Use rewards credit cards to get the best offers!

To be sure, rewards credit card offers have been introduced for a long time in one form or another and they always change. You can find a lot of potential advantages with the acquisition and use of these types of credit cards. The fact is that these rewards cards can be very useful as long as you choose them with caution.

Some rewards credit cards give you bonus points redeemable for specific things, such as cash back on the things you buy from the merchants specified, free airline tickets, gasoline discounts and restaurant coupons. Read the full article…

FOREX NEWS – Euro boosted by PMIs; counters Greek setback

Euro zone service sector PMI eases recession fears

Euro rises to near 3week high versus dollar, 4week high versus yen

Negotiations over Greek debt stall but hope for deal still alive

LONDON, Jan 24 The euro hit a near threeweek peak in volatile trade versus the dollar on Tuesday as a survey of the euro zone service sector topped forecasts and eased fears of a recession, though markets were edgy as talks to avert a messy Greek default stalled.

Surveys showed the euro zone may yet escape recession thanks to a surprise upturn in the service sector which offset ongoing contraction in manufacturing this month, briefly pushing the euro to the day’s highs.

“Germany’s recent ZEW survey was better than expected and now its PMI is also better which is lifting the overall PMI survey for the euro zone,” said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank.

“The market has been positioned for a downturn in Germany and maybe it has got too pessimistic on that front for now,” she added.

The common currency rose to its highest in nearly threeweeks versus the dollar of $1.3063 on trading platform EBS, before falling back to $1.3010, down 0.1 percent for the day.

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Mid-Day Report: Dollar Broadly Lower on Risk Appetite, Greece Still Awaited

Dollar is broadly lower today as risk appetites are lifted by German bill auction and bank stocks. Germany sold EUR 2.54b of 12-mont h bills today at average yield of 0.07%. That yield was much lower than October’s 0.346%. The auction attracted solid demand of EUR 5.53b of bids. Meanwhile, banking stocks in UK saw impressive strength with strong advance in RBS, Lloyds and HSBC leading FTSE and other major European indices higher. Dollar index is back below 80 psychological level and is set to take on 79.51 support.

Main focus remain on Greece and the EcoFin meeting in Eurozone. There is no details announced on Greece’s debt swap deal with private sector yet. But it’s believed that private bond holders are willing to take a loss of around 65 to 70% off their Greek debts. However, it’s still uncertain however the over deal could help Greece lower debt to 120% of GDP in 2020.

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Are the cheapest offset mortgages the best?

There are many offset mortgage offers which are available on the internet which offer varying interest rates. Though the difference between the two interest rates of two lenders might not be a lot, it could still lead to a significant difference in the amount which you invariably end up repaying the lender. However this does not always mean that the best possible choice for you on the market is the one offering the cheapest interest rates.

Some of the important things which need to be considered are your ability to be able to stick to the deadline for repayment and also the reputation of the lender. Some lenders give the customers extra period of time in the odd chance that you fall behind on the payments and this is a vital aspect which needs to be taken into consideration before picking out your offset mortgages. Read the full article…

Dollar Advances, Positive Sentiment Over?

The US dollar gained today as concerns and uncertainty slowly return to the Forex market and demand for the protection by the safe currencies may again emerge. It’s early to say with certainty that the greenback will rally again as the positive mood hasn’t yen gone completely from markets.

The optimism about the future of Europe hasn’t quite waned and still puts a downward pressure on the dollar. The United States showed a positive set of fundamental data and that supported the optimism. The US manufacturing PMI advanced from 50.8 to 52.7 in November. The construction spending rose 0.8 percent in October, compared to the median forecast of 0.4 percent.

The outlook for the global economy and the European economy in particular isn’t universally good. And there are reasons to be worried. The US unemployment claims increased from 396,000

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Daily Chart Art – January 13, 2012

EUR/USD: 4-hour

Heads up! For the hardcore euro bears out there, you might want to think twice about shorting EUR/USD this time because a double bottom just formed on the pair’s 4-hour chart. According to my handy-dandy Chart Patterns Cheat Sheet, this chart formation signals that an uptrend could be in the cards. It seems that the pair already broke above the neckline of the formation around 1.2800 but stochastic is nearly in the overbought zone, which means that the bears could still have a fighting chance.

USD/CHF: 4-hour

Will the former resistance act as support for USD/CHF? After bouncing the 61.8% Fib, the pair is currently stalling at the .9450 minor psychological level, which lines up with the 50% Fibonacci retracement level.

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Minnesota’s Surplus of Optimism

Minnesota’s Office of Management and Budget announced last month a forecast of an $876 million surplus for the upcoming two-year budget, sending lawmakers into a frenzy about how to spend the newfound cash. Recall that just six short months ago, the Minnesota government was shut down in a budget stand-off. At the time, the estimated deficit was $5 billion. (The budget for 2011-2013 is $35 billion.) While at first sight, this looks like a sharp reversal of fortunes, I’d argue that the change is largely illusory, uncertain, and short-lived.

The government bridged the deficit last July without concern for the state’s long-term fiscal outlook.  The budget increased outlays on health services, education, and public works projects and  shifted much of the cost forward onto future taxpayers. More specifically, it delayed over $700 million in payments to schools and issued $640 million of tobacco bonds. 

The issuance of tobacco bonds was an expensive stopgap. Th

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