earnings data,retail sales and the inflation data to get an inkling as to where the markets are headed. But the thing about asking for information is that it may well confirm that recession is already here.
Either way, it is going to be one roller coaster ride and there are not that many takers for the idea of the marker shaking of the 'Bear grip' that it seems to be currently under. With more and more banks coming out with fresh news as to their exposure to the Mortgage crisis, the last thing that the Wall street may need is to know that the companies are cash strapped.
Sometimes, ignorance is a bliss and that may well be the case for the Wall street this week. With indicators already pointing to the red, the ride, it seems, will be heading right to the sub levels of the financial markets.

Oil rebounds again inspite of fears of recession!

Oil rebounded today in spite of the fears of the U.S recession. It is the fear that a recession hit United states, may no longer demand that much of the 'Liquid gold' and may also start rationing the fuel out as it did in the past. It was that fear that drove the price tag down and gave a breather for the rest of us.
But now, that breather is all gone and it is back to business as usual. Of course, the recession danger is still not over and with Wall street taking a real hit today, come Monday, the Oil may start to slide all over again. This Tango over the prices and the recession fears looks set to continue for some time as the Dollar goes from weak to weaker still. With Oil going up, the metal markets especially the Gold will respond by going up a few notches itself!

Paulson says no easy answers to mortgage woes?

When is the Bush administration going to wake up and smell the roses? The answer to that question is quite easy, answer: probably never. Especially as their attitude to the War on Iraq is quite well known. Now the United States economy is taking quite a hit and as far as the Bush administration is concerned, the economy is still strong and upbeat.

It is one thing to be optimistic and but totally another to be taking a walk in the clouds. And now, the treasury secretary comes along and tells us all that the recovery from the Mortgage crisis is not going to be easy - but then again this is something that we already know. What really gets me is that now the Bush administration is mouthing what we already know, it is high time that we saw some concrete action on the ground and by that I do not mean rate cuts. The rate cuts may alleviate some of the crisis but they only tend to make the Dollar weaker in the long run and as such, it is time to start thinking of regulating the Housing market!

Light Crude goes up by 1.90$ !

The common economics states that as the inventory falls, more pressure is exerted on the supply as the demand for that product is constant and ever increasing. What am I talking about? I am talking about the price of Oil and the price tango that it seems to go into each and every time the Energy department announces to the world that the Inventories have either fallen or risen.
The rise in inventory would make the oil prices to swing the other way about and this time around, the inventory stocks in the United states has fallen by at least 700,000 barrels last week, according to the energy dept. Naturally this has started exerting more pressure on the crude supplies and the factors that can effect the supply of Oil to the United states. Naturally as this news broke out, the immediate effect today is the rise in the price for Light Crude for January delivery which has risen by 1.90$ to 91.92$ a barrel on the NY Mercantile Exchange.

The Oil market is tight as it is with the OPEC not really into making more deliverables than the current content. And at times like this if there is any news of a skirmish in the middle east or another Palestine - Israel conflict, that will have a very resounding impact on the Oil prices or if Bush were to get more hawkish on Iran or the entire Middle east, that will most definitely make the Oil reach for fresh pastures beyond the 105$ range.

What one should remember is that inventories rise and inventories fall, but it is when the inventories fall that one should take into account the other factors like the geo political factors. It is at times like this that the price of the Light Crude as well as the entire Oil market is most vulnerable and with the way that the U.S economy is under right now, we most certainly do not need a 'bullish' Oil market as that would only extend undue influence on the already falling Dollar and may even push it into the Nether world!

oil,Iran,United states,middle east,Dollar,

The DOW surges by 200 points due to Citigroup confidence!

For a change, today saw the DOW rebound by 200 points as the news of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority investing more than 7.5 million$ in the already beleaguered Citigroup leaked out. This move is seem as a mark of confidence in the American economy and in this gloomy times, this news was indeed a welcome one at that.
But the underlying problems still remain and the investors confidence is indeed very much shaken at the very least.
So just because the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has invested in Citigroup does not mean that all the sub prime and the mortgage disasters are gone, sadly they are still very much there. This is one mess that we all will have to run through and there is just no way that any investment in American companies is going to make that go away!

How costly is healthcare these days?

These days Health care costs is spiralling out of control as the Dollar takes a beating in the markets. With all the resounding effects being felt over all the industries, the Health care is not immune to this Dollar tango, no pun intended. With the health care costs being so much these days, the people may have to start looking for other options like cheaper health care and cheaper benefits that many suit their budgets.
The cost of the medical equipment and home health care products alone is astronomical these days and which is why I am glad that there is a company like Allegro medicals. This company is an Online retailer of medical equipment, home health care products, as well as a host of many other mainstream retail products as well. The best part is that all the products here are given out at very attractive rates that you may not even have to worry about the health care costs at all. This company has about 55,000 products, under 50 categories and hundreds of sub-categories and also offers great offers and discounts in its The Free Allegro eCatalog. With all of this, this company and its various products that are on offer, make this a much better alternative to the high costs of health care that we have at present in the United state. So what are you waiting for? Just click on the link above!

The DOW goes down by 210 points!

The Stock markets all over the world have seen dramatic movements both ways all over the year but none have seen the consistent negative reading that the Dow has been giving off late. Of course, it is not the Dow that is to blame but rather the investors are fast losing their faith on the US economy. Today saw the Dow Jones decline by about 210 points and according to many analysts, we should expect more of the same in the near future. The Freddie mac news of losing nearly 2 billion$ has hit the markets very hard and on top of that we had Countrywide declare some major losses as well and to make matters worse, we had the analysts downgrade Freddie mac which by the way has also led to its counterpart Frannie mae reporting huge losses as well. The stocks of both Freddie mac and Countrywide has taken quite a beating especially with the news that there may be some liquidity problems in Countrywide in the very near future.
Things are bound to get worse before they get better but the million dollar question is 'how much worse are things going to get to?'. Well, according to most economic analysts, they are going to get a whole lot worse and that what we are seeing now is nothing much compared to what is yet to happen. Of course, no one is a Nostradamus here and as such anything can happen in the future, but the fact of the matter is that as day by day goes and we keep hearing more and more bad news, we are all losing our confidence in the American economy!

economy,united states,share markets,dollar,

Budget shopping is the craze now!

With all the economic tumbles that has taken place the shoppers to today are no longer splurging and have turned to discount stores in droves for the holiday season and the purchases. The crowds are going crazy for 'any discount that they can find on the shopping they have to do. It may be the season to be jolly but everyone is feeling the pinch this season. With the Dollar losing its purchasing power day by day, it is no wonder that the gloom has set in. With all this going on, most of the companies are seriously pondering layoffs for this year so as to minimise their loss. One can only hope that the New Year will indeed bring some new hope to the already beleaguered Dollar and the financial woes that we all are going through this season!

economy,budget,season,dollar,

Dollar seems to be eating the dust these days!

Well at least it is official at last, almost all the currencies are leaving the Dollar eating their dust, even the Yen is becoming resurgent to the Dollar much to the chagrin of the central bank of Japan, even if they wanted to fiddle the forex market which is what they always do to keep the Yen down, but this time around the sentiment of the whole market is against that.
Today saw the Indian Rupee end a losing streak against the Dollar and surge ahead to cap all the losses it had made in the last few days. With the Bull market showing no signs of slowing down and a very strong resurgent economy, this is to be expected. But on a cautious note to all the forex dealers out there, keep in mind that the Indian Rupee is not yet a free flowing currency, that is, it has not yet become Fully Convertible and in such scenarios, the Reserve bank of India is a whole lot more protective towards the Indian rupee and they will ensure that it swings either way within a very narrow margin.
But it is this very margin, that is the 1$ to 39 INR range that is giving much excitement and joy to the forex dealers world wide. One can even say that no other currency is showing so much volatility within such narrow ranges and people are just making bundles on mere movements of just 10 paisa on either side. It is like a Forex market within a Forex market, with only 2 players, the Indian rupee and the U.S Dollar. What goes up comes down in the afternoon and by the evening, the strong economic data of the day boosts the Indian rupee all over again. So people get to make money not just once or twice but three times a day. It is no wonder that nearly all the forex dealers that I met today have a big smile on their faces and they just cant seem to stop talking about the Indian Rupee and the falling Dollar!

economy,u.s dollar,yen,currency,

Dollar hitting new lows against the yen!

Today the Dollar is trading at new lows against the Yen, currently trading in the 110 margin. Just a few months back the Dollar was at 118 to the Yen but with the subprime and the housing market the Dollar is fast heading to new slumps and it seems that it is pulling the Gold with it. Many of you know that before the 1980's the Dollar was pegged to the Gold but that has since then been de linked.

But the sentimental factor along with a really cold beary market is fast sending the Gold in the direction of the Dollar. But that is good news for the consumers in the sense that they can now get the gold jewellery at a much lower rate. But the problem is that there are not that many consumers who want to purchase anything right now and all the purses and the wallets are busy tightening and the consumer spending is getting lower. Which is why the festival season could not hae come at a much better time and with X'mas right around the corner perhaps with increased spending by way of gift purchases by the consumer and better news in the market, thew Dollar can start looking up!

Dollar goes down!

With the current Economic storm far from over, the Dollar plunged to all new lows against a host of major currencies ranging from the Euro to the Yen. The Japanese central bank as well as the group of 7 decided not to intervene in the Dollar's woes for the moment.
Since the sentiment of the market is very much against the Dollar, the Japanese central bank well knows that intervening in the market now will be like throwing the money into a bottomless pit. So that is not going to happen for the moment. As for the following week, the Dollar may not see that many gains,as the economic trends indicate. What is more, the Dollar may even go Subterranean!
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The best E-wallet ever!

This is the age of information technology and as such it is only right that we should expect everything to be faster.but that is so often not the case especially when we travel.most often the problem is related to money transactions.i had recently travelled to Brazil and the money problems that i faced there was just too much and it ended up spoiling the whole vacation.i had money in my bank account but was not able to withdraw.then i had to make a few international calls and the problem got solved only during my last day there.all in all i most certainly do not want to go through all that again.
Say you are a foreign worker and you want to send money urgently to home,well,you may run into a few problems there as well.this company has come out with the best solution of sorts.EPAY has introduced debit cards that pretty much acts as a wallet,well,e-wallet anyway,for your money.with this card it is very easy to withdraw cash from almost any ATM anywhere in the world.as a matter of fact,i would say that they perform even better than credit cards.not only that,these cards work almost like a credit card and can be used in similar transactions as well.
These cards can be funded by e-gold,bank wire transfer and pecunix.they can also be funded by MasterCard's and visa cards as well,this option is due to come out in a few days time.now you can use these cards to send money to anyone anywhere in the world with ease.you no longer have to run from bank to bank worrying about whether you can send the money or not.these cards,in my opinion,are the best.so take this opportunity and get these cards ASAP!

The U.S economy goes goldilocks!

With disappointing data coming from certain sectors some of the economic pundits are already calling it the end of the Dollar rule and are advising many to look towards the euro for the next leader in the currencies.it may seem that the dollar's hey days are over and that the U.S economy is indeed in a bear hug,but all that aside,what goes down must come up.
All the eyes are now on the september 18th Fed meeting durnig which Alan Greenspan may decide to hike the interest rates.he has to make certain moves with regard to the U.S economy and how much effect that will have in lessening the bear hug is anybody's guess.and everyone included seems intent on being the goldilocks in this story.

The Indian sensex rallies!

Despite the carnage of last week the Indian shareholders have got their confidence back and as a result of aggressive buying on the part of the traders the sensex has surged 400 points ahead.of course,leading the pack was none other than the SBI stocks which have increased in value due to the news that the recent takeover of a local bank chain has been completed.of course the merger still has to get the go ahead by the RBI and the government of India.when that happens and it will,soon at that,you can expect SBI to surge even further up than it already has.so keep your eyes on this stock.
That said the info tech sector was not that far behind the SBI.more and more laws are being amended to complement the IT sector every single day and this can only contribute more to the companies and the government's coffers.the sensex is all set to take over the 15,000 level and maintain it as the base for further market activities!

India close to FTA with ASEAN!

India is very close to signing up a FTA with ASEAN.and if this goes through then that means that India will be able to flex a much larger trade clout.basically this trade if it gets finalised by sep-dec of this year could herald a new era in the age of the Indian tiger!
Indian exports to ASEAN could reach $22 billion by 2012, if the agreement was signed in November.with such large exports to ASEAN,it is naturally in India's interest that this deal goes through.of course the United States may see this as an evidence if India becoming closer with ASEAN and it may not go well with them.but hey,in the end,if both India and the ASEAN are happy that is all that counts,is it not?

Gold may hit the 700$ range soon!

With the recent market volatility bought on by the U.S sub prime affair,all the world metals became volatile as the traders sold off most of the metals in a bid to cover their loses to the sub prime massacre.gold has generally been seen as a safe haven,which is why the U.S dollar was pegged to the gold in the first place.anyway most experts agree that although the gold like other metals have been volatile of late,there are strong trends to show that there is going to be a very strong rally in gold very soon.
Let us not forget India,the largest consumer of the yellow metal in the world.as the festival season begins to start in India,the gold will surge ahead once again.there are also trends to indicate that the gold may soon 'decouple' from all the other economic swings thus reaffirming once again the safe haven that gold once was.as it is now,Spot gold hit a one-week high of $668.90 an ounce on Friday, up from its previous close of $659.20 in New York.gold may soon go all the way to the 700$ range and much much more in the weeks to come.this is indeed good news and some of the trading houses have already started buying gold with their eye on the Indian market and the Indian festival season!

China economy tolls worries for the communist government!

With Chinese economy surging far ahead of expectations,this only brings a much bigger headache for the current government who are doing their utmost to cool the already overheated economy.the latest move by the chinese government was to increase the interest rates.but that does not seem to have cooled the economy by any means.
The chinese government is fast running out of options and if they do not rein the economy sooner than later,inflation is going to sky rocket and thats only the least of their worries.the chinese yuan,which is ridiculously under valued may soon be undergoing a facelift of sorts.but there are a few economists who are predicting that the chinese economy would not slow down inspite of all the governments efforts and it can already be labelled as a runaway economy.well,if there was a time to buy yuan to make a quick profit,the time is now!

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