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Due to the extreme volatility some market analysts foresee could result in the coming days, OANDA fxTrade will not accept any trading activity from 6:00 AM EST until approximately 3:00 PM EST, on Sunday, June 17, 2012. OANDA believes the convergence of a major market event during off-market hours represents a potential trading risk and has taken this rare step to protect traders from excessive rate fluctuations.

The miserable American economy - including the dismal jobs numbers released last Friday -- along with the growing crisis in the euro zone in the banking sector, have world markets in a near panic. The Tokyo exchange hit a 28 year low as investors scrambled for the security of Japanese government bonds, which were yielding an astonishing 0.80%. MyWay news: Germany's DAX lost 1.4 percent to 5,963.41 and France's CAC-40 shed 0.3 percent to 2,940.33. Markets in Britain were closed for a public holiday.Wall Street appeared headed for a lower open, with Dow Jones industrial futures shedding 0.6 percent to...

Are Stocks About to Repeat Their Summer Horror Show? Published: Sunday, 3 Jun 2012 | 7:19 PM ET By: Patti Domm CNBC Executive News Editor Like the third sequel to a summer horror movie, stocks are set up for another summer selloff amid fears that the U.S. economy will slide back into recession. “In the last two summers, the final nail in the equities coffin, the thing that pushed it was a double dip scare. We do think the market is going to increase expectations of that in the coming week,” said Barry Knapp, head of U.S. equity portfolio strategy...

Recently, Barack Obama has refrained from mentioning Dodd-Frank as one of his big accomplishments as President. That's fortunate, because had Obama used that as a campaign claim this month, the huge loss taken by JP Morgan and one-time Obama ally Jamie Dimon would have done serious damage. As it is, Politico wonders whether Obama might have a big problem convincing voters that he's done anything significant to address the underlying issues that created the 2008 financial-system collapse: The giant $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase highlights a central problem in President Barack ObamaÂ’s case for a second term: Four...

Concerns grow about a global economic slowdown and a restructuring of the European Monetary Union Gold and silver started off the week by heading downward amid growing perceptions of a global economic slowdown and restructuring of the European Monetary Union (EMU).

Do you ever get the feeling that Rush and Hannity don't really care who wins, just as long as their dollars keep rolling in from us tea party saps. Besides Mark Levin, what prominent talker has gone out on a limb and endorsed true conservative candidates? Everyday we have to here Hannity interview the John McCains of the world. If he truly believed in the conservative movement, wouldn't he be out there trumpeting Richard Mourdock and Don Stenberg like Levin is? As for Rush, he is more interested in commercializing the tea party movement with his "Two if by tea"...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks fell 1% Monday as investors grew concerned about European political uncertainty and another sign of a slowdown in the Chinese economy. France's prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy came in second place in the first round of presidential elections Sunday, and on Monday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigned. That combined with a slowdown in China's manufacturing was enough to unnerve investors at the start of what will be a busy week on the economic and earnings front. "The events over the weekend re-ignited concerns that the European community is going to have trouble working out...

The problem is that earnings growth has ground almost to a halt — profits for companies in the S.& P. 500 are expected to grow just 1 percent in the first quarter and 2 percent in the second. That means that the only real hope for additional stock market gains this year is expansion in the P/E ratio, which may be bumping up against a ceiling. “We already got a year’s worth of returns in just three months,” says Mark D. Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, referring to the first-quarter gain of 13 percent in the S.&...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The golden age for foreclosure squatters may soon be coming to an end now that the $26 billion mortgage settlement has been approved. The settlement, agreed to by the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, is expected to speed up the foreclosure process by providing stricter guidelines for the banks to follow when repossessing homes. The banks involved include Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citibank (C, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Ally Financial. Many foreclosures have been in limbo since fall 2010 following the so-called robo-signing scandal, when...

Just when you thought unemployment was dropping and stock markets were surging back, these three analysts today sent out a stark warning to Americans to brace for another financial crash. Trend forecaster Gerald Celente advises buying a gun to protect your family, stocking up on gold if the dollar crashes and planning a getaway, so it’s no shock he’s preparing for an ‘economic 9/11’. Share prices and unemployment are posting their best figures in four years since the recession hit, but Mr Celente, along with authors Harry Dent and Robert Prechter, says the rebound won’t last.

The House yesterday passed a new "reform" measure aimed at curtailing the practice of trading on securities with inside information amongst members of Congress and their staff. Suprise! Some members of Congress were arriving in Congress and becoming rich on the experience. Ever wonder how people go to Congress and become millionaires? The publication last year of a new academic report cleared up for us at least one way the millionaires' club known as Congress benefits.A report from four scholars, Alan J Ziobrowski; James W Boyd, Ping Cheng; and Brigitte J. Ziobrowski, titled Abnormal Returns From the Common Stock Investments...

In terms of sheer numbers, the Type 98 of the People's Republic of China, Pakistan's Al-Khalid, and the Russian Federation's T-90 (including India's licensed T‑90S) will continue to dominate the market, accounting for 54.73 percent of all new tanks rolling out worldwide, worth 43.79 percent of the market, through 2021.

China's move this week to keep its economy afloat isn't generating the big headlines that Europe's actions got, but is no less important in keeping the world's economic engine churning. While coordinated action by the world's other central banks to enhance liquidity for Europe's banks stole the focus Wednesday, China's decision to cut reserve requirements for banks was even more important, some believe. That's because the developed world has come to depend on China for a variety of reasons — from buying up American debt to providing loans to growing businesses to keeping its mighty manufacturing base growing. Easing the...

While everyone was focused on the impending European collapse, the latest soon to be refuted rumors of a quick fix from the Welt am Sonntag notwithstanding, the Bank of International Settlements reported a number that quietly slipped through the cracks of the broader media. Which is paradoxical because it is the biggest ever reported in the financial world: the number in question is $707,568,901,000,000 and represents the latest total amount of all notional Over The Counter (read unregulated) outstanding derivatives reported by the world's financial institutions to the BIS for its semi-annual OTC derivatives report titled "OTC derivatives market activity...

Lawmakers in several states have vowed to pass undocumented employer sanction laws after the Supreme Court upheld Arizona's this year. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has drummed up some support to pass a federal version in Congress that would require all employers to use the government's E-Verify database to ensure their employees are authorized to work--or risk losing their business license. Arizona provides a case study for the effects of a tough E-Verify law on the labor market. According to a study released this year by the Public Policy Institute of California, about 92,000 or 17 percent of the Hispanic non-citizen...

Tide turns against dark pools Shanny Basar and Giles Turner 25 Oct 2011 Some of the world’s largest corporates have expressed concern regarding the growth of trading on dark pools, amid an increase in regulatory activity against the trading venues. A BNY Mellon Global Trends in Investor Relations survey of 650 companies across 53 countries, published today, discovered that a third of respondents believed dark pools “negatively impact global trading markets and that more oversight is necessary.” Peter Kondrup from drinks company Carlsberg said in the survey: “If you take it from our view point, we believe that it definitely...

The decadence of 'dark pool' markets Updated: 2011-11-07 07:49 By Daryl Guppy (China Daily) The collapse of MF Global Holdings again highlights the perils of derivative leverage in a loosely regulated market. It shows the need for genuine transparency in financial markets. The decadence of 'dark pool' markets MF Global had $1.4 billion in equity which it used to run up $44.4 billion in liabilities largely in trading European debt. The collapse of MF Global also dragged down its other trading operations, hitting individual investors and traders who found their accounts frozen and positions liquidated at unfavorable prices. MF Global...

Stocks head for big losses NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks headed for a big drop at Wednesday's open after Italy's key bond rate rose above a critical 7% level -- a sign that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's pledge to step down failed to calm world markets. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures fell more than 2%. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET. Berlusconi's departure could come as late as the first week of December, after a final vote on the budget. And...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The besieged housing market has even further to fall before home prices really hit rock bottom. According to Fiserv (FISV), a financial analytics company, home values are expected to fall another 3.6% by next June, pushing them to a new low of 35% below the peak reached in early 2006 and marking a triple dip in prices. Several factors will be working against the housing market in the upcoming months, including an increase in foreclosure activity and sustained high unemployment, explained David Stiff, Fiserv's chief economist.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks sold off sharply Tuesday after Greece's prime minister called for an unexpected public vote to approve Europe's debt deal. Investors fear the referendum will jeopardize the deal, since it includes austerity cuts that have not been popular with the Greek public. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 302 points, or 2.5%, the S&P 500 (SPX) sank 36 points, or 2.9%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) lost 83 points, or 3.1%. Bank stocks were hit especially hard, with shares of Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) down more than 9% and Citigroup (C,...