Foreign Trade

The 2007 Qingdao foreign trade put emphasis on manufactures advancement, expansion of the modern service sector, development of Hi-tech and new energy environment protection sector with the scientific development concept as the guidance, forging top foreign trading city as target and in accordance with the national macro adjustment and our city industrial development adjustment; the import and export goods structure is to be further optimized, the city will upgrade the textile industry, expand the machinery and hi-tech industries proportion, safeguard the agricultural products quality, expand import scale to realize coordinated development of the import and the export; the city's national foreign industrial parks shall work as a platform to encourage more capable companies to do international business, we shall be innovative to upgrade the foreign industrial parks management, quality of the foreign investment projects shall be improved, the foreign outsourcing engineering shall be expanded and in a large scale to realize good and fast development of the city foreign trade to make new contribution to forge socialism harmonious society.

In accordance with work target set by Shandong provincial government, main tasks of Qingdao foreign trading work in 2007 are as follows: import & export amount reaches 42billion USD, 15% increase year-on-year. Among them, the export is 24.9billion USD, 15% increase than last year; the import is 17.1billion USD, 15% increase year-on-year. Actual use of foreign capital tops 3.88billion USD, 6% increment than 2006; the contract value of foreign trading realizes 336million USD, turnover 305million USD; 40 foreign investment projects are carried out.

In 2007, foreign trade grew rapidly. Qingdao's import and export volume (including that of companies directly controlled by provincial and central governments) was 45.725 billion USD, up 16.9% over last year, with exports amounting to 28.310 billion USD, up 20.6% and imports amounting to 17.415 billion USD, up 19.3%. Excluding companies directly controlled by provincial and central governments, trade volume was 43.605 billion USD, up 19.3%, with exports amounting to 26.776 billion USD, up 23.7% and imports amounting to 16.829 billion USD, up 12.9%. Foreign investment enterprises still played a leading role in exports, amounting to 15.612 billion USD, up 19.8%, accounting for 58.3% of Qingdao's total exports.
According to Qingdao Customs' statistics, imports and exports registered at Qingdao ports totaled 92.571 billion USD, up 15.4%. Of the total, 52.635 billion were exports, up 17.1% and 39.936 billion were imports, up 13.3%.

In 2007, Qingdao approved a total of 1,068 foreign investment projects, down 23.6%. Direct foreign investment reached 3.807 billion USD, up 4.1%.

Overseas economic and technical cooperation were stepped up. Total contracted value of overseas contractor projects, personnel and design consulting services was 632 million USD, up 41.6%. Turnover amounted to 630 million USD, up 54.0%; the number of personnel sent overseas reached 4,923, down 6.9%

China's foreign trade likely to fall in H1

Jun. 8, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China's foreign trade sector will show a decline for the first half of this year, and may not improve in the second half, said Zhong Shan, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), at a national meeting on export credit insurance, sources reported.

During the period from January to April, exports declined 20.5% year on year to US$337.42 billion, while imports fell 28.7% and reached US$261.99 billion. China's utilized foreign investment amounted to US$27.67 billion in the first four months, down 21% year on year.

China should promote exports of labor-intensive products and high-tech products, said Zhong, adding that China should also expand domestic demand to drive investment and healthy socio-economic development.

Zhong also urged insurers to increase coverage of export credit insurance and cut insurance premium rates to help exporters reduce risks. Meanwhile, the government will set aside US$84 billion for underwriting short-term export credit insurance and to finance equipment exports.

Earlier, the government announced a series measures to support the stable development of foreign trade. The measures include improved policies relating to export credit insurance and financing aid for foreign trade enterprises.

Mexican Peso Rises on U.S. Manufacturing Numbers

Mexican Peso Rises on U.S. Manufacturing Numbers

The Mexican peso had a positive performance today as U.S. manufacturing shrank at a slower pace, adding confidence that the U.S. recession might be ending.

In the United States, the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 44.8, from 42.8 in May, reaching the highest level since August 2008, being still a negative figure, since levels below 50 are referred to contractions in manufacturing. Analysts suggest that improved data coming from the U.S. is favorable to the peso, since the United States is the main trading partner of the Mexican nation.

USD/MXN traded at 13.1135 as of 5:56 GMT from 13.1845 yesterday.

Yen Enter Second Week of Losses as China Fuels Risk Appetite

The yen declined to a two-week low against the euro and lost versus several other currencies as a report in China indicated an increase in manufacturing, helping investors to be confident to purchase high-yielding assets throughout the world.

The Japanese yen had a very negative performance this Wednesday losing ground against all main 6 currencies traded globally, after China post the fourth manufacturing expansion in a row, suggesting that the Asian nation is recovering quickly from the global slump and may lead other countries on their way out of recession, raising confidence among traders to sell their assets in Japan in order to purchase riskier assets, since the yen is the lowest yielding currency option and often referred as a refuge in stormy economic times. The euro posted the sharpest gains versus the yen as European stocks had a positive day generally, adding to the already favorable scenario for the euro to rally against the Japanese currency.

China’s positive figures have pushed Japanese investors to go abroad and purchase riskier options, according to analysts. As long as the Chinese reports continue to signal an economic recovery, they will immediately reflect in the Japanese currency, since a significant number of traders opted for the yen as a refuge during the global slump, and now, as confidence improves, they are returning to assets which were attractive before the recession.

USD/JPY rose to 96.88 as of 10:54 GMT from 95.95 in the intraday chart. EUR/JPY climbed to 136.18 from 135.55.

New to Forex

For those of you that are new to the foreign exchange (forex) market, it is important to familiarize yourselves with this market’s characteristics and unique attributes. The forex market allows traders to buy and sell distinct currency pairs. No commission is charged per trade, the broker is compensated through the buy and sell price differential – commonly known as the “spread”. Below are a few guidelines to start trading with Advanced Currency Markets – your gateway to the largest and most liquid market on earth.
What is Forex (Foreign Exchange, FX) ?
ACM offers online forex trading services for traders wanting to make speculative transactions on the exchange rate between two currencies. These rates may be influenced by world economic and political events, currency rate differentials, as well as many other factors including extreme weather conditions (hurricanes), acts of terror etc. Forex is the largest marketplace in the world with more than 3.2 trillion dollars changing hands daily and so making it one of the most attractive and lucrative markets.
How does the foreign exchange market work?
The forex market allows you to buy and sell currencies against each other and speculate on the differences in exchange rates. Making a transaction on the forex market is simple: the procedures are identical to that of any other market so switching to trading currencies is straightforward for most traders.
	Buying/Selling - B/S
	If you want to open a position (i.e.: place an order to sell – to make a profit if the exchange rate falls) you have to choose the amount (i.e.: 100.000 EURUSD) from the drop down menu on the platform and then click the mouse on the sell currency button: SELL (if you want to place an order to buy, you should act in reverse). This will open a position in the market and you will receive an immediate notification of it on your trading station. To close an open position, you have to do the opposite of the initial operation – in our case buy the 100.000 EURUSD back. Different order types also exist to open or close a position under a certain condition.
	How does the B/S system work?
	As with any market, for each currency pair, there are 2 prices. The difference between them is called the spread. The spread is measured in points or pips – lowest decimal figure in a currency rate. For a EURUSD a pip equals 0.0001 (or 10 dollars on 100.000), for EURJPY a pip equals 0.01 (or 1000 yen on 100.000). More information on P/L calculation on the following page: profit and loss.
Forex currencies quotation system
Currencies are quoted in pairs, for example – EUR/USD or USD/JPY. The first currency in the pair is called the base currency and the second is called the counter currency. The base currency is the ‘basis’ for purchases and sales. For example, if you buy EUR/USD, then you acquire Euros and sell Dollars. You do this if you expect the Euro to grow against the Dollar. It is also possible for a currency pair to be quoted as USD/EUR, but this method is used extremely rarely. Each transaction must have 2 sides – a buy and a sell (or a sell and a buy). By this we mean that it is impossible to buy 100.000 EUR/USD and then exchange it for another currency pair (i.e.: EUR/JPY) without closing the first position. Also please note that no physical currency delivery will be made. For these purposes banks and exchange companies, which specialize in low-rate currency conversions are available.
Forex market working hours
The forex market, based on ‘spot’ transactions, is unique in comparison with all other global markets. This is because trading takes place 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (ACM platform works from Sunday 23:00 to Friday 23:00 CET). Financial centers are open for work, and banks and other organizations exchange currencies in different parts of the world for different purposes. Therefore, trading never stops apart from a short break during the weekend. Early closings are possible depending on calendar arrangement such as, for example, Christmas or new year’s eve.
Forex trading margins
A margin deposit is not, as many traditional traders suggest, the payment in cash for purchasing market shares. A margin is in fact a guarantee or a trust deposit, providing protection from losses during a deal? It allows traders to open positions on amounts that greatly exceed their account limits and so increase their buying power. ACM offers a 1% margin (or 1:100 leverage), which means you can control 100 times your deposit in the real market. If the funds in the account, in the course of trading, fall below the prescribed margin, your positions will be closed automatically without prior notice. Using this system, the client’s account cannot go overdrawn even under volatile, fast-changing market conditions.

A Closer Look at Market Conditions

The steady bullish run from capital markets was knocked back a step this past week. Despite the positive light the Stress Test and NFPs were cast in this past week; the potential for demand, production, earnings and return are still suffering. Perhaps the more stable advance comes from commodities. The tested its highest levels for the year as the sharp drop in commodity production may have finally met the slow and tentative rebound in production that will eventually turn into positive growth. Equities are far more uncertain. Earnings will struggle to stay positive and investors are nervous that the government could change the rules at any time.


Risk indicators have leveled off somewhat over the past week. The index has rallied over the past few days back above 14 percent. For equities, the rise in the VIX has been far more controlled; but the shift has been notable. This shift has come despite the passing of major scheduled event risk including central bank decisions, major event risk and most prominently the Fed’s Stress Test results. Why would risk and the sense of uncertainty rise after such an influential round of market fodder? Investors are now left to wonder how a recovery will actually progress and whether the government can allow the market to take over the responsibility in a timely fashion.

US Stock Futures Gain After Jobs Data, Citi (NYSE: C) Eyed

(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures advanced on Friday after a government release showed economy lost 345,000 jobs in May, fewer than economists expected. At 8:32 am ET, Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures climbed 12.60 points to 953.10. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 106 points to 8836. Nasdaq Composite Index futures increased 13.25 points to 1506.25.A release by Department of Labor on Friday showed U.S. employers slashed 345,000 net jobs in May. Economists were expecting a drop of 520,000 in non-farm payrolls. Unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.4%. Consensus estimates were for jobless rate to increase to 9.2%.According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is pushing for a shake-up of Citigroup Inc's ( top management, including replacing Chief Executive Vikram Pandit.Bank of America Corp (Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis has been asked to testify before a congressional committee over as part of an ongoing investigation into the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.Meanwhile, media reports suggested that Apple ) CEO Steve Jobs is on track to return from medical leave this month.The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said on Friday that global chip sales are expected to fall 21.3% year-over-year to $195.6 billion in 2009.The SIA expects a rebound in global sales to begin in 2010, with a year-over-year growth of 6.5% to $208.3 billion.Late on Thursday, clothing and apparel maker Guess Inc. ( reported that net earnings first quarter net income declined 32% to $32.5 million, or 35 cents a share from $47.8 million, or 50 cents a share, in the prior year quarter. Revenue decreased 9.8% to $441.2 million.Shares of mining giant Rio Tinto ( surged up in European trade after it scrapped a planned $19.5 billion investment deal with China's Chinalco. The company also said that enter into an iron ore joint venture with rival BHP Billiton and will launch a rights issue to slash its debts.Merrill Lynch on Friday downgraded shares of chemical DuPont to underperform from neutral.On the economic front, consumer credit data for the month of April is due for release at 14:00 am ET.European stocks climbed in afternoon trade. At 12:58 pm London time, the UK FTSE increased 68.55 points or 1.56% to 4,455.49. The German DAX and French CAC gained 0.52% and 1.08% respectively. Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 99.05 points or 1.02% to 9,768.01. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong advanced 176.76 points or 0.96% to 18,679.53. NYMEX Crude oil for July delivery declined as much as 51 cents or 0.7% to $68.30 a barrel in electronic trading. Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
The above story is the opinion of the author only and it does not reflect iStockAnalyst opinion. Further, the author is not personally advising you regarding the suitability of the story for your investment needs. In no event iStockAnalyst will be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from or arising out of, or in connection with the use of this information. Please consult your investment advisor before making any investment decision.