G’day Traders and Investors,

The US will celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday 24^th November. This means that there will be no updates for data for Stocks, Commodities and Options. Forex volume is likely to be down across USD backed pairs.

We may see an increase in volatility of the next three to four trading sessions as traders take an extended break, with some larger moves expected to occur moving into early next week.

For Commodities this will likely be the catalyst for some key moves to close out the year.

G’day Traders and Investors,

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released its latest report and it’s taking a while for the data to be digested and for their comments to filter through to mainstream media.  So I thought I would look at a quick snapshot of some of their thoughts for today’s update to give you an idea of what they are thinking.

The BIS, for those of you that have missed out, seeks to “serve central banks in their pursuit of monetary and financial stability, to foster international cooperation in those areas and to act as a bank for central banks.”

They also looked at, and predicted, the instability and shocks that began towards the end of 2007 and then blew up in 2008, which was the start of people taking notice of the current situation we now face.

G’day Traders and Investors,

The US, AA+ Rating has been confirmed by Standard and Poor’s after the US “Super Committee” failed to make any further progress on the US budget deficit.

Their failure to act will force automatic spending cuts at an approximate value of 1.2 trillion dollars.

Along with Standard and Poor’s, other key rating agencies have criticised the US Congress as little progress has been made to improve the debt situation.

France is also under great scrutiny from ratings agencies with its AAA rating on notice unless the country can keep its debt under control and continue to avoid the ongoing debt issues faced by other countries in the Eurozone.

G’day Traders and Investors,

In a landslide victory Mariano Rayjoy has swept aside the Spanish Socialist party that has been in power for over eight years, making Spain the third debt ridden country to oust the current leadership.

Rayjoy has committed to slashing the current budget deficit and regaining the countries AAA rating.

G’day Traders and Investors,

Stocks tumbled overnight as further concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis continued to drive the day-to-day movements of the trading world. Spanish 10 year bonds hit a record high yield average of 6.975% moving into this weekend’s election. French bonds also sold off overnight increasing concerns in the area.

G’day Traders and Investors,

As Spain gears up for elections this weekend, could another Euro Prime Minister be on the way out?

Spain’s governing party continues to lose favour as the debt levels continue to expand across the nation and with recent changes across the political stage in Europe this could pave the way for a change in leadership and policy.

G’day traders and investors,

Asian stocks opened under continued pressure this morning as the decision on the Italian government, which is due to be unveiled today by Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti, continues to raise concerns that Italy will be unable to reduce their debt levels. 

G’day traders and investors,

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) signalled there would be no moves to cut interest rates again in the coming months.

On November 1 the RBA cut its cash rate by .25 per cent, citing uncertainty and volatility in the global economy for its decision.

G’day traders and investors,

Australian shares opened positively this morning, buoyed by developments in Europe where new fiscal and economic policies in the embattled nations are starting to take shape.

Italy is moving swiftly to appoint a new Prime Minister following Berlusconi’s departure and it is hoped that government reform will restore market confidence, despite Italy’s debt burden.

G’day traders and investors,

Markets calmed yesterday as some political clarity emerged from what was seemingly developing into a messy leadership situation in Europe.

Greece named Papademos as the new leader, while former European Commissioner Mario Monti is the front runner to replace outgoing statesman Berlusconi in Italy.