By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's finance minister said on Thursday she had ordered a slow down to fuel subsidy payments to allow verification that they are for genuine deliveries, an effort to combat fraud costing it billions of dollars.
"I decided that we should slow down the payments until we verify ... that what we are paying is really being paid for genuine product delivered, to avoid the mistakes we made in the past," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a news conference.
Fuel shippers say they are facing delays at import terminals while their subsidy payments are scrutinised, and some private firms have halted deliveries, while others are relying on swaps for crude oil to receive payments.
Accountant-General Jonah Otunla, also at the conference, said the government had spent 1.44 trillion Nigerian naira in the first half of 2012, of which 1.036 trillion was on recurrent expenditure, the largest component of that being the fuel subsidy.
A parliamentary probe into the subsidy scheme released last month found it was riddled with fraud that had cost Nigeria $6.8 billion in just three years -- equal to a quarter of the national budget. It was one of the biggest corruption scandals in the history of Africa's top energy producer.
Okonjo-Iweala said she had come to the realisation that the subsidy must be slowed after paying out 451 billion naira -- more than half of the 888 billion naira the country budgeted for this year -- just on arrears for last year.
"It was at that point in time I decided," she said. "We will not be stampeded to make payment until we verify that what we are paying is correct ... We are taking it very cautiously."
She added that only 17 billion naira had been released against 2012 fuel deliveries as a result. Continued...
Forex Trades for the Greek Elections and Wednesday's Fed Meeting - Marketwatch
By Benzinga.com
Over the coming days, two major events will dominate global markets: on Sunday, Greeks will vote in a national election. Then, next week, the Federal Reserve will hold its June meeting. Traders looking to take a position on these events may turn to the forex market to do so.
EUR/USD Traders can take a position on the outcome of the Greek election via the EUR/USD pair. Those who believe that there will be a negative outcome in Greece (a Radical Left victory) would want to short the EUR/USD, especially after the currency pair has seen recent gains. As the chart below shows, the pair is running into significant neckline support (the straight red line across the top) and is supported by the upward-sloping tend line from the lows hit at the end of May.
This technical formation is interesting in that it usually results in a breakout of prices, often to the upside. However, as this pattern is aligning with the fundamental story of the Greek elections, a wise trader would expect that the results will determine the next move. A negative outcome may send the pair lower, near $1.25 and then to $1.2450, where there are significant technical supports. Upside resistance is in the $1.2780-1.2820 range, so there is significant room for a move on either side.
Gold Some market watchers have said that a negative outcome from the Greek elections will prompt the Fed to take action next week. Traders who follow this view would be wise to buy gold as a hedge against aggressive monetary policy, and a great way to take a position would be with the XAU/EUR cross. Buying gold against the euro will allow traders to hedge dollar exposure ahead of the Fed meeting and also allow traders to grasp onto potential losses in the euro.
Looking at the above chart, support is not too strong until 1259 and then again at 1245, so those are the levels to watch on the downside. On the upside, resistance is at 1300 and then again just below 1315. For those who believe in the optimistic scenario, shorting this pair will allow traders to benefit twice: first from the expected fall in gold (diminished hopes of liquidity) and second from euro appreciation. On the other hand, those that feel a bad outcome is destined should buy this pair, as the long gold exposure is beneficial in situations of added liquidity and being short the euro will allow investors to have a bearish stance on the common currency.
Long the Spread of French 10-Year Bonds Over German 10-Year Any contagion effects of a negative outcome in the Greek elections will be felt in peripheral bonds as traders see European leaders not living up to their words (remember, it was only last summer that Merkel continuously reiterated that no nation is to leave the euro). A loss of confidence in these leaders will result in a dumping of peripheral debt, but the contagion could also move to France, the weakest of the core nations. If French finances start being called into check, French bond yields will move higher and capital flight may weaken the banks. France's two biggest banks, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas, had more assets than the GDP of France at the end of 2011. Thus, if they were to get into trouble, France would have to bail them out--thus putting serious pressure on the nation's finances.
This pressure would result in even higher bond yields and capital flight out of the banks and into German banks or even German bunds. Thus, German bond yields would fall and French yields would rise, driving the spread between them higher. As difficult as it may be to buy bunds at ultra-low yields, it may be the safest play still. By buying bunds, traders are investing in a negative real return (and potentially even negative nominal return), however they are getting an implied call option on a new German deutschmark. Consider that if the euro dissolves, each nation would revert to its own domestic currency. German bunds would then be re-denominated and paid out in this new currency, which would likely appreciate significantly against the euro (some say between 25-50%). Thus, by buying bunds and shorting French bonds, traders get exposure to the potentially negative sentiment surrounding the elections, the flight to quality and out of risky assets, and a call option on a new, stronger German currency.
(c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Forex: GBP/USD makes it through 1.5600 - NASDAQ
FXstreet.com (Córdoba) - Following a period of hesitation after the BoE announced new unorthodox measures to provide liquidity and boost the UK economy, the Cable finally gathered momentum and broke to the upside, taking out the 1.5600 resistance level.
Without a clear catalyst, GBP/USD rallied at the beginning of the New York session and reached its highest level in over 2 weeks at 1.5623. At time of writing, the cross is quoting at the 1.5610 zone, recording a 0.3% gain on the day.
From a technical view, "The hourly chart shows price back above a still flat 20 SMA while indicators head north above their midlines, while in the 4 hours chart the neutral stance seen over the past few days remains intact", says Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXstreet.com.
"A strong static resistance level is located at 1.5635 and it can be reached on a break above 1.5600 although expect further gains to remain limited today", said Bednarik while placing supports at 1.5525, 1.5500 and 1.5445.
Forex Trend Wave an Easy Application For Beginner Fx Traders Now Available - PRLog (free press release)
ForexTrend Wave is available online. The system is perfect beginner trader and advance user. This system is made for Meta Trader 4 and can be operated on 5 minute timeframe.
“If You Can Read Traffic Lights : Green, Yellow & Red To Cross The Street?" Then...You Can Trade With Forex Trend Wave, said Jess Palmer ( Forex Trend Wave Creator) Forex Trend Wave is so easy to use because all that have to do is follow the simple color coded sequence to enter a trade.
ForexTrend Wave Is It Worth to Buy Or Scam?
ForexTrendWave price is not too expensive. With only $87, traders can directly download the system and learn a lot of things to prepare them for smooth trading and high profit. No need to worry about the quality of the system because Palmer gives 60 days risk free and 100% money back guarantee, so traders have nothing to lose. The system teaches various methods to make trading so much more convenient and easier. With the system, all traders don’t have to get frustrated using various tools like Trend Lines, Harmonic Butterfly Pattern and Fibonacci tools. Traders don’t have to get frustrated with anything related to Triangles, Head and Shoulders and many others. ForexTrendWave will gives a lot of things like trading with near term trend, method to secure the profit, when the make buy and sell action, when to put stop loss, learn Support & Resistance and more. Creator of Forex Trend Wave also gives advanced version with audio alert.
It is a common thing to find pros and cons on Forex trading system and the cons will call the system as a scam. Well, overall, traders who have tried the system feel satisfy with the system. Determining which system is a scam and which one is the real effective system is quite hard. Traders need a guide to help them understand the quality of a system through a review like forex trend wave review. On http://signalforex.net , traders can get a complete guide including the answer whether a system is a scam or not.
If you more interesting about forex trend wave review visit http://www.signalforex.net/
WORLD FOREX: Eerie Calm Before Greek Elections; Sterling Stumbles - NASDAQ
-- Norwegian krone, Swedish krona and Japanese yen make last-minute safe-haven surge before Greek election weekend
-- Euro holds steady in nervous trading ahead of Greek elections
-- Sterling briefly dives as BOE launches fresh crisis-fighting liquidity measures
By Alexandra Fletcher
Sterling stole the show in early European trade in an otherwise quiet session ahead of the Greek elections, diving against other major currencies as the Bank of England announced a new liquidity facility to help shield the U.K. from euro-crisis fallout, fanning suspicions the central bank is preparing for a rate cut.
The pound shed some 0.3% against the dollar, trading to a low $1.5477 and the euro surged to the day's high of GBP0.8152 as London traders digested the news that the Bank of England will launch its first auction as part of a series of emergency liquidity measures that will offer six-month loans to U.K. banks in exchange for a wide range of collateral.
The announcement of the initiative has prompted expectations that the Bank of England might extend its asset purchasing program, or quantitative easing, at next month's monetary policy meeting, with Barclays--a prominent U.K. bank--shifting its view so that it now expects a boost to so-called QE at the central bank's July meeting.
Further fuelling sterling sellers, the BOE also signaled deepening gloom over the U.K. economy, and concern over euro- crisis fallout. In addition to the liquidity boost, it also kickstarted a new program to encourage banks' lending to businesses.
"The alarm [over the deepening of the euro-zone crisis] in official circles was evident in the new initiatives on bank support... It remains to be seen how effective these two measures will be, and in the meantime we believe there is a strong argument for augmenting them with more QE," said Simon Hayes, an economist at Barclays in London.
However, alarm bells didn't ring for long and sterling rebounded to levels seen overnight during Asian hours.
Elsewhere, the euro was trading steadily, holding onto some small overnight gains against the dollar ahead of the Greek elections this Sunday, the result of which could determine whether Greece stays in the euro zone or not.
Some investors were seeking out safe havens for their cash in advance of the vote that is seen as a referendum on Greece's membership of the common currency. The hunt for safety sent the Norwegian krone to a three-month high against the euro and the Swedish krona to the day's high. The Japanese yen also benefited from safe-haven flows, charging to a one-week high against the dollar.
Looking ahead, after a bad run of U.S. data Thursday, the U.S. June Empire State manufacturing survey is due at 1230 GMT, along with U.S. May industrial production data at 1315 GMT.
At 1005 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.2619 against the dollar, compared with $1.2633 late Thursday in New York, according to trading system EBS. The dollar was at Y78.68 against the yen, compared with Y79.35, while the euro was at Y99.29, compared with Y100.26. Meanwhile, the pound was trading at $1.5548 against the dollar, compared with $1.5563 late Thursday in New York. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, was at 81.786 from about 81.810.
-By Alexandra Fletcher, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9462, alexandra.fletcher@dowjones.com; @djfxtrader
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-15-120734ET Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment