Australian Dollar Wedged between Several Trendlines

Jamie Saettele, CMT

Ringgit down. Gold down

AUD is gaining against the Ringgit, trading at 3.223






USD buys 3.172 Ringgit. USD may rise further as renewed demand for risk aversion and safe haven continues in the midst of Eurozone debt crisis fear (Italian bond auction).



Gold continues to slide, from USD 1620 to 1587 with a weeekly loss of 2 % .

Peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind

Christmas - the time when the Love of God came upon mankind ...
Have a blessed Christmas, everybody ...

Religious authorities to discuss enforcement of law to prevent apostasy

Religious authorities to discuss enforcement of law to prevent apostasy written by Bernama, on www.theedgemalaysia.com 21 Dec

I did a search and found some guidelines if you're thinking of inviting Muslim friends to your festive celebrations ...

Guidelines For Muslims Celebrating Religious Festivals Of Non-Muslims
ARCHIVES 2011
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 Super Admin
.
The 68th muzakarah of the National Fatwa Committee for Islamic Religious Affairs on April 12, 2005 discussed the Guidelines For Muslims Celebrating Religious Festivals Of Non-Muslims. The muzakarah has decided that:

In determining the non-Muslim celebrations that can be attended by Muslims, several main criteria should serve as guidelines so as not to contradict the teachings of Islam. The criteria are as follows:

1. The event is not accompanied by ceremonies that are against the Islamic faith (aqidah).
The meaning of “against the Islamic faith (aqidah)” is a thing, act, word or situation which if conducted will lead to tarnishing the faith (aqidah) of Muslims.

For example:
i.to include religious symbols such as the cross, installing lights, candles, Christmas tree and so forth;
ii.to sing religious songs;
iii.to put any religious markings on the forehead, or other markings onto parts of the body;
iv.to deliver speech or gestures in the form of a praise to the non-Muslim religion;
v.to bow or conduct acts of honour to the religious ceremony of non-Muslims.

2. The event is not accompanied by acts against the Islamic law.
The meaning of “against the Islamic law” is a thing, act, word or situation which if conducted will contradict the Islamic teachings practised by the Muslim community.

For example:
i.Wearing red costumes like Santa Claus or other garments that reflect religion;
ii.Serving intoxicating food or beverages and the likes;
iii.Having sounds or ornaments like church bells, Christmas tree, temple or breaking of coconuts;
iv.Having ceremonies with elements of gaming, worship, cult, superstitions and the likes.

3. The event is not accompanied by “acts that contradict with moral and cultural development of Muslim society” in this country.
The meaning of “acts that contradict with moral and cultural development of Muslim society” is a thing, act, word or situation which if conducted will contradict the values and norms of the Muslim society of this country which adheres to the Islamic teachings based on Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jamaah.

For example:
i.Mixing freely without any limit or manners;
ii.Wearing conspicuous clothing;
iii.Singing songs that contain lyrics of obscenity and worship;
iv.Organising programmes such as beauty pageants, cock fighting and such.

4. The event is not accompanied by acts that can “stir the sensitivity of Muslim community”.
The meaning of “stir the sensitivity of Muslim community” is a thing, act, word or situation which if conducted will offend the feelings of Muslims about their beliefs and practices.

For Example:
i.Speeches or songs in the form of non-Muslim religious propaganda;
ii.Speeches that insult the Muslims;
iii.Speeches that insult Islam;
iv.Presentations with the aim to ridicule the religious belief of Muslims.

5. The organisers and the public are asked to get the views of religious authorities before organising or attending celebrations of non-Muslims. -- JAKIM
.http://www.islam.gov.my/en/guidelines-muslims-celebrating-religious-festivals-non-muslims

Stocks rebound. A$ recovers

Aussie dollar spiked overnight as global stocks rebound. Aussie buys 3.208 Ringgit

Ron Paul & Joe Rogan on the Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno

Commodity currency A$ down

Commodity currency Aussie dollar opens the week lower with a gap down and trading abt 3.15 Ringgit.
North Korea's Leader Kim JI dies at 69. South Korea Seoul shares slide ..

China stocks falling

2 year chart of Shanghai Stocks CI seen struggling to keep afloat and breaking down to a two year low ... Short commodities firms that sell to China ...

New York: Ratings firm Fitch downgraded six major global banks on Thursday, citing increased challenges in the financial markets
Fitch lowered the long-term ratings on Bank of America and Goldman Sachs in the United States, British bank Barclays, French bank BNP Paribas, German bank Deutsche Bank and Swiss bank Credit Suisse.

Aussie and Gold plunges

Aussie plunges against Ringgit at 3.168
Aud has lost close to 2 % of its value as investors turn to USD as the ultimate safe haven. The rise in USD is negative for stocks and commodities. Will the Fed step in with another easing ..?

Gold plunges and is trading at 1602 AuD
Xau has fallen more than 9 % of its value this month from 1749 as traders become increasingly anxious abt euro zone and funds liquidate their positions.

Complete ABC News Yahoo Republican Iowa Debate

European stocks fall as Moody's slams EU summit outcome

European shares fell on Monday as Moody's revealed it will review all EU credit ratings, blaming their failure to deliver "decisive policy measures" to fix the eurozone debt crisis.

In morning deals, London's FTSE 100 index slid 0.66 percent to 5,493.05 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dipped 1.42 percent to 5,902.08 points and the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.20 percent to 3,137.84.

The European single currency slipped to $1.3313 from $1.3384 late in New York on Friday.

"European markets awoke to a generally negative bias to risk assets this morning, with Moody's criticising the actions of eurozone leaders last week to the ongoing debt crisis as providing no new solutions," said Spreadex trader David White.

"Early trading today reflects this sentiment, as inflationary concerns are so far replaced with that of growth," he added.

Asian markets traded mixed on Monday as optimism over last week's European plan to introduce tougher fiscal rules to save the eurozone were weighed by lingering concerns leaders may not have done enough. Go here ... http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/European-stocks-fall-Moody-afpsg-2431483153.html?x=0

Gold slides as dollar strength weighs

LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Gold came under pressure on Monday, falling by as much as 2.0 percent after breaching a crucial level of support, as concern over the euro zone debt crisis encouraged investors to seek safety in the form of the U.S. dollar rather than bullion.

Spot gold was last down 1.7 percent on the day at $1,681.74 an ounce at 1007 GMT, having fallen to a low of $1,676.29 an ounce, its lowest since Nov. 25.

Traders and analysts said the break below $1,680 an ounce, the location of the uptrend that has been in place since the start of the year, accelerated the decline that was already in place given the near-0.8 percent rise in the dollar against a basket of major currencies.

Dollar strength tends to encourage non-U.S. investors to sell gold to lock in a higher profit in their own currencies. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Anthony Barker)

Stocks seen recovering. Aussie plunges ...

Euro stocks tumble in the Friday morning but has since moved to positive territory.
5 days chart of Germany stocks index DAX


From Thursday Aussie plunges against the Ringgit from 3.24 to 3.18 level after noon Friday but gradually recovering to close 3.21

Legendary Jim Rogers' views

In an interview on Breakot, Jim Rogers shares his positions ...
1). Long selected commodities and currencies
2). Short emerging market stocks, US technology stocks and European stocks.

His logic behind the portfolio: if economy turns up, Rogers win on commodities scarcity.
And if economy remains weak, his short position will more than offset his long positions.

Euro stocks struggle. Gold price slides.

German stocks index attempting to recover from the morning's negative territory



Gold Xau seen retreating to intraday low of 1675 Aussie $ before recovering to 1680 AUD (=1720 USD) ...

For sentiment on HK properties go to http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/Investors-signal-sell-HK-rsg-1173084526.html?x=0

Stocks rally. Aussie up

Aud/Usd at 1.0297
Stock prices rose and borrowing costs for European governments dropped sharply in response to the changes proposed on Monday by French President Nikolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But some of the optimism faded late in the day when Standard and Poor's threatened to cut its credit ratings on 15 eurozone countries, including the likes of Germany, France and Austria which have been considered Europe's safest government debt issuers.

Aud/Myr trending upwards to 3.23
but may reverses as Aussie is set to face RBA cut

17 Ways Rich People and Poor People Think Differently

Aussie. USD. Gold.

Aud/Myr spiked on Wednesday touching 3.26 but has since dropped to close 3.196 as the week ends with a weekly gain of 2 % ... Gold Xau/Aud closed lower as it requires less of the stronger Aussie to buy gold.

Aud/Usd closed higher 1.021 with a weekly gain of almost 4 %
while Gold Xau/Usd also traded higher at 1746 with 2 % gain
implying Aud/Usd is a better trade of the two.


Usd/Myr tumbles down about 2 %
while Xau/Myr spike in mid-week but closed with little change at weekend. You would have gain little to trade gold in MYR.
The best way to trade currencies now: change MYR->AUD then pair against USD or EUR (although I trade EUR/USD) as AUD is a better base currency than EUR or USD.

Euro News.

Germany's Angela Merkel wants tighter fiscal integration in Euro zone with tougher budget and dismissed possibility of massive money printing by ECB.
Issuance of common euro zone bonds as a crisis solution would breach German constitution and is thus not possible. Instead, she would like ECB to continue buying bonds of troubled euro countries as bridging solution until budget controls takes place.

ECB President Mario Draghi will defend the euro and take more aggressive action to help fight the euro zone debt crisis if governments adopt a new fiscal compact.
For full story by Stephen Brown and Catherine Bremer of Reuters, go to http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ecb-opens-door-action-sarkozy-075401417.html

Meanwhile, supporting the sentiment in gold, South Korea's central bank bought 15 tonnes of gold in November, following purchases of 25 tonnes in June and July, as central banks around the world, especially in emerging economies, have aggressively bought bullion over the past few months. "It's not a surprise, as gold seems to be the only thing central banks can buy to diversify their reserves as economic problems seem to spread around the world," said Ronald Leung, a physical dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers

Prepare for riots if Euro collapse

As the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out, British ministers privately warned that the break-up of the euro, once almost unthinkable, is now increasingly plausible.

Diplomats are preparing to help Britons abroad through a banking collapse and even riots arising from the debt crisis.

The Treasury confirmed earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way.

A senior minister has now revealed the extent of the Government’s concern, saying that Britain is now planning on the basis that a euro collapse is now just a matter of time.

“It’s in our interests that they keep playing for time because that gives us more time to prepare,” the minister told the Daily Telegraph.

Full story at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8917077/Prepare-for-riots-in-euro-collapse-Foreign-Office-warns.html