Forex Fundamental Analysis

Goldman Sachs has just agreed to pay American authorities $5.1 billion to settle claims that it used fraudulent marketing to sell mortgage backed securities in the run up to the Global Financial Crisis.

The Saudi Arabian riyal is currently pegged to the U.S. dollar, but the nosedive in oil prices has increased speculation in the market that the world's largest oil exporter may allow the 3.75-to-1 peg to drop off in hopes of slowing down revenue.

The British PM’s team is actively engaged in negotiations with counterparts within the EU to try to achieve accord over British reform demands for its relationship with the EU.

The world’s second largest economy is a major exporting nation and a major consumer of the commodities needed to produce these goods in Chinese factories.

December marked the first interest rate increase in the USA for almost a decade, ending seven years of record low rates (for interest, the previous hike in June 2006 took rates from 5 to 5.25%).

Oil prices continue to dive and although the rock bottom prices are good for American drivers, there is no doubt that they are a bad thing for world stability.

Last week was a uniformly bleak affair for the world’s major markets with loss of confidence in Chinese markets and a devaluation of the Yuan leading the markets around the world significantly lower.

China has always had an aura of the mystique. Not much has changed over the years and the enigmatic life in this shadowy nation continues with several Chinese moguls mysteriously disappearing and then reappearing in the last six months of the year.

With increased consumer confidence, boosted by low inflation, rising wages for many households, falling unemployment and the attraction of cheap car loans, total figures for car registrations for 2015 hovered around the 2.63 million mark.

For the second time this week, trading in the Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) has been suspended for the day – this time after only 29 minutes of trading – since loses hit the 7% of market value trigger.

2016 seems to have started with the mother of all economic hangovers.

While 2015 went out like a bang, 2016 is creeping in on a whimper. Asian, European and U.S. markets have kicked off the new year on a down note following a worldwide stock sell-off sparked by a weaker-than-expected manufacturing report in China.

The US economy grew at a slower rate than originally believed in Q3 of 2015. As more comprehensive data became available, the GDP figure was revised down from 2.1 to 2%, but growth in the quarter still beat analyst expectations of 1.9%.

Monday marked the first full day of trading in 2016 and it was greeted by significant falls on the China stock exchange in Shanghai.

f all the factors standing in the way of any stock market gains in 2015, oil was most definitely the biggest impediment.