Riots broke out in Hungary after an audio clip surfaced of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany saying how the government lied about the state of the economy to help him be re-elected. Hungarians trying to be part of the European Union and adapt the Euro needs to have below a 3% of GDP deficit to qualify, [...]
Archive | September, 2006
Looking deeper than the numbers in South Africa
South Africa’s current account deficit number came in at a deficit of 6.1% of GDP in the second quarter of 2006. Although it is contracting, as last quarter was 6.4%, the bigger picture is still bearish for the South African rand. With a slowing growth environment, investors will generally put countries with current account deficits [...]
Coup scares off Baht investors
A military coup invaded Bangkok with tanks, and soldiers seized radio and television stations. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared a “severe state of emergency” via Channel 9 out of New York as the rebellion called for his resignation. The Thai Baht dropped a hard 2% against the Dollar in less than 2 hours. The chart [...]
Hawks help Kiwi spread its wings
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand keeps rates unchanged at 7.25% but Allan Bollard say “we are less confident that no further policy tightening will be required in this cycle”. The chart shown is the AUD/NZD plunging over the last five days from 1.1867 to 1.1365. The New Zealand Dollar also rallied against the United [...]
EUR/NOK Unstoppable
The chart to the right shows the last year of price action for the EUR/NOK. With oil prices tumbling and Norway being a key exporter of oil, the change shows through in the strength of the Norwegian Krone. Another primary concern is the central bank rate for Norway. Prices actually declined in the month of [...]
Single Currency in the Gulf?
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an alliance between nations around the Persian Gulf, talks of having a single currency for the region. Criteria for admission has yet to be decided on before plans can be ratified. The criteria being discussed are similiar to the criteria for the Euro, such as certain levels of inflation, government [...]
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