Japan continues to reel from the Fukushima power plant disaster. The latest in its long list of woes being an energy shortage. In the wake of the tragedy the country shut down all of its existing nuclear power plants and resorted to importing fossil fuels in order to meet its energy needs. Electricity prices since 2011 have risen by a staggering 35 percent in the country.
In other news China is reportedly engaging in a flurry of diplomatic activities since the US government shut-down of last week. Barrack Obama has been forced to cancel his scheduled trip to Asia while he deals with deadlock in Washington. China flexing its diplomatic muscles may be a surprise to westerners but it has been taking on its role as the new superpower in a much more visible way in Asia. Timothy Beardson, author of the influential book Stumbling Giant: The Threat to China’s Future, holds that while the United States is slipping from its role as global superpower, China is nowhere near ready to fill these shoes. Furthermore he holds that at the moment there is no global superpower, making it an extremely trying historical moment, and one with an outcome that could surprise many
US government shut-down has come to the brink of a cliff, with Barack Obama making unprecedented remarks aimed at spooking Wall Street in forcing the republicans to return to the table. The next move for investors is largely unknown, with caution being urged and more questions building as to the possibility of a default by the US government. Risk managers and portfolio managers seem to be holding on to their clients’ money and sitting by the side-lines until the situation shows further signs of unravelling one way or another. The US has taken yet another irreparable hit, which may not affect its role as the global reserve currency but certainly doesn’t fill investors with much confidence in the US dollar.
Trades of the day: While USD is showing weakness at the daily level the EUR/USD pair is showing signs of being overbought, this torsion is going to play out over the coming month, with binary trades at shorter durations looking good for PUT positions, nevertheless the longer term binary investors are advised to CALL.
