Daily Forex Brief London: Monday 28th May 2012

Glimmers of hope

The weekend polls in Greece have shown the pro-bailout parties gaining ground, with two showing that they could receive enough of the votes to form a viable coalition. This has given the euro a modest lift in Asia trade, allowing a break above the 1.26 level, up from the 1.2496 year low carved out last week. Still, it's another three weeks until we will have the election results, so the road ahead remains fairly daunting for the single currency. We also have the Irish referendum on Thursday of this week on the European Fiscal Treaty. Meanwhile, as the Spanish government moves to inject fresh capital into Bankia, there are also moves to greatly enhance the deposit guarantee scheme protection offered to savers in European banks. These modestly encouraging developments, together with the fact that last week was the worst of the year for the single currency, increase the risk of some short-covering rallies this week, but there can be little arguing that underlying sentiment remains decidedly fragile.

Daily Forex Brief London: Friday 25th May 2012

The euro bails out

Markets approach the end of what has been a pretty difficult week. The single currency has made news lows for the year (vs. the USD) and markets have no more faith in the ability of eurozone leaders to quell speculation around a Greek exit as anti-bailout parties retain their lead in the Greek election opinion polls. We've also seen the capitulation of the single currency, something which we talked about earlier this month, where the euro has been the weakest currency in a period of dollar strength, rather than the more traditional high-beta currencies, such as the Aussie. The price action on the single currency this week means that we run the risk of short-covering activity into the weekend. Also, the Swiss franc is worth keeping a small eye on after yesterday's volatility (at least compared to recent activity), which was mostly on the back of - so far - denied rumours of further measures to quell currency strength.

Daily Forex Brief London: Thursday 24th May 2012

Europe's impossible dream

Probably not by accident, yesterday's Brussels dinner party of EU leaders ended too late for the European press to pass judgement. There was a weight of expectations, which was largely misplaced given this was an informal meeting to pave the way for the main summit of leaders at the end of next month. The same differences remain on common bonds and the financial transaction tax (UK opposing) and more subtle differences on the growth agenda. Of course, everyone would like more growth but delivering it alongside a program of continued austerity is naturally a different matter and, for now, it remains the impossible dream for European leaders and a balance which Europe (and indeed others) has yet to achieve. In the FX markets, after the push lower through the 1.26 level into the European close yesterday, EUR/USD has held steady overnight, but activity elsewhere shows that dollar-dominance remains the underlying theme.

Daily Forex Brief London: Monday 21st May 2012

Here we go again

It's Monday and the shifting sands of the European mindset are moving (not for the first time) towards the issuance of common bonds as a means of overcoming the sovereign crisis. This is one of the changes in momentum that has emerged from the weekend's meeting of G8 leaders, together with giving the EFSF the ability to re-capitalise banks. It's a sign that there is stronger desire to see an alternative to the hard-line German stance of austerity, with few after-thoughts. Furthermore, the German Chancellor will find it increasingly difficult to resist this shift, especially when it is being endorsed at the international level. The wider issue is that at no point have European leaders really seized the initiative on the crisis, compromising by doing just as much as they believe necessary to stop things getting worse, rather than going all in to turn things around. Imagine where we would be if Greece had restructured its debt back in May 2010, a decent firewall was set-up and a shift towards common bonds was put into train. Most likely, we'd be in a better place than we are now. The single currency recovered on Friday, despite the weaker tone to stocks. This is partly a function of the extent of the short-positioning that has built up in the single currency, which could mean that a push below the year's low at 1.2724 could prove a little tougher than some expect.

Daily Forex Brief London: Tuesday 15th May 2012

Another bad hair day

Yet another bad hair day for risk assets yesterday amidst continuing concerns over a myriad of issues, including the unstable political situation in Greece and ongoing question marks around whether it will remain in the eurozone, the dire state of Spanish banking and sovereign finances, and a sense that the losses registered by the CIO unit at JPMorgan could turn out to be much greater than already disclosed. Also contributing to the uncertain mood was Moody's announcement that it was downgrading 26 Italian banks and worries over whether Greece will pay the holders of a EUR 436m floating rate note which matures today. Gold, a traditional safe-haven in times of distress, has lost its lustre, falling to its lowest level for the year at USD 1.550 an ounce (more on gold below). Instead, it is the greenback that is the preferred destination of those fleeing risk, with the dollar index already up by 2% so far this month. For the dollar bulls, should we see a sustained break of the mid-January high of 81.50 (in the dollar index) then this would provide further encouragement. Indeed, it could justifiably be argued that, against the backdrop of dreadful financial and economic conditions in large parts of Europe, and with China in the midst of a very bumpy landing, the dollar really ought to be performing better than it has done. Another currency that continues to attract buying interest is the pound, with cable steadfast at around the 1.61 level and EUR/GBP now comfortably under 0.80. The single currency fell to 1.2815 overnight, but it has been a remarkably measured sell-off rather than blind panic. Even for the Aussie, which has been under sustained fire all month, the decline through parity was not one of capitulation, notwithstanding the evident determination over recent weeks of traders to eliminate their long positions.

Daily Forex Brief London: Monday 14th May 2012

A sea of red

Unfortunately, in financial markets at least, it is rarely the merry month of May. Last week was another sea of red, with equity markets on the slide, high-beta currencies heading south and core G4 bond yields declining. Spanish equities were singled out for the harshest treatment, falling another 3%, with the financials again hard hit. The Aussie is back at parity, the euro is under 1.29, and cable is near 1.6050. German 10yr bund yields fell below 1.5%, at the same time as the 10yr yield in Spain rose above 6.0%. Apart from the deteriorating political situation in Greece and the equally disturbing Spanish banking predicament, markets were rattled by the massive loss recorded by one of the units of J.P.Morgan. Overnight, the mood stabilised slightly after China decided to reduce the bank reserve requirement (RRR) by 50bp (see below). Worryingly, many of those forces which were so unsettling last week are still in play, including growing speculation that Greece may well leave the euro before too long

Daily Forex Brief London: Thursday 10th May 2012

Reality bites

The euro's break below the 1.30 level has been sustained overnight and it's notable that the dollar has risen in all but two of the past nine sessions, looking at the dollar index chart. The political events in Europe, both in France and Greece, have served to enhance the more risk-averse trend that was already in place last week. Furthermore, in Europe we are seeing fresh signs of stress in the banking sector, such as widenings in cross-currency basis swaps and also Libor-OIS spreads. These both reflect greater concerns with regards to the fragility of the European banking sector, but at present there are few signs that the ECB is keen to get stuck in, already having undertaken two 3Y injections of liquidity. We've also seen disappointing trade data from China overnight (a bigger balance but also a slowdown in both exports and imports). Meanwhile, Asian equities are declining for a sixth consecutive session, the MSCI Asia (ex-Japan) index is now around 7% up on the year, having stood 16% higher at the end of February. Reality is biting hard and not only in Europe

Daily Forex Brief London: Thursday 3rd May 2012

A dark and dismal Europe

A swathe of dismal economic news cast a long shadow across Europe yesterday, beating the single currency lower by nearly 1%. The manufacturing PMIs in the periphery for April were uniformly dreadful, Spain down to 43.6 and Italy to 43.8 (from 47.9 in March). For the latter, the new order balance saw the biggest monthly decline for three years, from 45.7 to 39.2, suggesting that there's not much on the horizon to turn around the fortunes of the manufacturing sector anytime soon. There was also a modest downward revision to the provisional PMI readings for both France and Germany, by 0.4 and 0.1 respectively, to 46.9 and 46.2. As if that wasn't bad enough, the unemployment rate in Italy jumped to a 12yr high of 9.8% in March (9.4% was expected), Germany recorded the largest monthly increase in unemployment (19k) for nearly two years, and the unemployment rate for the euro-area rose to a 15yr high. Today's ECB meeting is therefore extremely timely. At the very least, with recession deepening in a number of Eurozone economies, Mario Draghi and his men must be considering how they can ease financial conditions further. With the US recovery looking more assured these days, it is no wonder that the single currency took yesterday's smorgasbord of shocking news rather badly. It was also worth noting the response of peripheral bond markets to this darker economic landscape – bond yields rose markedly in both Italy and Spain, while the spread to Bunds at the long end widened by around 15bp. Both the dollar and the yen gained from this renewed burst of risk avoidance, while the Aussie dipped back to 1.03.

Daily Forex Brief London: Tuesday 1st May 2012

RBA boldness should be applauded

Last night's decision by the RBA to lower the cash rate by 50bp to 3.75% ought to be applauded. Faced with an economy which, outside the mining sector, is in recession and with inflation likely to be lower than expected, policy-makers rightly decided that financial conditions needed to be loosened considerably. Australia's central bank would also be concerned by the continued decline in property prices – according to the ABS, established house prices fell by a further 1.1% in the first quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. More rate cuts are likely to be in the pipeline, judging by the level of term interest rates and the shape of the yield curve. For shorter-term maturities, yields fell by as much as 20bp overnight with the 2yr yield now just 2.8%! Both 5yr and 10yr bond yields fell to record lows. The RBA will also be pleased by the response of the currency, with the Aussie down 1% to just above 1.03. Last night's sudden drop aside, it is worth recognising that the AUD's recent performance has actually been remarkably resilient considering the significant narrowing in interest rate differentials. As we were suggesting yesterday, the key driver for the currency is invariably global risk appetite rather than domestic fundamentals.

Daily Forex Brief London: Monday 30th April 2012

The dollar's gentle descent

It has been exceedingly gradual, but the dollar has been drifting downwards over the past two weeks. Not that we are talking about a big move mind you – the dollar index is down by roughly 1.5% over that time. That said, some of the major dollar crosses are at levels not witnessed for some time – cable for instance reached a 7mth high at just under 1.63 overnight. Indeed, the pound has been something of a revelation so far this year, despite the fact that the economy is apparently back in recession. Clearly sterling is attracting flows from a number of different sources. Just imagine how well the currency might be doing if the economy was actually registering the kind of growth that America is experiencing. The Japanese yen is also faring quite well, after a torrid period in February and the first half of March. Even the beleaguered Aussie has perked up, despite mounting speculation that the RBA will cut rates by 50bp by mid-year. All things considered, it has been an indifferent first four months of the year for the dollar, which is slightly surprising as the economy looks better than most, corporate earnings are healthy and the Fed has backed away from implementing further QE after Operation Twist finishes next month. Part of the explanation is that there has been a slight improvement in risk appetite recently. For now, some of the high-beta currencies such as the Kiwi and the ZAR are attracting interest, while sterling retains a very healthy bid.

Daily Forex Brief London: Wednesday 25th April 2012

China's grim warning

In what can only be described as a remarkably candid assessment, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology overnight claimed that both domestic and external conditions were still 'grim' and that the economy was likely to endure further downward pressure. Companies in China are confronting growing operational difficulties, including much higher prices for energy and substantially higher wages. Interestingly, there has been little response in Asia overnight to this report, with equities becalmed ahead of tonight's FOMC decision and Friday's BoJ meeting. In foreign exchange markets, even the Aussie ignored the warning, which is unusual because it is invariably extremely sensitive to changes in China's economic outlook. Instead, it appears that more attention was paid to Premier Wen Jiabao's promise to stimulate the economy through additional policy measures if required. More stimulus from Beijing cannot be far away because it is clear that the economy needs it to achieve the growth targets set by policy-makers.

Daily Forex Brief London: Tuesday 24th April 2012

Seeing red

Yesterday proved to be a fairly tumultuous day in markets, in stocks especially. For Europe, it was a combination of the economic and political that conspired to put pressure on investor sentiment. Events in both France (a likely change in president) and the Netherlands (a backlash against austerity) impacted sentiment, as did the softer PMI data for both France and Germany. For now, it appears that the factors that were supportive for most of Q1 (ECB 3Y money, Greece inching back from the brink and better US data) are waning, but suitable replacements have yet to be found. For FX, this is seeing a stronger return to 'risk-off' moves into month-end, so the dollar is firmer against most (the yen excepted) and the Aussie is suffering the most, helped by softer inflation data overnight.

Daily Forex Brief London: Friday 20th April 2012

More trouble and strife

Yesterday's bond auctions might have gone well enough, but unfortunately other issues are brewing in Europe and moreover they are getting progressively worse. In Italy, as the economy reverses more rapidly than expected, the fiscal dynamics look increasingly problematic. Unsurprisingly, the IT/GER 10yr spread widened another 15bp to almost 400bp. Spain is in the doghouse as well, for similar reasons, with the 10yr yield not far short of 6.0% again. Also worth noting is the continued underperformance in France – the 10yr FR/GER yield spread was 15bp wider at 140bp at one point, compared with 100bp just a month back. Part of the explanation lies in the increasing likelihood that François Hollande will become France's next President. Hollande has been threatening to renegotiate the fiscal compact if elected (little wonder Merkel wanted to campaign for Sarkozy), and he has vowed to raise the minimum wage; he also wants the ECB to be more active in resolving Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Not to be outdone, New Democracy Party leader Samaras has pledged to push back implementation of the Greek bank recapitalisation plan until at least after the election. Just as well some of Europe's finance ministers are gathered together in Washington – they might as well start discussing how to deal with Europe's next financial tsunami. As the IMF's latest Global Financial Stability Report made clear, European faces a huge credit crunch over the next 18 months as banks shed USD 2.6trln of assets. Strap yourself in, there is worse to come!

Daily Forex Brief London: Thursday 19th April 2012

A lovely shiny pound

Of the major currencies it has been the proud pound that has been leading the way so far this year. Following yesterday's less dovish MPC Minutes and the surprisingly strong employment figures, cable is back through 1.60 once more and EUR/GBP is at a 20mth low of 0.8180. Against the Japanese yen the pound has advanced by almost 10% so far this year. Numerous explanations account for this more buoyant performance: the pound is very competitive, many sovereign wealth funds and high net worth individuals are still spooked by the euro (see below) and regard UK assets (such as London property and gilts) as safe-havens, and the economy appears to have avoided falling back into recession. In addition, other major currencies such as the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar and the Swiss franc are regarded as being very expensive, so it is little wonder that sterling is on the radar of money managers. Looking ahead, these sources of demand are likely to remain evident for some time to come. The message for a while now has been 'do not underestimate the pound'.

Also in today's Daily Forex Brief:

• UK QE loses its biggest sponsor
• Spain goes back to its roots
• Reserve managers snub their nose at the euro
• Yen softens amidst talk of more BoJ easing

Daily Forex Brief London: Friday 13th April 2012

China's juggling act

The big question this morning for markets is whether to meet the latest Chinese GDP data with concern that it was lower than expected, or relief that the economy is slowing in an orderly fashion and will be supported by the largest increase in yuan-lending for a year. The initial reaction, as suggested by the Aussie's movement, is that concerns are more about the slower than expected pace of growth, AUD down around 0.5% in the wake of the release. The yen is also the only leader vs. the dollar after the numbers. Also seen were modestly firmer industrial production numbers for March (11.9% YoY) and retail sales figures, which were in line with expectations at 14.8%. China is juggling a lot of balls right now, trying to slow the economy a little, rebalance it towards consumption, ensure that property prices soften rather than crash and control lending so it does not fuel potential new bubbles. For now, it looks like policy-makers are achieving their goals but it's a precarious balance.

Also in today's Daily Forex Brief:

• Monti's continuing battle
• Housing still a big US headwind
• The impending franc attack

OpenCart - Product input and ordering via XML

Status: Open 
Selected Providers:
Budget: $30-$250 USD
Created: 03/24/2011 at 18:08 PKT

Description

We're building a new online shop based on OpenCart, we need someone to write code to grab product information from an XML feed, also order through XML and get order status.
The XML feed includes all the information needed including image urls, prices, etc to populate the shop with products.
The code needs to update stock levels every hour and add/remove products every 24 hours.
We basically want this shop to be as automated as possible; Customer browses products on shop from XML feed, orders through XML, our supplier receives order and ships to our customer.

Details/Instructions from our supplier attached as PDF.

Please provide details of previous work through PM and keep in mind if you bid a decent price we will have more work for you in future.

Additional files submitted:
xmlinstructions.pdf
xmlorderinstructions.pdf


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Job Type

• eCommerce
• PHP
• Software Architecture
• XML

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