Investors have flocked to foreign exchange trading over the past 10 years, and the venture capital community is ready to grab a piece of the action.

Two companies -- Currensee Inc. and Tradonomi LLC -- are angling for central spots in this emerging trading community, and several funds are placing pretty big bets on their success. Currensee has a social network for forex traders, while Tradonomi's move was to create a game-like user interface to make it easier for would-be fortune-makers and thrill-seekers to trade foreign currencies.

Continue reading Venture capital funds finding forex cash

Venture capital funds finding forex cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The British pound (CME: $BPY) hit $1.60 for the first time in more than half a year this morning, thanks to improved service company sentiment and an increase in mortgage approvals. A rise in consumer confidence in the United States increased risk appetite and lifted the pound, as well.

The news was good enough for a 0.5% gain for the pound against the dollar, a 0.6% increase relative to the euro and 1% against the yen (CME: /JY\M09).

Continue reading British pound hits seven-month high on U.S. dollar

British pound hits seven-month high on U.S. dollar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Fed's relentless policy of interest rate cuts is working like a charm. The dollar hit a record low against the Euro ($1.5057) and oil hit a record $102 in response -- up 325% since January 2001's $24. The record oil price has not yet found its way to the gasoline pumps -- but it will. If oil prices remain above $100, by this summer gasoline prices will top $4 a gallon -- or $80 for a 20-gallon tank. Back in January 2001, you would have paid about $1.59 a gallon -- so you've got a 152% price increase there.

What is going on here? According to the New York Times, producer inflation is up 7.4% -- the worst since 1981. The U.S. has pursued a weak dollar policy -- relative to the Euro, the dollar has lost 63.7% of its value since January 2001 when it traded at 92 cents to the Euro. And since oil is denominated in dollars, a weaker dollar translates into a higher oil price. That excludes the effects of political instability in oil producing regions -- Iraq and environs -- and rising oil demand in China and India.

Continue reading How will you cope with record high oil and record low dollar?

How will you cope with record high oil and record low dollar? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.