European Federation of Osteopaths

FORE held its 8th meeting in July, bringing together 25 representatives from osteopathic organisations across Europe. Held in Stockholm during the Swedish Presidency of the EU, a key aim of this meeting was to consider proposals developed by the Secretariat, current provided by the General Osteopathic Council, to formalise the governance, membership and funding structure of FORE and to agree a draft strategic plan for the next 3 years.
Following a lengthy debate, it was agreed that membership of FORE should be organisation-based, but voting would be by country. To date, FORE has had no formal structure and decisions have been based on a consensus. Proposals on funding mechanisms, categories of full and associate membership and the principle of appointing a Chair were all referred back to the respective organisations for consideration at the next meeting of FORE, expected in November. A draft strategic plan received wide support, as well as the move towards increased coooperation and communication with the European Federation of Osteopaths, representatives of which were also in attendance.
Formalising European osteopathic standards
FORE considered the potential authorisation of its Framework documents on standards of osteopathic education, training and practice through adoption by national standadisation agencies. A representative from the European Committee of Standardisation (CEN) gave an informative presentation on the process of developing European standards, which although would not override national law, would provide some benchmark standard in those Member States without regulation - currently the majority of EU countries. As some French osteopathic organisations had already started work on developing a national standard through their national standardisation agency, they were asked to consider whether they would stop this project in favour of developing European standards. It was agreed that our French colleagues would need to confirm with CEN and the FORE Secretariat as soon as possible how they wished to move forward.Representatives from the European Federation of Osteopaths (EFO) and Forum for Osteopathic Regulation in Europe (FORE) met in Brussels on 20 May. The third event of its kind, this gathering sought to ensure that both bodies were aware of the other's activities and to identify opportunities for joint activity to promote osteopathic standards at a European level.
Originally established in 1992 as the European Register of Osteopaths, the EFO is the EU-level professional body for osteopaths, whilst the focus of FORE is on regulatory matters, in particular the promotion of osteopathic standards, routine exchange of information between registering bodies across Europe and the spread of regulation of osteopathy as autonomous healthcare profession. Key items on the agenda include the proposed launch of standards agreed by FORE and the EFO on osteopathic education, training and practice in November 2009 and the development of a European scope of osteopathic practice.
Launch reception
This high level political event, to be held in London or Brussels, will target national and EU policy makers, patients and professional representatives with the aim of sharing information about current osteopathic care in Europe, promoting European standards of osteopathy and encouraging and assisting in the development of regulation of the profession across Europe.
European scope of osteopathic practice A paper (based on the British Osteopathic Association’s Common Language Project, Quality Assurance Agency’s Osteopathy Benchmark Statement and GOsC’s draft Osteopathic Practice Framework) was presented by the EFO to debate the worth of a scope of practice at a European level, particularly in light of challenges made by other professions seeking osteopathic practice rights in some European countries. It was agreed there was a need to have a clear understanding of what osteopathy was but that this would need to reflect different approaches and accommodate the needs of different target audiences. A working group of representatives from the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, France, Ireland and the UK was appointed to take this project forward. The next joint meeting between the EFO and FORE will take place in London in September 2009.

As an illustration of the practical application of the Memorandum of Understanding between the EFO and FORE, representatives from both bodies held a joint briefing with European Commission official, Mr Jurgen Tiedje in October. Mr Tiedje has responsibility for EU legislation governing the recognition of professional qualifications, which affects the rights of osteopaths wishing to practise in different Member States.
Mr Tiedje was particularly interested in our experience of the Recognition of the Professional Qualifications directive, and we were able to highlight a number of patient safety concerns, based on the the lack of regulation of osteopathy across Europe and consequent inability of authorities to share information between Member States.
On information exchange, it was agreed that the Commission would extend its Internal Market Information (IMI) system to include osteopaths, to facilitate the sharing of data about registrants moving from one country to another.
Mr Tiedje was also interested to hear about the joint EFO/FORE project to develop a European scope of osteopathic practice and how this might help to promote mobility, as well as the potential collaboration with the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) to formalise osteopathic standards.The European Federation of Osteopaths (EFO) and the Forum for Osteopathic Regulation in Europe (FORE) held their fourth joint meeting in September, bringing together 17 osteopathic representatives from all over Europe.
To express a firm commitment to this increasing collaboration, a memorandum of understanding between the EFO and FORE was drafted, agreed and formally signed at the meeinting. This memorandum commits each organisation to share information about their respective work programmes and to carry out joint lobbying activity where this will facilitate the regulation of osteopathy as an autonomous profession across Europe.
Other items discussed included:
Progress of the joint EFO-FORE working group exploring the development of a European scope of osteoapthic practice. The group is expected to produce its first draft scope document in early 2010.
The formalisation of European osteopathic standards, through adoption by national standardisation agencies.
The potential merger of FORE and the EFO. It was agreed that each body would carry out a feasibility study to review the pros and cons of merging and possible alternative structures. Both groups would report by Autumn 2010.

U.S. reports this week.

The dollar moved higher against major rivals in thin trading on Monday amid hopes for continuing improvement in the economy ahead of key U.S. reports this week.

Earlier, ongoing worries over Greece's debt problems had provided some safe-haven strength for the greenback.

"We are seeing a rally in the dollar along with equities," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex.

"It's optimism that we're going to end the year strong economically and for stocks," Lien said. "That cohesiveness [between the dollar and stocks] is something new this year and suggests that fundamentals are becoming the dominant factor again."

The dollar index (DXY), which tracks the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major counterparts, recently traded at 77.918, up 0.2%.

On Friday, the dollar index rose as high as 78.096, marking its highest level since Sept. 4, as traders reversed so-called short trades, which bet the greenback would fall further.

U.S. stocks surged in midday trade Monday, as analyst upgrades and merger activity boosted sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 105 points, or 1%, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) gained 1.2%.

In recent months, the U.S. dollar has tended to fall when the economic outlook improves and investors shift money into stocks, commodities and higher-yielding currencies but that trend has started to break down in recent weeks.

Year-end factors are currently the main drivers behind dollar trading, said currency strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

"We continue to caution that while we do expect the dollar to weaken again as the new year begins, picking a top in the dollar in the midst of year-end position unwinding is risky," they wrote in a note to clients.

The greenback has rallied in recent sessions, as concerns over Greece's government deficit have weighed on the euro and as traders have started to reassess when the Federal Reserve could begin to tighten U.S. monetary policy.

The dollar is now expected to continue reacting to fundamental factors, such as rising on upbeat economic news that would make it more likely that the Fed will eventually hike rates, Lien said.

That trend, she said, should continue at least until early January when the government releases the next key U.S. jobs report for December.

The euro (CUR_EURUSD) traded at $1.4305, down from $1.4323 on Friday. The British pound (CUR_GBPUSD) edged down 0.6% to $1.6065.

The dollar (CUR_USDYEN) rose to 90.96 Japanese yen, compared with 90.43 yen late Friday.

The Japanese currency earlier received support from a report that showed Japan posted a wider-than-expected trade surplus in November.

The surplus came to 373.9 billion yen ($4.14 billion), Ministry of Finance data showed Monday, greater than the 319.2 billion yen consensus forecast of economists polled by Nikkei and Dow Jones Newswires.

"Japan's latest merchandise trade data confirmed the moderate upward trend, and the current-account surplus is also likely to maintain the upward trend, placing upward pressure on the [yen]," said Tomoko Fujii, a rates and currency strategist at Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Japan.

Dollar and alternative asset classes was broken for the second time

US stock markets pushed upwards today on increased investor confidence. The inverse correlation we have seen between Dollar and alternative asset classes was broken for the second time in recent months, indicating a positive change in sentiment on the state of the US and global economy.

Dollar rose across the board during the previous session, and this trend looks set to continue into Asian trading. During the opening minutes of Asian trading the major Dollar pairs look like this: EUR/USD 1.4288/92 (+0.08%), Swissy 1.0447/59 (-0.12%), Cable 1.6054/56 (+0.11%), USD/JPY 91.09/11 (-0.08%).

EUR/USD was testing three-and-a-half-month lows in the previous session, and continues to teeter around this area, currently trading at 1.4287, just 3 pips up from the open.

For support levels Valeria Bednarik, collaborator at Fxstreet.com, guides us: “Hourly charts remain bearish despite bigger time frames hold the oversold condition, with no signs of correction yet. Well under 20 SMA, strongly bearish in the 4 hours charts, pair could extend the downside rally under past week low of 1.4260, with next key level to watch around 1.4180, 50% retracement of the monthly fall 1.6038/1.6056

Financial astrology charts

Since stockmarkets began there have been two schools of thought: the 'technical analysts' (chartists) and the 'fundamentalists'. The chartists have relied on complex modelling systems, retracement models, Fibonacci series, encyclopaedic numbers of different averages and even in extreme cases 'financial astrology charts'. On the converse, fundamentalists have looked at news and actual financial facts relating to the asset class - Warren Buffet one of the most famous alumni of this school of thought.

Economics tells us that a graph of any assets price over time, is simply an image of information flow (news) relating to the asset coming into the market. Speculators, investors and insurers all act on information. Technicals could have the most value in markets with little or irregular news, where investor psychology, and concepts like psychological support barriers carry more weight. A savvy investor will utilise a combination of fundamentals combined with technical analysis - to ignore important news is suboptimal, but technical analysis can provide insights to market-player behaviour.

In terms of key fundamental data releases this week, the main focus will be around GDP levels. UK, US and Canada will all release their gross domestic product, a key measure of the output of the economy, and indeed the strength of any recovery. To keep up to date with all the latest new releases we recommend our economic calendar as a great tool for scheduling your trades and manufacturing trading strategies.

All related crosses to the USD, CAD and GBP will be impacted, but the actual pairs such as Cable and USD/CAD will be most effected by this news.

Cable currently trades at 1.6058 so far this session, just 6 pips up from the open, while USD/CAD is trading at 1.0623, for a change of -8 pips this session.

For forex traning

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North American Management Committee

GAIN's Board of Directors brings a wide range of experience and knowledge to the Company. It is the paramount duty of the Board of Directors to oversee the CEO and other senior management in the competent and ethical operation of the Company on a day-to-day basis, to monitor GAIN's financial performance and to evaluate overall corporate strategy. To satisfy this duty, the directors take a proactive, focused approach to their position, and set standards to ensure that the Company is committed to business success through maintenance of the highest standards of responsibility and ethics.
Mark Galant - Chairman and FounderThe founder of GAIN Capital Group, Mark Galant served as chief executive officer of the Company from its inception in October, 1999 until June, 2007. Mr. Galant's strategic vision and entrepreneurial energy propelled the firm from concept to a market leader in the rapidly growing and highly competitive online forex industry. Under his leadership, the firm achieved top line growth of 65% or more for six consecutive years (2001-2006). Prior to forming GAIN Capital, Mr. Galant was the number two executive at FNX Limited, an international provider of trading and risk management systems. During his six year tenure, Mr. Galant was instrumental in transforming FNX into a world-class software and services firm and, according to Inc. Magazine, one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Before joining FNX in 1994, Mr. Galant served as global head of foreign exchange options trading at Credit Suisse. There, he expanded a small regional operation into one of the world's largest and most respected global foreign exchange options trading organizations, trading $4 billion per day. Prior to Credit Suisse, he ran the foreign exchange options desk at Chemical Bank. He also traded all financial products as a money manager for Paul Tudor Jones at Tudor Investment Corporation. During his early years on Wall Street, Mr. Galant was a floor trader, successfully trading his own account on several of New York's commodities exchanges. He holds a BS in Finance from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Galant currently serves on the board of directors of Scivantage and is a member of the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce Advisory Board.
Glenn Stevens - Chief Executive OfficerGlenn Stevens joined GAIN Capital Group in February 2000 as a founding partner and managing director, and assumed the CEO role in June, 2007. Previously, he was managing director, head of North American sales and trading at Natwest Bank. In this role, Mr. Stevens directly managed a staff of over 50 trading and sales professionals and also served as a senior member of Natwest's North American Management Committee. From 1990 to 1997, Mr. Stevens was at Merrill Lynch and Co., hired as a USD/JPY trader and eventually promoted to the bank's management team as managing director and chief dealer for Spot and Forward FX. While at Merrill Lynch, he developed the investment bank's emerging markets currency trading desk and increased profitability threefold in 2 years. During this time, he also served as the Federal Reserve Bank's FX representative for investment banks. Mr. Steven's Wall Street career began in 1984 at Bankers Trust Company. Mr. Stevens holds a BS in Finance from Bucknell University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia University.
Peter Quick, Former President, GAIN's Board of Directors brings a wide range of experience and knowledge to the Company. It is the paramount duty of the Board of Directors to oversee the CEO and other senior management in the competent and ethical operation of the Company on a day-to-day basis, to monitor GAIN's financial performance and to evaluate overall corporate strategy. To satisfy this duty, the directors take a proactive, focused approach to their position, and set standards to ensure that the Company is committed to business success through maintenance of the highest standards of responsibility and ethics.
Mark Galant - Chairman and FounderThe founder of GAIN Capital Group, Mark Galant served as chief executive officer of the Company from its inception in October, 1999 until June, 2007. Mr. Galant's strategic vision and entrepreneurial energy propelled the firm from concept to a market leader in the rapidly growing and highly competitive online forex industry. Under his leadership, the firm achieved top line growth of 65% or more for six consecutive years (2001-2006). Prior to forming GAIN Capital, Mr. Galant was the number two executive at FNX Limited, an international provider of trading and risk management systems. During his six year tenure, Mr. Galant was instrumental in transforming FNX into a world-class software and services firm and, according to Inc. Magazine, one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Before joining FNX in 1994, Mr. Galant served as global head of foreign exchange options trading at Credit Suisse. There, he expanded a small regional operation into one of the world's largest and most respected global foreign exchange options trading organizations, trading $4 billion per day. Prior to Credit Suisse, he ran the foreign exchange options desk at Chemical Bank. He also traded all financial products as a money manager for Paul Tudor Jones at Tudor Investment Corporation. During his early years on Wall Street, Mr. Galant was a floor trader, successfully trading his own account on several of New York's commodities exchanges. He holds a BS in Finance from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Galant currently serves on the board of directors of Scivantage and is a member of the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce Advisory Board.
Glenn Stevens - Chief Executive OfficerGlenn Stevens joined GAIN Capital Group in February 2000 as a founding partner and managing director, and assumed the CEO role in June, 2007. Previously, he was managing director, head of North American sales and trading at Natwest Bank. In this role, Mr. Stevens directly managed a staff of over 50 trading and sales professionals and also served as a senior member of Natwest's North American Management Committee. From 1990 to 1997, Mr. Stevens was at Merrill Lynch and Co., hired as a USD/JPY trader and eventually promoted to the bank's management team as managing director and chief dealer for Spot and Forward FX. While at Merrill Lynch, he developed the investment bank's emerging markets currency trading desk and increased profitability threefold in 2 years. During this time, he also served as the Federal Reserve Bank's FX representative for investment banks. Mr. Steven's Wall Street career began in 1984 at Bankers Trust Company. Mr. Stevens holds a BS in Finance from Bucknell University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia University.
Peter Quick, Former President, American Stock ExchangePeter Quick is the former President of the American Stock Exchange® (2000-2005) and formerly served on its Board of Governors. Prior to his appointment at the American Stock Exchange®, Mr. Quick had been President and Chief Executive Officer of Quick & Reilly, Inc., a leading national discount brokerage firm, which was acquired by Fleet Bank (now Bank of America) for $1.6 Billion in 1998. Mr. Quick is currently the lead Independent Director of Reckson Associates Realty Corp. (NYSE: RA) and also sits on the Board of Medicure (AMEX: MCU). Mr. Quick has served on the Board of Governors of the Chicago Stock Exchange and was Chairman of the Midwest Securities Trust Company. He has also been a Director of The Options Clearing Corporation, CUSIP, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the NASD Insurance Agency, and Alliance Money Market Fund. Mr. Quick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia and attended Stanford University's graduate school of Petroleum Engineering.
Joseph A. Schenk, former Chief Financial Officer, Jefferies GroupMr. Schenk served as chief financial officer and executive vice president at Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF), a full-service investment bank and institutional securities firm focused on capital markets and asset management, from January 2000 to December 2007. Mr. Schenk's responsibilities at Jefferies included oversight for finance, accounting, risk, treasury, internal audit, investor relations, tax and accounting policy matters. Prior to his appointment as CFO, Mr. Schenk held various positions within Jefferies, including senior vice president, responsible for corporate services, from September 1997 to January 2000, and senior institutional account executive from September 1993 through March 1996. Prior to Jefferies, Mr. Schenk served as a senior vice president at Zimbalist Smith, a boutique investment research firm. Mr. Schenk had previously held management positions at Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Price Waterhouse. Mr. Schenk currently serves on the boards of ConvergEx Holdings and Talk.com. Mr. Schenk received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Detroit, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Susanne D. Lyons, former Chief Marketing Officer, Visa USAA retail financial services industry veteran, Susanne Lyons most recently served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Visa USA. While at Charles Schwab & Co. from 1992-2001, Ms. Lyons held a variety of senior marketing and general management roles, culminating in the position of chief marketing officer. At Fidelity Investments from 1982-1992, Ms. Lyons was responsible for marketing multiple business lines including brokerage, domestic and international growth funds and retirement products. She has been recognized for her business leadership in several significant forums, including San Francisco Financial Woman's Association "Woman of the Year" in 1999 and as one of Ad Age's Top 50 Marketers. Ms. Lyons served on the board of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET), a global interactive media company, until its recent acquisition by CBS, and is also on the advisory boards of Marketo and Epoch, as well as the board of WildCare, a not for profit organization. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Boston University.
Roger Tarika, Former Global Head of Foreign Exchange Sales, Morgan StanleyA 25-year veteran of the FX markets, Roger Tarika's career began in 1979 with First National Bank of Boston. In 1984, Mr. Tarika joined Morgan Stanley & Co where he began his 17 year tenure running various spot FX trading desks. In 1992, Mr. Tarika was appointed head of trading for the New York spot/forward desk and in 1995 was appointed to run the FX desk in London, managing 50 sales and trading professionals. His most recent position at Morgan Stanley was Managing Director, Global FX Sales Manager. Mr. Tarika received a BS from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Gerry McCrory, Managing Director, Cross Atlantic Capital PartnersGerry McCrory is a founder and managing director of Cross Atlantic. In 1998, Mr. McCrory founded Crucible Corporation, an early stage venture capital fund headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to starting Crucible, Mr. McCrory was the managing director of Cambridge Technology Partners (Ireland). Prior to that, he started his own software services company, Information Mosaic, and held various senior commercial responsibilities at Cap Gemini-Hoskyns in Ireland, Great Britain, and the United States. He also worked as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand in both Ireland and the Cayman Islands. Mr. McCrory holds a degree in Economics from the University of Ulster and an MBA from University College Dublin.
Chris Sugden, General Partner, Edison Venture FundChris Sugden is a successful entrepreneur and technology company executive, experienced in finance, capital raising, strategy, product management and sales and marketing. Prior to joining Edison, Mr. Sugden served as Princeton eCom's EVP of the Electronic Billing Division. As CFO he led the business development, finance and accounting departments. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Finance and Operations for two magazine start-ups and Internet businesses funded by Freedom Communications. A certified public accountant, Mr. Sugden also spent over four years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the entrepreneurial services group. Mr. Sugden received a BA in Accounting and Finance from Michigan State University.
Jim Mills, Managing Director, VantagePoint Venture PartnersJim Mills is a member of the Information Technology Group at VantagePoint Venture Partners, focusing specifically on software and financial technology companies. Mr. Mills has 18 years of technology, operating, and investment experience, including management positions with both start-up and industry-leading technology companies, including Webvan Group, Oracle Corporation, and Crescendo Communications (acquired by Cisco). Mr. Mills began his investment career with Battery Ventures followed by Blum Capital Partners. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College (BA in Engineering Sciences) and is also a graduate of Stanford University (MBA).
Ken Hanau, Managing Partner, 3iKen Hanau is the Managing Partner of 3i US. As part of the FTSE 100, 3i is one of the world's largest growth capital investors deploying over $2bn annually in established businesses across Europe, Asia and the US. Prior to joining 3i, Mr. Hanau held senior positions with Weiss Peck and Greer and Halyard Capital. In addition to his private equity experience, Mr. Hanau worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and at K&H Corrugated Case Corporation. Mr. Hanau is a CPA and began his career with Coopers and Lybrand. Mr. Hanau received his B.A. with honors from Amherst College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
is the former President of the American Stock Exchange® (2000-2005) and formerly served on its Board of Governors. Prior to his appointment at the American Stock Exchange®, Mr. Quick had been President and Chief Executive Officer of Quick & Reilly, Inc., a leading national discount brokerage firm, which was acquired by Fleet Bank (now Bank of America) for $1.6 Billion in 1998. Mr. Quick is currently the lead Independent Director of Reckson Associates Realty Corp. (NYSE: RA) and also sits on the Board of Medicure (AMEX: MCU). Mr. Quick has served on the Board of Governors of the Chicago Stock Exchange and was Chairman of the Midwest Securities Trust Company. He has also been a Director of The Options Clearing Corporation, CUSIP, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the NASD Insurance Agency, and Alliance Money Market Fund. Mr. Quick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia and attended Stanford University's graduate school of Petroleum Engineering.
Joseph A. Schenk, former Chief Financial Officer, Jefferies GroupMr. Schenk served as chief financial officer and executive vice president at Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF), a full-service investment bank and institutional securities firm focused on capital markets and asset management, from January 2000 to December 2007. Mr. Schenk's responsibilities at Jefferies included oversight for finance, accounting, risk, treasury, internal audit, investor relations, tax and accounting policy matters. Prior to his appointment as CFO, Mr. Schenk held various positions within Jefferies, including senior vice president, responsible for corporate services, from September 1997 to January 2000, and senior institutional account executive from September 1993 through March 1996. Prior to Jefferies, Mr. Schenk served as a senior vice president at Zimbalist Smith, a boutique investment research firm. Mr. Schenk had previously held management positions at Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Price Waterhouse. Mr. Schenk currently serves on the boards of ConvergEx Holdings and Talk.com. Mr. Schenk received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Detroit, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Susanne D. Lyons, former Chief Marketing Officer, Visa USAA retail financial services industry veteran, Susanne Lyons most recently served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Visa USA. While at Charles Schwab & Co. from 1992-2001, Ms. Lyons held a variety of senior marketing and general management roles, culminating in the position of chief marketing officer. At Fidelity Investments from 1982-1992, Ms. Lyons was responsible for marketing multiple business lines including brokerage, domestic and international growth funds and retirement products. She has been recognized for her business leadership in several significant forums, including San Francisco Financial Woman's Association "Woman of the Year" in 1999 and as one of Ad Age's Top 50 Marketers. Ms. Lyons served on the board of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET), a global interactive media company, until its recent acquisition by CBS, and is also on the advisory boards of Marketo and Epoch, as well as the board of WildCare, a not for profit organization. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Boston University.
Roger Tarika, Former Global Head of Foreign Exchange Sales, Morgan StanleyA 25-year veteran of the FX markets, Roger Tarika's career began in 1979 with First National Bank of Boston. In 1984, Mr. Tarika joined Morgan Stanley & Co where he began his 17 year tenure running various spot FX trading desks. In 1992, Mr. Tarika was appointed head of trading for the New York spot/forward desk and in 1995 was appointed to run the FX desk in London, managing 50 sales and trading professionals. His most recent position at Morgan Stanley was Managing Director, Global FX Sales Manager. Mr. Tarika received a BS from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Gerry McCrory, Managing Director, Cross Atlantic Capital PartnersGerry McCrory is a founder and managing director of Cross Atlantic. In 1998, Mr. McCrory founded Crucible Corporation, an early stage venture capital fund headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to starting Crucible, Mr. McCrory was the managing director of Cambridge Technology Partners (Ireland). Prior to that, he started his own software services company, Information Mosaic, and held various senior commercial responsibilities at Cap Gemini-Hoskyns in Ireland, Great Britain, and the United States. He also worked as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand in both Ireland and the Cayman Islands. Mr. McCrory holds a degree in Economics from the University of Ulster and an MBA from University College Dublin.
Chris Sugden, General Partner, Edison Venture FundChris Sugden is a successful entrepreneur and technology company executive, experienced in finance, capital raising, strategy, product management and sales and marketing. Prior to joining Edison, Mr. Sugden served as Princeton eCom's EVP of the Electronic Billing Division. As CFO he led the business development, finance and accounting departments. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Finance and Operations for two magazine start-ups and Internet businesses funded by Freedom Communications. A certified public accountant, Mr. Sugden also spent over four years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the entrepreneurial services group. Mr. Sugden received a BA in Accounting and Finance from Michigan State University.
Jim Mills, Managing Director, VantagePoint Venture PartnersJim Mills is a member of the Information Technology Group at VantagePoint Venture Partners, focusing specifically on software and financial technology companies. Mr. Mills has 18 years of technology, operating, and investment experience, including management positions with both start-up and industry-leading technology companies, including Webvan Group, Oracle Corporation, and Crescendo Communications (acquired by Cisco). Mr. Mills began his investment career with Battery Ventures followed by Blum Capital Partners. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College (BA in Engineering Sciences) and is also a graduate of Stanford University (MBA).
Ken Hanau, Managing Partner, 3iKen Hanau is the Managing Partner of 3i US. As part of the FTSE 100, 3i is one of the world's largest growth capital investors deploying over $2bn annually in established businesses across Europe, Asia and the US. Prior to joining 3i, Mr. Hanau held senior positions with Weiss Peck and Greer and Halyard Capital. In addition to his private equity experience, Mr. Hanau worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and at K&H Corrugated Case Corporation. Mr. Hanau is a CPA and began his career with Coopers and Lybrand. Mr. Hanau received his B.A. with honors from Amherst College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Dubai stays in Dubai.

Diane Garnick, investment strategist at Invesco, dubbed Dubai a "Las Vegas wannabe" because of its hotel boom:
"The one thing that Dubai completely aced about Las Vegas is that what happens in Dubai stays in Dubai. This crisis won't spread."
Garnick is concerned that state and local governments are over-extended:
"State and local governments are in big trouble. I like to call it the new and improved S&L crisis. In this case, S&L is state and local governments."
Garnick is also bearish about gold:
"The place where I would stay away from like crazy is gold. There isn't a reasonable investor out there who doesn't think gold is at a peak."
Minyanville Media Chief Executive and hedge fund manager Todd Harrison:
"Be careful for what you wish for, for everyone who is saying, 'If only the dollar could strengthen.' In this asset class, deflation versus dollar devaluation dynamic, I believe both can decline as we saw last year. But I don't foresee a scenario where both the dollar and asset classes can rise in sync."
Thomas Metzold, municipal bond fund manager at Eaton Vance, expects many more governments will have their credit ratings downgraded:
"The list is endless. We've got a situation that is probably as bad as I've seen in my 22-plus years."
That doesn't mean many issuers will actually default on their debt, however, he said:
"We're going to have a lot of downgrades but we're not going to have a lot of defaults."
Author and investor Jim Rogers remains a believer that the dollar will decline over the long term. But he sees room for gains right now:
"There are too many bears and normally when there are too many bears it leads to a rally."
Ultimately, the dollar will continue to decline because of the fundamental problems in with the United States economy, Rogers says, pointing to the 90 percent drop in the value of the British pound in the 20th century:
"No country in history that has gotten itself into this situation has gotten itself out without a crisis."
"I don't think this is the bottom. We're going to have more problems in the world economy. We're papering over the problems more than anything else."

Credit market

On Friday, October 3rd, at 0830ET/1230GMT, US September employment data will be released. We expect the headline NFP number will come in roughly in line with consensus forecasts of -105K, but think the unemployment rate may edge up to 6.2/6.3% versus market expectations of a steady 6.1% unemployment rate. The risk is that the headline NFP shows a larger drop in jobs, potentially owing to strike- or hurricane-related adjustments. Interim economic data (weekly claims, labor differential in Consumer confidence report, ISM manufacturing employment dropping from 49.7 to 41.8) have shown a deterioration in overall labor market conditions, so the risks are clearly skewed to a weaker NFP. We would not be surprised by a NFP job loss of -150/-170K. And be alert for a negative revision to August NFP. But the NFP report is not the only show in town tomorrow, as markets will anxiously be watching to see if the US House can pass the financial sector rescue package. We are highly optimistic that additions to the Senate-passed bill will lead to the bill's passage, and we think this will be greeted enthusiastically by investors. The result could be a significant rally in stocks and a rush to riskier assets, which in FX means buying of JPY-crosses (e.g. EUR/JPY or AUD/JPY). The rescue package may also alleviate credit market strains, reducing demand for USD from bank funding needs. Trading Strategy: Because we think the risks are skewed to a weaker NFP reading, we anticipate an initially negative USD reaction. But we think USD strength this week is likely to see heavy buying of USD on such weakness, leading to a short-term reversal of the initial reaction. From then, we look for JPY-cross buying to materialize based on the prospect of House passage of the rescue bill. If correct, such buying should put a floor under non-JPY dollar pairs, like EUR/USD and GBP/USD. The rest of the session could then see a grind higher in the JPY-crosses, sending EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/USD higher on the day, aided by week-end short-covering in EUR/USD/profit-taking on long USD positions. In concrete terms, a NFP reading of between -100K/-150K could see EUR/USD jump higher by 60-90 pips from pre-release levels, followed by heavy selling then sending the pair down 100-120 pips from its post-NFP reaction high. From there, we then expect that short-covering and outright buying of EUR/JPY will see EUR/USD grind higher. We will be closely watching a long-term trend line that guided the EUR higher since early 2002, currently at 1.3910/30 area. We would stop out (exit) of long EUR/USD positions if it trades below 1.3710/20, roughly 30 points below today's low. We think a short-squeeze higher in EUR/USD is likely on strength over 1.3950/60. Disclaimer: The information and opinions in this report are for general information use only and are not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any currency. All opinions and information contained in this report are subject to change without notice. This report has been prepared without regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any particular recipient. While the information contained herein was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, author does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness, nor does author assume any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss that may result from the reliance by any person upon any such information or opinions.

US has failed to register

The Fed's Beige Book, which offers a wealth of anecdotal evidence as to the health of the US economy, is due up tomorrow (June 11th) at 14:00ET. This could be a significant turning point for the US dollar that will either confirm and extend its recent gains, or lead to a significant pullback for the Greenback. We believe the four main categories to focus on in the report are the labor market, consumer spending, inflation and lending standards. Given the sharp move up in the unemployment rate and the fact that the US has failed to register even one positive nonfarm payrolls number this year, the Beige Book's labor market assessment will be key. In the April Beige Book, labor markets were described as mostly weakening. We expect something to this effect is priced in for tomorrow's release as well given the moribund employment data of late. The upside to USD could come from an assessment that the labor market is stabilizing, albeit at a low level of activity. The market will also be eager to gauge the impact to consumer spending from the government stimulus checks which began to hit mailboxes in late April/early May. In the last Beige Book, consumer spending activity was noted as slowing across most of the United States. While the latest chainstore sales numbers suggest some pickup in recent retail activity, if it is noted that the stimulus has had little broad impact on spending we will likely see US economic prospects weaken and a lower US dollar. On the inflation front, the market is looking for confirmation that inflation pressures continue to rear their ugly head. Given the steadfast increase in commodity prices and surging inflation expectations, we expect the assessment to be quite hawkish. This will help keep US yields elevated and add further support to the USD, with USD/JPY especially sensitive to higher interest rates of late. The fourth area of focus is likely to be on the lending side. The credit turmoil has been noted as ongoing by Fed officials and the market likely expects a similar assessment to what we witnessed in the last Beige Book when lending standards were said to have tightened (making it harder for the average person to get a loan approved). An indication that lending standards have eased will likely fuel speculation that the credit crisis is approaching it nadir and help boost the USD. In sum, if the good news on these key economic indicators outweighs the bad we can expect EUR/USD to retest 1.5400 and USD/JPY to come near the 108.00 level. In such a case, the report will validate recent comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke that the economic situation has improved somewhat while rising inflation remains a big risk. However, if the labor situation and consumer spending are downgraded significantly, this will outweigh higher inflation or an improvement in lending activity and likely take the Greenback lower towards EUR/USD 1.5600 and USD/JPY near 106.50. Disclaimer: The information and opinions in this report are for general information use only and are not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any currency. All opinions and information contained in this report are subject to change without notice. This report has been prepared without regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any particular recipient. While the information contained herein was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, author does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness, nor does author assume any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss that may result from the reliance by any person upon any such information or opinions.

The promotion and preservation of Nepali handicrafts

The government is trying to replace the Himal Cement Area with an international level handicraft village for the promotion and preservation of Nepali handicrafts.Speaking at seminar on ‘Effects and solutions in the use of Cadmium in Silver’ organised by the Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal (FHAN), Industry Minister Mahendra Kumar Yadav said, “The government is working to grant the Himal cement area for the construction of an international level handicraft village.”Earlier, FHAN presented a tentative plan to develop a handicraft village that would have 12 products — with each product having one cluster — and 20 enterprises. Tentative clusters will be of metal craft, handmade paper, woollen and silk carpets, gems and jewellery, gold and silver, wood carving, Thanka and modern painting, pottery and ceramics, stone carving, pashmina and handloom products, folklore garments made of natural fabric and an auxiliary factory for accessories for handicraft products.According to FHAN, the industry employs 1,33,524 people — 14.56 per cent of the total craft related employment in Kathmandu, according to the population census of 2001 AD. Though FHAN has been trying to establish the handicraft village it was lacking government support. Now, with government initiatives for allowing Himal cement area to be used for the development of a handicraft village FHAN is hopeful of the project materialising.The association has also drawn up a tentative plan for an eco-friendly handicrafts village which will also inform tourists about the ethnicity of Nepal.Minister’s assuranceKATHMANDU: Minister Yadav during the seminar assured of providing the necessary support to help maintain the standard of silver products — a major exportable item. According to him, there must be a public private partnership and FHAN along with the concerned bodies should promptly make a decision on drawing up a mechanism to stop the use of cadmium in silver. FHAN president Pushkar Man Shakya said the use of cadmium should be stopped or else the EU would stop the import of Nepali silver jewellery. To establish Nepali jewellery as cadmium-free, FHAN is working to bring a spectrometer for checking the presence of cadmium in silver before dispatching it to the market. Meanwhile, Trade and Export Promotion Center director Ramesh Kumar Shrestha urged Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology to concentrate on the issue and develop a certification mechanism for gold and silver. — Gold this week closed at Rs 24,135 per 10 gram. According to Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (NEGOSIDA), domestic market for gold opened at Rs 24,005 per 10 gram and remained at the same price on Monday. With a fall of Rs 170, gold was traded for Rs 23,385 on Tuesday. With an increment of Rs 300, gold got traded for Rs 24,135 per 10 gram on Wednesday and Thursday. Gold closed at the same price that is Rs 24,135 per 10 gram on Friday. Meanwhile, silver opened at Rs 364.50 per 10 gram on Sunday and was traded for the same price on Monday. Silver priced at Rs 368 on Tuesday. Silver was traded for Rs 373 per 10 gram on Wednesday, Thursday and closed at the same price on Friday, said NEGOSIDA. — HNS

Forecasting job

Employers throttled back on layoffs in July, cutting just 247,000 jobs, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.4 percent, its first decline in 15 months.It was a better-than-expected showing that offered a strong signal that the recession is finally ending.The new snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, also offered other encouraging news: workers' hours nudged up after sinking to a record low in June, and paychecks grew after having fallen or flat lined in some cases.To be sure, the report still indicates that the jobs market is on shaky ground. But the new figures were better than many analysts were expecting and offered welcomed improvements to a part of the economy that has been clobbered by the recession.Analysts were forecasting job losses to slow to around 320,000 and the unemployment rate to tick up to 9.6 percent."There's clearly been a turn for the better. The worst is behind us in terms of layoffs. Now we need to see more hiring," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.The dip in the unemployment rate — from June's 9.5 percent — was the first since April 2008. One of the reasons the rate went down, however, was because hundreds of thousands of people left the labor force. Fewer people, though, did report being unemployed.All told, there were 14.5 million out of work in July.If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included the unemployment rate would have been 16.3 percent in July. That's down from 16.5 percent in June, which was the highest on records dating to 1994.Also heartening: job losses in May and June turned out to be less than previously reported. Employers sliced 303,000 positions in May, versus 322,000 previously logged. And, they cut 443,000 in June, compared with an earlier estimate of 467,000.The job cuts made in July were the fewest since August 2008.The slowdown in layoffs in part reflected fewer jobs cuts in manufacturing, construction, professional and business services and financial activities — areas that have been hard hit by the collapse of the housing market and the financial crisis. There also were fewer layoffs in the temporary-help industry, which analysts watch for clues about future hiring. Retailers, however, cut more jobs in July.Those losses were blunted by job gains in government, education and health services, and in leisure and hospitality.The worst of the job cuts have passed.The deepest job cuts of the recession came in January, when 741,000 job disappeared, the most in any month since 1949.Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 6.7 million jobs.Slower job losses are occurring because companies aren't cutting investment and spending as drastically as they had been during the depths of the recession which came in the final quarter of last year and carried over into the first quarter of this year.With companies feeling a bit better about the economy's prospects and their own, they boosted workers' hours in July. The average work week rose to 33.1 hours, after having fallen to 33 hours in June, the lowest on records dating to 1964.And, employers bumped up wages.Average hourly earnings rose to $18.56 in July, up from $18.53 in June. Hourly earnings were stagnant in June. Average weekly earnings, which fell in June, rose to $614.34. Those gains raised hopes that consumers — whose spending accounts for the single-largest slice of economic activity — will feel more confident and more inclined to spend in the months ahead, thus helping the recovery.Other recent barometers have shown some improvements in manufacturing, housing and construction activity.The government reported last week that the economy shrank at a pace of just 1 percent from April-to-June, another sign the recession is winding down.Many analysts predict the economy could start growing again in the current July-to-September quarter. And, the Fed recently observed that the economy is finally showing signs of stabilizing in some regions of the country — especially in parts of the Northeast and Midwest — bolstering hopes of a broader-based recovery this year.Even with the improvements, it will take time for the jobs market to fully heal.The Federal Reserve has predicted the unemployment rate is likely to top 10 percent this year. Some Fed officials think it could rise as high as 10.6 percent in 2010. The post-World War II high was 10.8 percent at the end of 1982, when the country suffered through a severe recession.An elevated unemployment rate could become a political liability for President Barack Obama when congressional elections are held next year. The last time the unemployment rate topped 10 percent, the party of the president — then Ronald Reagan's GOP — lost 26 House seats in the midterm elections in 1982.Obama has urged Americans to be patient and give time for his $787 billion stimulus package of tax cuts and increased government spending to take hold. Most of the money will flow in 2010.When the economy is healthy, employers add a net total of around 125,000 jobs a month just to keep the unemployment rate stable. To get the jobless rate down to a more normal 5 percent range, it would take stronger job growth — of at least 200,000 jobs a month. Economists say it might take until 2013 to drive down the unemployment rate to 5 percent.

Annual profit

Exxon Mobil Corp. unseated Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in the 2009 Fortune 500 list, shrugging off the oil price bubble and weathering what the magazine called the worst year ever for the country's largest publicly traded companies.Fortune's closely watched list, released Sunday, ranked companies by their revenue in 2008. Irving, Texas-based Exxon took in $442.85 billion in revenue last year, up almost 19 percent from 2007. The company also raked in the biggest annual profit, earning $45.2 billion.Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart had held the top spot for six of the last seven years but fell to No. 2 this year. Still, the retail giant's 2008 revenue climbed 7 percent to $405.6 billion, as the battered economy sent more sumers seconarching for bargains. The world's largest retailer took in $13.4 billion in annual profit, an increase of about 5 percent.Although it may have been a good year for Exxon and Wal-Mart, 2008 was far from rosy for most of remaining companies on the list. Overall earnings plunged 85 percent to $98.9 billion from $645 billion in 2007, the biggest one-year decline in the 55-year history of the Fortune 500 list."America is getting used to the sound of bubbles bursting," Fortune said.Energy companies continued to dominate many of the top positions, as last summer's skyrocketing oil and gas prices more than compensated for their plunge later that fall. Chevron Corp. held on to third place with $263.16 billion in revenue, up 25 percent. ConocoPhillips climbed one place to fourth, with $230.76 billion in revenue.General Electric Co., the diverse conglomerate whose troubled financial arm has been weighing on recent results, rose one notch to fifth. Battered automaker General Motors Corp. fell two spots to sixth, as revenue fell 18 percent and losses totaled $30.86 billion amid the imploding car market. Crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. followed, with $146.28 billion in revenue.Telecom giant AT&T Inc. moved up two notches to take eighth place, with Hewlett-Packard Co. and Valero Energy Corp. rounding out the top 10.Among the hardest hit in 2008 were financial services companies, Fortune said. Banks, securities firms and insurers took cumulative losses of $213.4 billion, accounting for almost 70 percent of the total dollar decline from the peak year of 2006, the magazine said. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., which were No. 8 and No. 9 respectively last year, each slipped a couple notches from the Top 10.Thirty-eight companies fell off this year's list, including financial firms Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Washington Mutual Inc. and Wachovia Corp., all of which have either gone under or been acquired by rival banks.Engineering and construction company URS Corp. moved the most up the list, leaping 185 spots to No. 264. But the title of "biggest loser" went to AIG Corp. The insurer, which has received more than $180 billion in government bailout aid since last fall, fell 232 spots to 245 in this year's ranking.