InformedTrades

Oil fell to the lowest in eight months in New York, set for the biggest weekly decline since May, on speculation fuel demand will falter as U.S. economic growth falters and Europe's debt crisis worsens.

Gold from $248 to $524.90 was an arithmetic uptrend based on a re-birthing of gold's currency roll. When gold broke out above $524.90 I asked you to please cease trading as gold had moved from phase 1 into a runaway price phase 2. It is this phase which has given you prices in excess of $1650. $1764 has the same significance as $524.90 because it represents phase 3, the point when a runaway price market for gold would gain exponential properties. Because $1764 is such significant a number you can expect one of the more serious price battles before the price departs to Alf Fields' and Armstrong's higher potentials.

The Fed is desperate to tank the US dollar to stimulate exports and further fuel a stock market that is clearly back in bubble territory. However, central bankers in other countries have had enough. Japan and Switzerland intervened heavily in the forex markets on Wednesday. Other countries, fed up with Fed policies and a weak dollar now threaten to do the same.

Then of course there's the Non-Farm Payrolls report, which has the potential to exacerbate the disaster if it comes in weak.

Dunkin' Brands Group Inc (NasdaqGS:DNKN - News) said on Wednesday its franchisees are raising prices at Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins stores to help cover the higher costs of key ingredients such as coffee and milk. The shares of the company, which had its initial public offering last week, were down 4 percent after it also reported profits in the most recent quarter were down slightly from a year ago.

"In the past month, we have seen a growing level of deposits on our balance sheet from clients seeking a safe-haven in light of the global interest rate and credit environment," the bank said Thursday in an emailed statement. "We have notified certain clients with extraordinarily high deposit levels that we will begin implementing a 13 basis point fee on the excess deposits. Clients who maintain routine deposit levels will not be affected." This isn't the first time a financial institution has imposed commissions or negative interest rates to stem a torrent of incoming funds. In the late 1970s, Switzerland's central bank imposed negative interest rates to slow capital inflows that were driving up the value of the Swiss franc and threatened to slow the economy by raising the price of Swiss goods on world markets.

NYSE Euronext (NYX) said a technical fault suspended trading of some derivatives on its Liffe market and halted price updates on its European stock indexes as the region's equities plunged the most in 13 months.

ust eight months ago, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega declared a "truce" in competitive currency devaluations. Now, Japanese and Swiss moves to weaken the yen and the franc show reviving tension in foreign-exchange markets as the deteriorating U.S. economy weighs on the dollar. Japan sold yen today, causing the currency to weaken more than 4 percent against the dollar after rising 5 percent last month. "Ongoing one-sided moves" would hurt the recovery from a March earthquake, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said. Yesterday, the Swiss National Bank cut interest rates to rein in the franc after a gain of about 36 percent in the past 12 months.

A measure of global equities fell 10 percent from this year's high in May, entering its first so- called correction in more than a year, as concern grew that the economic recovery is faltering. The MSCI All-Country World Index of stocks in developed and emerging markets slid 1.2 percent to 320.91 at 1:45 p.m. in London, extending the decline from the near-three-year high on May 2 to 10.3 percent. The measure is on course for its biggest weekly drop since May after retreating 4.5 percent over the past four days.

Syrian tank crews pressed on with their siege of Hama, site of a 1982 massacre, in an escalating crackdown on dissent that drew United Nations Security Council condemnation for "the use of force against civilians." Government forces have killed more than 180 people in the last four days, most of them in the west-central city where homes and mosques have been hit by tank fire, according to Ammar Qurabi of the National Organization for Human Rights and Mahmoud Merhi, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights.

European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet said the ECB will offer banks additional cash as the region's debt crisis spreads, increasing pressure on policy makers to resume bond purchases.

Also in this interview: Why we've now reached the "biophysical gauntlet" where higher energy costs are handicapping future economic growth The subtle yet critical relationship between debt and energy. And why our ignorance of it is worsening our collective situation. The most probable implications of peak oil for the financial markets and asset valuations What individuals (and society) should do to position for a future of lower available energy Why 'self worth' is the new 'net worth'

South Korea's central bank has confirmed it has made its first purchase of gold in 13 years. The purchase of 25 tonnes of gold, worth $1.24bn, shows the bank is diversifying its foreign exchange reserves away from the US dollar.

Citi's Osamu Takashima, who writes that the BOJ will intervene at a level of 76 on the USDJPY or about 9500 on the Nikkei. Bloomberg All News summarizes the highlights of his note. Possibility of BOJ intervention is much higher if Nikkei and USD/JPY falls to 9,500 and 76, respectively Last 2 BOJ interventions in September 2010 and March 2011 didn't benefit Japanese exporters as much as margin FX investors, aka Mrs. Watanabe Rough calculations show FX margin players may be holding about 2.8t yen or $36b in short-yen positions BOJ/MOF would need to intervene at least 3t yen or $38b to help Japanese exports

The idea that the latest Greek bailout plan would solve anything is officially dead. Government bond spreads of Spain, Italy, and Belgium are at all-time highs. The yield on 10-year bonds of Spain and Italy are now both well North of 6%. Here are a few charts to consider.

The Swiss franc climbed against all of its 16 most-traded counterparts, reaching a record against the euro, as surging bond yields in Italy revived concern that Europe's debt crisis will worsen amid slowing global growth.

Defense! As part of the debt ceiling fight, there's a "trigger" mechanism that will induce automatic cuts if lawmakers can't agree to other cuts come December. Those cuts: largely focused on Medicare and defense. Hence, defense stocks are among the big losers today. Here's PPA, the ProShares Aerospace And Defense Portfolio ETF. That big red bar (via StockCharts.com) tells you all you need to know.

The company recently responded to the Beltway's heightened antitrust scrutiny by hiring 12 new outside lobbying firms with deep connections to all branches of government. It also spent more than $2 million last quarter - more than rival Microsoft, for the first time - to talk up its issues around Washington. And Google's bigger 2011 haul could allow it to wage a more aggressive war with its PAC, too. For now, the roughly $60,000 Google has written in campaign checks reflect contributions to party leaders as well as key decision makers on tech- and telecom-focused congressional committees.