Archive for July, 2011

XE Forex Rates

 
USD
EUR
GBP

1 USD =

1.00000

0.69449

0.60800
Inverse:
1.00000
1.43990
1.64475

1 EUR =

1.43990

1.00000

0.87545
Inverse:
0.69449
1.00000
1.14227

1 GBP =

1.64475

1.14227

1.00000
Inverse:
0.60800
0.87545
1.00000

1 JPY =

0.01301

0.00904

0.00791
Inverse:
76.85000
110.65631
126.39904

1 CAD =

1.04680

0.72699

0.63645
Inverse:
0.95529
1.37553
1.57122

1 AUD =

1.09890

0.76318

0.66813
Inverse:
0.91000
1.31031
1.49672

1 CHF =

1.27299

0.88408

0.77397
Inverse:
0.78555
1.13111
1.29203

1 RUB =

0.03609

0.02507

0.02195
Inverse:
27.70500
39.89243
45.56780

1 CNY =

0.15535

0.10789

0.09445
Inverse:
6.43700
9.26864
10.58726

1 ZAR =

0.14988

0.10409

0.09113
Inverse:
6.67200
9.60701
10.97377

1 MXN =

0.08514

0.05913

0.05177
Inverse:
11.74500
16.91163
19.31759

Article source: http://www.xe.com/news/2011/07/30/2063705.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art3

XE Forex Rates

 
USD
EUR
GBP

1 USD =

1.00000

0.69435

0.60890
Inverse:
1.00000
1.44020
1.64231

1 EUR =

1.44020

1.00000

0.87694
Inverse:
0.69435
1.00000
1.14033

1 GBP =

1.64231

1.14033

1.00000
Inverse:
0.60890
0.87694
1.00000

1 JPY =

0.01301

0.00904

0.00792
Inverse:
76.85000
110.67937
126.21120

1 CAD =

1.04707

0.72703

0.63756
Inverse:
0.95505
1.37546
1.56848

1 AUD =

1.09890

0.76302

0.66912
Inverse:
0.91000
1.31058
1.49450

1 CHF =

1.27299

0.88390

0.77513
Inverse:
0.78555
1.13135
1.29011

1 RUB =

0.03621

0.02514

0.02205
Inverse:
27.61750
39.77472
45.35638

1 CNY =

0.15535

0.10787

0.09459
Inverse:
6.43700
9.27057
10.57152

1 ZAR =

0.14988

0.10407

0.09126
Inverse:
6.67200
9.60901
10.95746

1 MXN =

0.08514

0.05912

0.05184
Inverse:
11.74500
16.91515
19.28888

Article source: http://www.xe.com/news/2011/07/30/2063709.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art2

US Dollar Could Fall Further on Debt Ceiling Impasse, Nonfarm Payrolls

US Dollar Could Fall Further on Debt Ceiling Impasse, Nonfarm Payrolls

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on the economic reports and political events that influence the currency market.

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Article source: http://www.xe.com/news/2011/07/31/2063533.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art1

The US dollar fell sharply against some of the major currencies today, following a report that showed that the economic growth in the second quarter of 2011 was worse than expected.

The greenback was trading at a rather high level against the other currencies earlier today, advancing significantly both against the euro and the Great Britain pound before 12:30 GMT today. Following the US GDP report, it slid to bearish against the euro and trades almost in the negative zone against the pound. The dollar is also down against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.

The gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the Q2 2011 from the Q1 2011. The first quarter growth was revised down from 1.9 percent to 0.4 percent. The traders expected 1.8 percent gain in GDP on average. This news is very pessimistic in regards of the possible rate increases in the United States and thus is extremely negative for the US dollar.

EUR/USD went up from 1.4327 to 1.4333 as of 13:09 GMT, trading as low as 1.4229 earlier. GBP/USD is now trading near its opening level — 1.6369. USD/JPY fell from 77.69 to 77.14 today.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the US Dollar:

• Continued Debates over US Debt Push USD to New Lows vs. CHF (2011-07-25)
• Optimism for Europe Returns, Greenback Suffers (2011-07-20)
• Dollar Rises on Signs of Agreement Among US Lawmakers (2011-07-19)
• SP Warn About Possible Downgrade of US Rating, USD Down (2011-07-15)
• Dollar Regains Strength as Bernanke Speaks (2011-07-14)

This entry was posted on TopForexNews
on Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 1:13 pm and is filed under US Dollar.
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Article source: http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/07/29/dollar-falls-on-us-growth-slowdown/

The Canadian dollar fell sharply against all of its major counterparts today, following the unexpected negative GDP report.

The loonie dropped to its July 19 level against the US dollar, the lowest value against the euro since July 8 and slid to March 18 rates against the Japanese yen today. The currency also decreased against the outsider of the day — the Australian dollar.

It’s quite clear that today’s bearish behavior is largely a result of Canadian GDP report that was released by Statistics Canada at 12:30 GMT. It showed a contraction of 0.3 percent in May 2011, which followed a zero change in April this year. The market economists forecasted the May value to be at 0.1 percent, positive.

The analysts also cite the poor US GDP growth as another factor that badly influenced the Canadian dollar (as the Canada’s economy is quite dependent on the one of the United States). Some of them also believe that June figures will be far from good too.

USD/CAD rose from 0.9489 to 0.9562 as of 17:03 GMT today. EUR/CAD went up from 1.3596 to 1.3748, while CAD/JPY dropped from 81.85 to 80.69, reaching low as 80.40 today.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Canadian Dollar:

• CAD Sets New Multi-Year Record on US Crisis Expectations (2011-07-26)
• Canadian Inflation Slows, Loonie Retreats (2011-07-22)
• CAD Reaches Three-Year High vs. USD (2011-07-22)
• BOC Rate Statement Invigorates Loonie (2011-07-19)
• Canadian Dollar Looks More Attractive After EU Stress Tests (2011-07-15)

This entry was posted on TopForexNews
on Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Canadian Dollar.
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Article source: http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/07/29/loonie-declines-as-economy-contracts/

If done right, trading forex technical analysis can capture more pips and improve trading portfolio returns than any forex gurus can ever promise you. Forex technical analysis will now be made easier with software.

The Commitment of Traders (COT) report is a weekly report compiled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that shows the aggregate number of futures positions held by large traders, such as banks and manufacturers. Savvy traders have long used the COT report as a tool in their trading strategies. Learn how to use the COT report to enhance your long-term forex trading strategies.

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp was sued by 15 former Countrywide Financial Corp institutional investors who said they lost money after being misled about the mortgage lender’s financial condition and lending practices.

BlackRock Inc, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), T Rowe Price Group Inc, TIAA-CREF and the other plaintiffs, including some in Europe, sued in Los Angeles federal court, after deciding not to join a $624 million settlement that won court approval in February.

These plaintiffs believed they could recover more by suing on their own over the ‘massive and pervasive’ fraud at Countrywide, which Bank of America bought on July 1, 2008.

Thursday’s lawsuit deepens the legal problems for Bank of America over Countrywide, for which it paid $2.5 billion. Analysts have estimated that its ultimate cost, including legal bills and loan losses, could easily exceed 10 times that sum.

Last month, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank entered an $8.5 billion agreement to end most litigation by investors who bought securities backed by risky Countrywide home loans. Some of those investors have complained this agreement too may be unfair.

According to the 425-page complaint by the 15 plaintiffs, Countrywide and officials like former Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo abandoned prudent lending, reserved too little for bad loans and inflated earnings, in a drive to triple market share to 30 percent and enrich themselves.

Top executives ‘were fully aware of but failed to disclose, and in fact expressly authorized and engaged in, Countrywide’s risky lending,’ the complaint said.

Countrywide shares ultimately sank more than 90 percent from their peak as losses from its subprime, pay-option and other risky mortgages began to pile up.

Bill Halldin, a Bank of America spokesman, said: ‘It is unfortunate that select investors chose to opt out of a fair and equitable agreement to settle these issues. We intend to vigorously defend these claims.’

‘UNFORTUNATE,’ BANK SAYS

The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages and class-action status for the March 12, 2004 to March 7, 2008 period.

They are also seeking a jury trial, and to ‘maximize the recovery of their damages,’ their lawyer Blair Nicholas, a partner at Bernstein Litowitz Berger Grossmann, said.

Other defendants include former Chief Operating Officer David Sambol and former Chief Financial Officer Eric Sieracki, and former auditor KPMG LLP.

Lawyers for the former executives did not return requests for comment. KPMG spokesman Dan Ginsburg declined to comment.

The Feb. 25 settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer in Los Angeles called for Bank of America to pay $601.5 million to former Countrywide investors, and set aside $22.5 million for claims of investors that opted out.

That money would go to investors in the earlier settlement if it is not used within two years.

Mozilo last October reached a $67.5 million settlement of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud lawsuit accusing him of misleading investors and generating improper gains from stock sales. He did not admit wrongdoing.

Bank of America shares have fallen close to 60 percent since it bought Countrywide, roughly three times as much as the KBW Bank Index. In afternoon trading, the shares were unchanged at $9.79.

The case is Government of Guam Retirement Fund et al v. Countrywide Financial Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 11-06239.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Keywords: BANKOFAMERICA/COUNTRYWIDE LAWSUIT

(jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Article source: http://www.xe.com/news/2011/07/29/2063037.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art3

July 28 (Reuters) – Tropical storm Don, the first major storm in the Gulf of Mexico this year, churned northwest on Thursday toward the Texas Coast and forced top oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico to shut in oil and natural gas production.

Some producers like BP Plc and BHP Billiton, however, said they are sending employees back to offshore platforms on the east side of the storm system as threat levels there plummeted.

Others like Apache closed off more production. Apache said it shut 41 million cubic feet (mmcfd) of natural gas and 1,970 barrels per day of oil production because of the storm.

The storm still has winds moving as fast as 50 miles per hour, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

ESTIMATED CAPACITY OFFLINE —————————————————————————

Oil output: 166,554 bpd Friday vs 94,963 bpd Wednesday

Gas output: 327 mmcf off-shore production vs 148 mmcf Wednesday ————————————————————————— Source: U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement —————————————————————————

OFFSHORE PRODUCTION IMPACT

————————————– Company Asset Capacity Date Shut Restarted Link ————————————————————————— OIL ————————————————————————— Anadarko Marco Polo 120,000 bpd Jul 28 —

Constitution 70,000 bpd Jul 28 —

Nansen 40,000 bpd Jul 28 —

Boomvang 40,000 bpd Jul 28 —

Gunnison 40,000 bpd Jul 28 — Apache 6 platforms 1,860 bpd Jul 28 — BP Atlantis 200,000 bpd Jul 28 Jul29 Shell Perdidospar 100,000 bpd Jul 28 —

————————————————————————— GAS ————————————————————————— Anadarko Marco Polo 300 mmcfd Jul 28 —

Boomvang 200 mmcfd Jul 28 —

Consti- 200 mmcfd Jul 28 —

tution

Red Hawk 120 mmcfd Jul 28 — —————————————————————————

TEXAS REFINERIES NEAREST TO STORM ————————————————————————— Company Location Capacity Status

(1,000 bpd) ___________________________________________________________________________ Citgo Corpus Christi 163 No Change Flint Hills Corpus Christi 289 No Change Valero Corpus Christi 142 No Change ___________________________________________________________________________

PREPARATION MEASURES, EVACUATED PERSONNEL

————————————————-

* Anadarko Petroleum — shut production from 10 platforms in western Gulf of Mexico, no new evacuations of personnel

* Bhp Billiton PLC Says will re-man its two Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms over the weekend

* BP Plc — sending workers back to its Gulf of Mexico platforms

* Chevron evacuating support staff

* Citgo — monitoring TS Don

* Pemex — Monitoring storm, has convened an emergency response team

* Royal Dutch Shell — Expects to evacuate 195 personnel by end of Thursday

* Valero — Monitoring the system, has not altered operations

* Apache — Evacuating 306 non-essential staff, no production impact.

(Reporting by Kristen Hays, Bruce Nichols, Adriana Barrera; Compiled by Selam Gebrekidan) Keywords: TC DON/OPERATIONS

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The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Article source: http://www.xe.com/news/2011/07/29/2063033.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art2

BANGALORE, July 29 (Reuters) – ConocoPhillips said on Friday it has controlled a fire caused by a release from a hydrocarbon transfer line at its 146,000 barrel-per-day joint venture refinery in Borger, Texas.

No one was injured in the fire that occurred at about 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT) on Thursday, Conoco said.

The refinery emergency response team was mobilized to contain the fire and isolate the line, a Conoco spokesman said in an email.

‘The fire is fully controlled but continues to burn as the hydrocarbon in the line is burned off,’ he said.

Conoco has begun efforts to prepare the transfer line for maintenance.

Earlier in the day, Conoco reported a release of butane caused by a pipeline leak at the refinery, in a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The Borger refinery is a joint venture between Conoco and Canada’s Cenovus Energy, a spin-off from EnCana Corp .

(Reporting by Antonita Madonna Devotta in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

((antonita.madonna@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5940; Reuters Messaging: antonita.madonna.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: REFINERY OPERATIONS/CONOCO BORGER

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The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Article source: http://www.xe.com/news/2011/07/29/2063041.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art1