UPDATE 1-Three Japan insurers in merger talks - TV

TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc, Aioi Insurance Co Ltd and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co Ltd are in final talks on merging under a holding company as early as next autumn to form the country's top non-life insurer, national broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday.Sales of automobile and housing sales have been sluggish amid the economic downturn, hitting demand for car and fire insurance and weighing on the profitability of non-life insurers, prompting them to seek ways to boost competitiveness.The three aim to reach a basic agreement on the deal as early as next month, NHK added.Officials from the companies were not immediately available for comment.The merger of Japan's No.2, No.4 and No.6 non-life insurers would create the biggest player in the domestic market with revenue of about 2.7 trillion yen ($29.8 billion), NHK said. That would top current top non-life insurer Tokio Marine Holdings I

UPDATE 1-Three Japan insurers in merger talks - TV

TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc, Aioi Insurance Co Ltd and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co Ltd are in final talks on merging under a holding company as early as next autumn to form the country's top non-life insurer, national broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday.Sales of automobile and housing sales have been sluggish amid the economic downturn, hitting demand for car and fire insurance and weighing on the profitability of non-life insurers, prompting them to seek ways to boost competitiveness.The three aim to reach a basic agreement on the deal as early as next month, NHK added.Officials from the companies were not immediately available for comment.The merger of Japan's No.2, No.4 and No.6 non-life insurers would create the biggest player in the domestic market with revenue of about 2.7 trillion yen ($29.8 billion), NHK said. That would top current top non-life insurer Tokio Marine Holdings I

Pakistani forex reserves ease to $10.16 bln

KARACHI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell by $50 million to $10.16 billion in the week that ended on Jan. 30, the central bank said on Friday.The State Bank of Pakistan's reserves fell to $6.79 billion from $6.87 billion a week earlier, while reserves held by commercial banks rose to $3.37 billion from $3.34 billion the previous week, the bank said.Pakistan's foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell to $6.6 billion in November, largely because of a soaring import bill.Pakistan signed a $7.6 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund in November to stave off a balance of payments crisis. It received its first tranche of $3.1 billion that month. (Reporting by Sahar Ahmed;

What is the Difference Between Forex and Stock?

The Forex market has a lot of advantages compare to stock market:A Forex trader could make profit through the market no matter if it is bearish and bullish which is different from the capital market, Forex has no strict regulation in speculation, no matter whether it is a long-term or a short-term transaction there is still a hidden profit, moreover, Forex market is a double-transaction market which means Forex traders could make profit through both upward and downward trend.Forex traders could obtain a much larger transaction compared to the stock market, through the Forex trading, Forex traders could obtain 100 times larger transaction compared to the stock market. According to the present US situation, if a Forex trader invests $1,000 in the stock market, the trader may obtain $2,000 of stock domination property with a proportion of 2:1, but through Forex trading, a Forex trader can do transaction with a proportion up to 100:1.Forex trader may make profit from the ordinary news, like the interest rate change, Forex market is closely related to various countries' politic, economy and culture, Forex traders could also obtain profit from other kinds of news, for example interest rate level change, will influence the interest of the Forex deposit.Forex traders could do 24 hours trading. The stock market can only be traded during daytime at a specific time, generally from 9:30a.m. to 4:00p.m.. If you too have your own full time job, then you will face the dilemma - either to give up your full time job or forgo the trading opportunity. But Forex market can be traded 5 days a week and 24 hours a day, Forex traders can trade during their free time which is normally at night after working hour.If a trader analyze based on technical analysis, Forex trading would be much more suitable for such traders because the Forex market has a very large trading volume. Currently the Forex market has daily trading volume of 190 billion Dollar, such giant market will completely digest a fore trader's transaction cash, under such situation the accuracy of the technical analysis would be much higher then any financial market, the chances of using technical analysis to make profit would be much more higher.In the stock market there are hundred and thousand kinds of stocks, then choosing stock will be a very difficult matter. But in the Forex market, the currency combination is extremely limited, this may enable Forex traders to concentrate on these currencies combination, and could follow the trend quickly.

Forex explain

FOREX trading is simply the buying and selling of currencies. The US dollar is almost always the base currency against which other currencies are bought and sold. Of course, ones local currency can also be used as a base currency. In such a case it is called a CROSS TRADE. Cross trading is then an exchange of two currencies where the US dollar is not involved.
Say you suspect that the Japanese Yen might appreciate in value against US dollar in the near future. The current exchange rate is 120 yen to a US dollar. You go to the bank and exchange US $10,000 for 1,200,000 yen.
US$ 1.00
=
¥ 120.00
US$ 10,000.00
=
(120*10,000)
You will get:
¥ 1,200,000.00
Profit:
Later on, as expected, the Yen appreciates by five yen to 115 yen to a US dollar. You then take your yen back to the bank and exchange them into US dollars. You will get US $10,434.78. This extra US $434.78 is your profit on top of
¥ 115.00
=
US$ 1.00
¥ 1,200,000.00
=
(1/115)*1,200,000
=
US$ 10,434.78
Initial Investment was:
=
US$ 10,000.00
Your PROFIT:
=
US$ 434.78
Loss:
On the other hand, instead of appreciating, the yen further weakens. After all, it was only an expectation that the Yen will appreciate, not a guarantee. Let's say the Yen weakens by five yen to 125 yen to a US dollar. Of course, you now have a choice to either hold onto your yen until it appreciates or exchange them back into US dollars. Suppose, you want to exchange them back into dollars for fears of further yen weakness. You then take your yen back to the bank and exchange them into US dollars. You will get US $9,600.00. Your loss is US $400.00 . Now your initial investment of US $10,000 is reduced to US$ 9,600.
¥ 125.00
=
US$ 1.00
¥ 1,200,000.00
=
(1/125)*1,200,000
=
US$ 9,600.00
Initial Investment was:
=
US$ 10,000.00
Your LOSS:
=
(-US$ 400.00)
FOREX trading is neither gambling nor should it be perceived as such. In gambling, once you place a bet you cannot withdraw from a losing situation. You either win or lose. On the other hand, in FOREX, you decide how much you are prepared to lose or wait until you are in a profit situation. FOREX trading provides several means to accomplish just that.
Hence, one can trade FOREX euphorically or in an organized manner. The tools and techniques are there; it's up to you to use them for your best interest.

forex history

Man has used money, in one form or another, for centuries. At first, civilizations used mainly gold and silver to transact with one another. Goods were traded against other goods or against gold. As a result, the price of gold became a reference point. As the trading of goods grew between nations, moving quantities of gold around locations to settle payments of trade became cumbersome, risky and time consuming. Therefore, a system was sought by which the payment of trades could be settled in the seller's local currency. But how much of the buyer's local currency should be equal to the seller's local currency? The answer was simple. The strength of a country's currency depended on the amount of gold reserves the country maintained. So, if country A's gold reserves are double the gold reserves of country B, country A's currency would be twice in value when exchanged with the currency of country B. This became to be known as The Gold Standard. Around 1880, The Gold Standard was accepted and used worldwide.During the first WORLD WAR, in order to fulfill enormous financing needs, paper money was printed in quantities that far exceeded the gold reserves. The currencies lost their standard parities and caused a gross distortion in the country's standing in terms of its foreign liabilities and assets.After the end of the second WORLD WAR the western allied powers attempted to solve the problem at the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire in 1944. The conference resulted in the creation of:The World BankInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), andBretton Woods Exchange SystemThe World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are collectively known as the Bretton Woods Institutions. Under the Bretton Woods Exchange System, the currencies of participating nations could be converted into the US dollar at a fixed rate, and foreign central banks could convert the US dollar into gold at a fixed rate. In other words, the US dollar replaced the then dominant British Pound and the parities of the world's leading currencies were pegged against the US Dollar.However, this fixed exchange rate system allowed any country to devalue or revalue its currency to fulfill the local financial and economic needs, particularly to make their exports more competitive in the global market. The massive US balance of payments deficits of early 1960's began casting shadows of doubt in the strength of the US dollar. During the same decade, the currency crisis in Europe, mainly in the United Kingdom, France and Germany brought about the end of the Bretton Woods accord.The United States, under president Nixon, retaliated in 1971 by devaluing the dollar and forcing realignment of currencies with the dollar. The leading European economies tried to counter the US move by aligning their currencies in narrow band and then float them collectively against the US dollar.Fortunately, this currency war did not last long and by the first half of the 1970's leading world economies gave up the fixed exchange rate system for good and floated their currencies in the open market. The idea was to let the market decide the value of a given currency based on the demand and supply of the currency and the economic health of the currency's nation. This market is popularly known as the International Monetary Market or IMM. This IMM is not a single entity. It is a collection of all financial institutions that have any interest in foreign currencies all over the world. Banks, Brokerages, Fund Managers, Government Central Banks and sometimes individuals are just a few examples of these institutions. This is very much the present system of the exchange of foreign currencies. Although the currency's value is dependent on the market forces, the central banks still try to keep their currency in a predefined (and highly confidential) fluctuation band.

Forex Recommendation

Buy USDJPY at 111.64 on 2 January 08.
Volume- High
Take Profit- 112.18
Stop Loss- 111.05