This week ahead: top news to watch this week

Fellow traders, let us have a look at upcoming week in terms of important economic news.

Below you can find short table of major economic news during this week:

Monday: President’s Day in USA, Wall Street will remain closed. In the UK, investors will be looking ahead to a second reading on British growth data for further hints on the health of the economy and the likelihood of the Bank of England raising interest rates this year.

Tuesday: AUD Reserve Bank of Australia Meeting’s Minutes + GBP Inflation Report Hearings. The BoE will hold its Inflation Hearings, where Governor Mark Carney and his colleagues will discuss recent inflation developments before the Treasury Select Committee. The BoE has been keeping the interest rates steady before, but signaled it was likely to raise rates sooner and by more than it thought a few months ago as it seeks to keep a grip on inflation. Tuesday will also bring results from retail heavyweights Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD), so investors should be watching closely these two giants.

Wednesday: EUR Non-monetary policy’s ECB meeting + USD FOMC Minutes. The most important here being FOMC Minutes. With a pre-set regularity, a nation’s Central Bank has an economic policy meeting, in which board members took different measures, the most relevant one, being the interest rate that it will charge on loans and advances to commercial banks. Besides the FOMC minutes, markets will also be paying close attention to comments from around a dozen Fed speakers this week for their views on the recent uptick in inflation and how that can affect monetary policy.

Thursday: EUR ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts + CAD Retail Sales (MoM) (December). Minutes from the ECB’s January policy meeting will be published during the day. The ECB said it will keep its €2.5 trillion stimulus program in place for as long as needed at that meeting, and stated that there are “very few chances” that it will change interest rates this year.

Friday: JPY Japanese Statistics Bureau inflation figures (January) + EUR Consumer Price Index (YoY) (January). Most important news will come from Tokyo, where at 8:50 AM Tokyo time BoJ will publish fresh data on monthly inflation figures. Market analysts expect the headline figure to remain positive, rising 1.3% year-on-year, which would be the 13th straight month of annual increases.

Sources:

https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/economic-calendar–top-5-things-to-watch-this-week-1268699

https://www.investing.com/economic-calendar/

https://www.fxstreet.com/macroeconomics/central-banks/fed?utm_source=NLecocal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=intext&utm_campaign=eco-cal-weekly-schedule

https://www.fxstreet.com/economic-calendar

Dollar is near 3-year low while stocks are having best week of gains in 6 years!

Friday hot topics:

The USD. The dollar rebounded after data showed that U.S. homebuilding increased to more than a one-year high in January and that building permits soared to their highest level since 2007.

The USD came under broad selling pressure earlier amid fresh concerns over the U.S. deficit, which is projected to rise close to $1 trillion in 2019 following the announcement of infrastructure spending and large corporate tax cuts. The U.S. dollar index, (USD strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies), was up 0.38% at 88.82 by 08:40 a.m. ET (12:40 GMT), off a three-year trough of 88.16 hit earlier in the day. The dollar is just nears 3-year lows and the US 10-year bond yield has eased back under 2.9% as investors remain more sanguine about the outlook for US rates.

Word stocks feel much better though.

US equities are on course for a sixth consecutive session of gains. And not only theirs! World stocks record best week of gains in six years on Friday after two consecutive weeks spent in the red. Formidable, we shall say.

After Wall Street closed with its best 5-day run of gains since 2011, U.S. futures pointed to a continuation of the rally on Friday as investors looked ahead to the aforementioned string of economic data and also prepared to watch company earnings.

Best performers / superstars:
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) were all set to report earnings ahead of the opening bell on Friday. Dow futures gained 0.14%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.18%, the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 0.29%.

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/0c07e7ec-12b7-11e8-8cb6-b9ccc4c4dbbb

https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news

https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/forex–dollar-turns-higher-on-strong-us-housing-sector-data-1260143

https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/forex–dollar-hovers-near-3year-lows-us-housing-sector-data-on-tap-1258615

https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/top-5-things-to-know-in-the-market-on-friday-1258770

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/EURUSD=X?p=EURUSD=X

https://www.investing.com/analysis/rallies-continue-but-still-considered-relief-bounces-200291204

Major Cryptonews for 13.02 – 18.02.2018

Bitcoin recovering to $10,000 could bring in new buyers

Bitcoin climbed back above $10,000 Thursday for the first time in two weeks and some analysts see the psychologically key level as a trigger for new buyers to come into the market. In the week around Thanksgiving, Coinbase added about 300,000 users, helping send bitcoin from around $8,000 to $10,000. For UK-based online trading platform eToro, user growth slowed down through the end of January — which was when bitcoin began dropping significantly. But the rate of withdrawals has not increased, indicating that users were not selling out and that demand from new customers may have helped previous price gains.

Crypto Markets Continue Experiencing Slight Growth, Bitcoin Passes $10k

The crypto markets continue to experience a mood of slight growth this week, with Bitcoin (BTC)’s price today climbing above the $10,000 mark and the top ten altcoins on CoinMarketCap following by being uniformly in the green. Since the market dip in late January and another dip in early February, the overall crypto market cap is showing a slow rise, with total market cap is around $470 bln by press time.

It costs $26,000 to mine one bitcoin in South Korea — and just $530 in Venezuela

Mining just one bitcoin in South Korea costs $26,170, according to data released by lighting and furniture firm Elite Fixtures. The Elite Fixtures data also showed that Venezuela is the cheapest country in which to mine bitcoin. According to Blockchain.info data, the total revenue earned by all bitcoin miners hit an all-time high of $53 million on December 17, the same day that bitcoin notched its highest price ever of $19,783.21.

Accidental Charges Lead To Coinbase Users Losing Thousands Of Dollars, Refunds Promised

Crypto wallet and exchange Coinbase has admitted that some customers were erroneously overcharged for credit and debit purchases of crypto, and promises to reimburse all affected customers in full, the Coinbase blog reports Thursday, Feb. 15. According to Coinbase, the problem was initiated when banks and card issuers changed the merchant category code (MCC) for crypto purchases earlier this month. This meant that crypto payments would now be processed as “cash advances,” meaning that banks and credit card issuers could begin charging customers “cash advance” fees for crypto purchases.

BlockShow 2018: New European Event is Announced, Larger Than Ever

Just a short time ago, Cointelegraph was releasing last materials dedicated to the recent BlockShow Asia 2017. However, today the conference team came back to announce BlockShow Europe 2018, its third big conference dedicated to discovering the hottest innovations, trends and sensations currently happening in both European and Global Blockchain scenes. BlockShow Europe will be held from May 28-29 in Berlin.

Japan’s Cryptocurrency Industry is Launching a Self-Regulatory Body

Japan’s two primary cryptocurrency industry groups are merging to form a new self-regulatory entity following the recent $530 million hack of Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck. The unnamed new entity is set to launch April 1, the Nikkei reports, a year to the day after Japan’s revised Payment Services Act – which recognizes bitcoin as a legal method of payment – kicked in. The self-regulatory body will see the unification of the Japan Blockchain Association and the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association. The former is notably founded around bitFlyer, Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

(BTC/USD) Bitcoin Analysis

Bitcoin price is testing the descending trend line on its 4-hour time frame, and moving past this hurdle could mean more gains.

  • Bitcoin price has broken past its inverse head and shoulders pattern neckline to show that an uptrend is in the cards.
  • Price is hitting another upside barrier at its descending trend line, though, and this might prompt profit-taking.
  • Technical indicators are also suggesting that the rally is overdone.

Besides, the move all the way to the $10,000 area of interest could bring more buying interest as this could signal an end of the correction. A sustained move past the next $12,000 area of interest could confirm that buying momentum is in play, attracting even more buyers.

(ETH/USD) Ethereum Analysis

Ethereum price is trading with bullish price action against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD may soon break the $935-940 levels to gain further upside momentum.

  • ETH price is rising and is currently trading above the $920 level against the US Dollar.
  • There is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $890 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via SimpleFX).
  • The pair may continue to rise and it could even break the recent high of $936 for more gains.

On the upside, the pair may soon move above the $935 level once again. Once it break $935, it could even move above the $950 level. Further above $950, there could more gains toward the $980 level.

Hourly MACD – The MACD has slightly reduced the bullish slope, but it is still positive.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is once again moving higher after testing the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $900

Major Resistance Level – $935

(BCH/USD) Bitcoin Cash Analysis

Bitcoin cash price is gaining upside momentum above $1,400 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD may correct in the short term, but it remains in an uptrend.

  • Bitcoin cash price surged higher and it was able to break the $1,400 resistance against the US Dollar.
  • There is a major bullish trend line forming with support at $1,350 on the hourly chart of BCH/USD (data feed from SimpleFX).
  • The pair is currently correcting lower, but it remains well supported on the downside at $1,380

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is correcting lower from the overbought levels.

Major Support Level – $1,380

Major Resistance Level – $1,475

(XRP/USD) Ripple Analysis

Ripple price is slowly gaining upside momentum against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD could continue to rise and it may even test the $1.15 level.

  • Ripple price is gaining momentum and is currently trading above the $1.0500 support against the US dollar.
  • There is an ascending channel forming with support at $1.0000 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from SimpleFx).
  • The pair may continue to rise in the short term towards the $1.12 and $1.15 levels..

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is slowly gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is currently well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $0.9500

Major Resistance Level – $1.1000

 

Sources: 

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/bitcoin-recovering-10000-could-bring-in-new-buyers.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/the-cheapest-and-most-expensive-countries-to-mine-bitcoin.html

https://cointelegraph.com/news/accidental-charges-lead-to-coinbase-users-losing-thousands-of-dollars-refunds-promised

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-markets-continue-experiencing-slight-growth-bitcoin-passes-10k

https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockshow-2018-new-european-event-is-announced-larger-than-ever

https://www.ccn.com/japans-cryptocurrency-industry-is-launching-a-self-regulatory-body/

https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/16/ethereum-price-technical-analysis-eth-usd-eyes-upsides/

https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/16/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-02-16-2018-one-hurdle-clear/

https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/16/bitcoin-cash-price-technical-analysis-bch-usd-zooms-1400/

https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/15/ripple-price-technical-analysis-xrp-usd-grinding-higher/

 

Morning Commodities: Gold, Oil and Gas updates

Morning commodities updates:

Gold. Gold prices are testing a 2 ½ week high, driven by a weaker U.S. Dollar and yesterday’s U.S. inflation report that showed a faster than expected rise in consumer prices.

At 1008 GMT, April Comex Gold futures are trading $1356.80, down $1.20 or -0.09%.

On Wednesday, the USA government reported that consumer prices rose more than expected in January as Americans paid more for gasoline, rental accommodation and healthcare. This was enough to fuel gold’s biggest one-day percentage gain since May 2017.

A recovery in broader risk sentiment was seen weighing on the U.S. Dollar, which had gained during the market turmoil earlier in the month. This helped make gold a more attractive investment.

Data on Thursday showed that the U.S. producer price index rose in line with expectations by 0.4% last month. Rising inflation would be a catalyst to push the Federal Reserve toward raising interest rates at a faster pace than currently expected.

Oil.  Crude oil prices rose on Friday, helped by a weak U.S. dollar and by hopes for further efforts to limit global oil output. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude March contract was up 43 cents or about 0.72% at $61.78 a barrel by 04:05 a.m. ET (08:05 GMT), the highest since February 8. Elsewhere, Brent oil for April delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London gained 55 cents or about 0.87% to $64.89 a barrel.

Gas. Natural gas markets have gone back and forth during the day on Thursday, ultimately settling on negativity. The market is reaching towards the $2.50 level underneath. The market is extraordinarily oversold too. Natural gas inventory draw was higher than expected

Sources: 

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/natural-gas-inventory-draw-was-higher-than-expected-1253906

https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-at-312-week-highs-as-us-dollar-tumbles-1258204

https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/crude-oil-prices-rise-on-renewed-optimism-1258403

https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/price-of-gold-fundamental-daily-forecast-steep-dollar-plunge-should-spike-gold-prices-475484?utm_medium=email&utm_source=analysis-newsletter&utm_campaign=daily&utm_content=Fundamental-index-0

https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/crude-oil-price-analysis-february-16-2018-475631?utm_medium=email&utm_source=analysis-newsletter&utm_campaign=daily&utm_content=Fundamental-index-2

https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/gold-price-forecast-february-16-2018-technical-analysis-475687?utm_medium=email&utm_source=analysis-newsletter&utm_campaign=daily&utm_content=Videos-index-4

https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/natural-gas-price-forecast-16-2018-technical-analysis-475690?utm_medium=email&utm_source=analysis-newsletter&utm_campaign=daily&utm_content=Videos-index-2

Amazon beats Microsoft on list of world’s most valuable companies, and becomes 3rd!

Amazon’s market value soared above $685 billion, making the Jeff Bezos-led giant worth more than Microsoft for the first time ever. Microsoft’s market value currently stands at $684 billion. Amazon (AMZN) now trails only Apple (AAPL), which has a market cap of about $815 billion, and Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL), valued at $750 billion.
These tech giants are all in a race to the magical trillion dollar level, a height that no U.S. company has topped as of yet.

But Amazon clearly has the most momentum. Its stock has soared nearly 21% this year, well ahead of the gains of Alphabet and Microsoft. Apple’s stock has fallen year-to-date.

Combined, all other public companies based in Washington state have a market capitalization of only about $400 billion. Chicago-based Boeing has a market value of $205 billion.

Amazon has nearly quadrupled in value over the last three years, a surge that made founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos the world’s richest man, displacing his Medina neighbor, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Amazon is still well behind Google-parent Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, +0.68% GOOG, +0.65% which currently sits in second place. First-place Apple Inc. AAPL, +1.27% has a big lead with a market cap of $849.24 billion. Bezos has already passed Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates as the wealthiest person on the planet back in October, according to Forbes and Bloomberg. Bezos is now worth $116 billion, nearly $25 billion more than Gates

Amazon (AMZN:US) Amazon is a Consumer Discretionary company, specialized in Retail – Discretionary. Amazon is up by 21.85% since the beginning of the year. AMZN:US hit its all-time high of 1498 in February 02, 2018 and its record low of 1.31 in February 02, 2018. In the past 52-weeks, Amazon ranged from 831.55 (2017-02-14) to 1490.6095 (2018-02-02).

Sources: 

http://fortune.com/2018/02/15/amazon-microsoft-third-most-valuable-company/

https://www.investing.com/equities/amazon-com-inc-news

https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/summary?s=AMZN:NSQ

http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/06/investing/amazon-microsoft-market-value/index.html

https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=AMZN:NSQ

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-passes-microsoft-to-become-the-3rd-largest- us-company-2018-02-14

https://www.dailysabah.com/technology/2018/02/15/amazon-passes-microsoft-becomes- 3rd-largest-us-company

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/02/14/amazon-passes-microsoft-on-list-of-worlds-most- valuable-companies/

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/3a36ef40-447b-36ae-8ccd-3f2d498a0c62/amazon-passes- microsoft-to.html

https://ieconomics.com/amazon

 

Airbus shares skyrocket, stocks in Europe recover

A recovery rally in European stocks gathered pace for a second day on Thursday after investors brushed off a spike in U.S. inflation, turning their focus back to strong company earnings from heavy hitters including Europe’s largest aerospace firm, Airbus.

Airbus shares were up 8.1 percent at 91 euros in early session trading, close to their earlier record high of 94 euros reached last month. The stock was also the top performer on France’s benchmark CAC-40 index. Company however booked a new 1.3 billion euro charge on its A400M military plane.

Airbus took a new 1.3 billion euro ($1.62 billion) hit on its A400M military transport plane, but also posted adjusted 2017 operating profit of 4.253 billion euros on revenues of 66.767 billion euros and predicted a 20 percent rise in the widely watched core profit item. Airbus reported strong 2017 numbers for adjusted EBIT, net income and free cash flow which were clearly ahead of our estimates.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.5 per cent by 0824 GMT, hitting its highest level in a week. The main European stock index was still down 6.5 per cent from its 2 1/2-year peak hit as recently as January 23rd. Earnings took center stage once more, with strong results driving the top gainers, with already mentioned Airbus, and Ipsen, Aegon, and Schneider Electric (PA:SCHN) following.

Source:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-results-stocks/airbus-shares-rise-as-higher-profits-cash-flow-offset-impact-of-new-a400m-charge-idUSKCN1FZ0RM

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43069630

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/airbus-takes-1-3bn-charge-on-a400m-jet-as-profits-rise-57lgb6cgl

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/markets/european-shares-build-on-recovery-rally-airbus-shines-1.3393187

https://www.ft.com/content/17258d16-1229-11e8-8cb6-b9ccc4c4dbbb

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/european-shares-build-on-recovery-rally-airbus-shines-1251033