الأحد، 25 أبريل 2010

pofme.com New Google Chrome Ads Show Off Extensions and Translate [VIDEOS]







pofme.com New Google Chrome Ads Show
Off Extensions and Translate [VIDEOS]










Google has just released two new
ads on YouTube to showcase some
features of its web browser,
Chrome. Extensions and Translate
are two components that flesh
out users’ browsing experiences
while simplifying online actions
at the same time.

The spots
were created by agency

BBH
, and they’re drop dead
adorable.The first illustrates
how users can add more
functionality and personalize
their Chrome browsers with
extensions, including ones that
support Twitter, images,
lightboxing and bookmark
syncing. The video features Fats
Waller’s “(Do You Intend to Put
an End To) A Sweet Beginning?”



































The second spot shows off Chrome’s native
translation capabilities. The song in this video is
“Plastic Sunshine” by Steven Stern and Stuart Hart.
































BBH’s Executive Creative Director, Pelle Sjoenell,
commented on the accessible feel of the spots. “We
wanted to make cousins or nephews to the 2009 films
that we created to drive awareness of the overall
benefits of Chrome. For Translation we want people
to feel the magic of something being automatically
translated right in front of them, just like Chrome
does. For Extensions, we wanted to put forward the
great benefits of adding Extensions to your Chrome
browser. Both are un-tech-like product demos,
showing the work and genius going on behind creating
something that’s essentially very simple to use.”


Without a doubt, these ads give Chrome a magical
quality akin to Willy Wonka and Rube Goldberg — a
much more user-friendly approach than an attempt to
explain the technology or a real-life demo of
Extensions or Translate. What do you think of these
new spots?









pofme.com 8 of the Best Chrome Extensions for Web Designers







pofme.com 8 of the Best Chrome
Extensions for Web Designers







Google Chrome’s
popularity is rising, but while web designers are
likely to be among the earliest adopters of new web
technology, they’re not likely to make a dramatic
change to their workflow and toolset by switching
browsers completely until they’re confident all the
features they need are available.

Since Chrome’s extension support launched, the
browser has become a much more viable tool for web
design and development. Whether it can replace
Firefox() or not depends on your personal
preferences and needs, but you won’t know until you
try. That’s why we’ve spoken with experienced web
design professionals about Chrome() to compile this
list of extensions that will help you make the
transition.


We’ve included some of
the designers’ favorites below, along with their
comments on what makes these extensions useful. Do
you have some other helpful extensions in mind?
Share them with us in the comments.





 


This extension was far
and away the most frequently recommended during our
talks with experienced web designers. POSTSCRIPT5
owner

Grace Smith
explained it this way: “Firebug Lite
allows you to inspect the HTML, CSS and Javascript
code live in any page, You’re also able to edit the
code and test the new changes immediately.”


Firebug was originally a
Firefox extension, and the Chrome version came
later. “While not as advanced as its Firefox
counterpart, it’s perfectly suited for doing basic
inspection of elements,” said Smith.







Speed Tracer records how
much time your web app spends on various tasks and
tries to figure out where the bottlenecks in
performance are. You can use that information to
speed up the user experience. The extension can tell
you how much time the browser is spending
interpreting JavaScript, for example.


The downside to Speed
Tracer is that it’s a little complicated and
unwieldy to use. For example, you have to run the
browser with the command line flag
“–enable-extension-timeline-api.” On that subject,
Web Developer Toolbar creator

Chris Pederick
said, “It’s a little overwhelming
at first and I’m still learning how to use it, but
with performance continuing to be an important
factor in developing sites it’s a great tool.”





 


You can use this
extension to select any area of the visible screen —
either a custom space or the entire web page — to
export to an image file.You can also share the
screenshot to Pixlr imm.i
or modify it in Pixlr’s editor. It’s a good tool for
analyzing your own work or admiring the work of
others.


The features are neat,
but the main draw is speed. Design Informer editor

Jad Limcaco
called it “very useful, especially
when you need to screenshot something very quickly.”





With EyeDropper, you can
identify any color on a website you’re viewing. It
comes with a color picker tool that will tell you
the pixel’s HTML color code and RGB levels. Once
you’ve picked a color you’ll also see where it
belongs on the included color wheel.


Grace Smith describes
this one as “a simple color picker which allows you
to select any area on a web page to see what color
is being used.” The boon for your workflow: “It can
certainly save some of those regular trips to
Photoshop!”





 


Picnik could be
described as an alternative to Pixlr Grabber since
it helps you capture images from a website and edit
them on the fly, but it’s different enough that it
merits a separate mention. Picnik doesn’t just make
an image from a defined space on the web page; it
lets you isolate and edit any existing image on the
page. The editing tools are easy to use, but they’re
obviously not as powerful as something like
Photoshop.


C3M Digital President

Chris Olbekson
advocated Picnik to us. “I used
Picnic for Chrome to capture and edit images in the
browser,” he said. “I also use it for taking screen
shots of web pages I am designing to keep track of
revisions for my clients.”


Picnik was recently

acquired by Google
.





Web Developer Toolbar
was originally a popular Firefox extension, but it’s
available for Chrome now, too. It does a myriad of
things with CSS, HTML, forms, and images. You just
click a button in the top-right corner of the
browser to view all the options. Consider it a jack
of all trades extension; you can view CSS or disable
CSS styles, resize things and more.


Chris Pederick created
Web Developer Toolbar for Firefox, and he’s working
on the Chrome version now. “It’s still in the early
stages of development, but it’s a good start to move
some of the features from the Firefox version of the
plugin over to Chrome,” he admitted. “I’m working on
the next release right now in fact which will
include the ‘Edit CSS’ functionality.”





 


Use this extension to
create random, dummy text on the fly so you can fill
out your designs and get a sense for the aesthetics
when no copy has been written for the site yet. It
just takes a couple clicks, and it’s not complicated
at all. Grace Smith called the Lorem Ipsum Generator
“a web designer’s favorite filler.” She also said
that “it’s uncomplicated, minimalist and isn’t
memory hungry.”


 


 


 Pendule
is a pop-up control panel loaded with tasks helpful
to designers. Like the Web Developer Toolbar, it can
serve as a catch-all extension for web designers.
Jad Limcaco called this one “a very powerful tool”
that “lets you do a myriad of things.” A few of its
notable features: a pixel ruler, an eye dropper, a
color picker, and several script validators. You can
also use it to reload or disable CSS, view
JavaScript and hide images.


 









pofme.com Google Chrome Ditches http://







pofme.com Google Chrome Ditches
http://






When you see some text prefixed by “http://” you
automatically know that what follows is a web
address, as defined by the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol. The question is — since most web addresses
are easily recognizable anyway — do you really need
it?


The developers of Google Chrome() don’t think you
do, so they simply chose to hide it in a developer
version of Chrome.


The solution might not be that simple, though.
You can hide the http:// bit from a web address, but
it doesn’t mean it’s not really there. Worse — as
seen from the comments from the Chromium wiki
thread, where this feature was actually reported as
a bug — it might cause problems for users.


“Many blogs, message boards, email viewing
software, instant messaging software, etc. depend on
matching against http:// to auto-link URLs. Removing
http:// will train end-users to omit it, which will
have a negative impact on usability all over the
web,” one commenter says.


An example of this is Google Talk’s()
auto-linking of URL fragments; other issues include
copying and pasting web addresses and other related
bugs. The folks at Chrome() are right about one
thing: The “http://” part of the web address serves
little purpose and mostly creates noise. The
question is: Will hiding it solve the problem?









pofme.com Search Suggest Comes to Google Maps







pofme.com Search Suggest Comes to
Google Maps






Google Suggest — the often amusing auto-suggest
feature in search boxes — has made its way to Google
Maps today.


Previously only available in Germany, China, Hong
Kong and Taiwan, the feature is now available on 10
new domains — including the U.S. and the U.K — and
in eight new languages.


Now as you type out your Google Maps() queries,
Google() will automatically suggest the places,
businesses and points of interest that are relevant
to who you are, where you’re searching and how
zoomed into the map you are. It’s a more
personalized experience that is designed to help you
find your desired destination faster.



In practice, the Suggest for Google Maps feature
proved to be extremely handy and should be a welcome
addition to your Google Maps experience. Maps users
in Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy,
Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the United States or the
United Kingdom can start using Suggest immediately












pofme.com Mint Doubles Network to Include Nearly All U.S. Banks







pofme.com Mint Doubles Network to
Include Nearly All U.S. Banks






Today, personal finance web app
Mint
is announcing that the number of financial
institutions it works with — and the number of
consumers it’s prepared to serve — will grow by
leaps and bounds.


Last fall, Mint was acquired for $170 million by

Intuit
, the makers of Quicken and TurboTax. Mint
has incorporated Intuit’s coverage capabilities to
connect to a vast network of banks, credit unions
and credit card companies throughout the United
States.


Mint’s stats show that most Americans have an
average of 11 different financial companies that
they work with. As a result, Mint is only truly
valuable as long as all those accounts can be
managed from a central location.


“Intuit Financial Services directly serve banks,
so its aggregations works better than anything else
out there,” said Aaron Patzer, vice president and
general manager of Intuit’s personal finance group.
“This is an incredible benefit that results from
Mint.com becoming part of Intuit. If you’ve tried
Mint.com in the past and you couldn’t connect to one
of your checking, savings, or credit card accounts,
come back and check us out.”


Currently, Mint has three million users. Patzer
said that users’ top request from Mint was to
support more banks and make information more timely
and accurate. Transaction information will now be
available for twice the number of accounts Mint
could previously access, a total of more than 16,000
financial institutions and 17 million individual
accounts. Moreover, Mint has added access for the 20
most-requested financial institutions.




You can leave a response, or





pofme.com Canadian Dollar and Parity







pofme.com Canadian Dollar and Parity




Canadian Dollar and Parity

The Canadian Dollar’s performance of late has
been eerily redolent of its sudden rise in 2007,
when propelled by nothing more than sheer
momentum, it rose 20% against the Dollar and
breached the parity mark (1:1) en route to a
30-year high. [Of course, we all remember what
happened next: the credit crisis struck, and the
Loonie plummeted even faster than it had risen].

 






Last week, the Canadian Dollar breached parity
again, and after a brief retreat, it touched parity
again today. On the one hand, this latest rise was
simply a matter of making up for the ground lost in
2008, when risk-averse investors shifted capital en
masse to the US. On the other hand, Canadian
fundamentals are fairly strong, and that the Loonie
is once again at parity is deservedly so.


Last week’s

jobs report
was pretty solid, but the Canadian
unemployment rate is still high, at 8.2%, mirroring
the “jobless recovery” phenomenon in the US.
According to the Bank of Canada’s own estimates, GDP
growth is projected at a healthy 3.7% for 2010,
thanks to a strong recovery in oil and commodity
prices. As a result, the

Bank of Canada
has finally given the indication
that it is ready to hike interest rates, perhaps as
soon as July.  After concluding its monthly meeting
yesterday, it noted, “With recent improvements in
the economic outlook, the need for such
extraordinary policy is now passing, and it is
appropriate to begin to lessen the degree of
monetary stimulus.”


On the other hand, one has to wonder how long the
momentum in the Canadian Dollar can continue. While
Canada’s economic recovery has indeed been strong,
it is no more impressive than the recovery in the
US. (In fact, it should be noted that the two
economies remain deeply intertwined). In addition,
the (Canadian) economy is already expected to slow
down slightly in 2011 (3.1%), and slow further in
2012 (1.7%), which makes me wonder whether the Bank
of Canada will have to tighten slightly in order to
achieve its inflation objectives. Moreover, while
the BOC will probably hike rates slightly before the
Fed, the arc of monetary policy followed by the two
Central Banks will probably be pretty similar for
the next few years, regardless of what happens.
 This means that interest rate differentials between
the two economies should remain pretty close to the
current level (near 0%), and won’t expand enough to
make a CAD/USD carry trading strategy viable.


It seems the

futures
markets concur, as the Canadian Dollar
is projected to hover around parity with the USD for
the bulk of the next 12 months. Granted, futures
prices have pretty closely mirrored the Canadian
Dollar’s performance in the spot market, but the
point is that investors seem to expect the CAD/USD
exchange rate to settle down for a while.





Remarked

one analyst
, “The Canadian dollar parity party
is in full swing, however further Canadian gains
will be at a much slower pace as the existing long
Canadian positions get trimmed on profit taking in
the absence of new bullish Canadian catalysts.”
Incidentally, this is exactly what the Bank of
Canada wants, and spent the better part of 2009
trying to convey to forex markets. If the Loonie
were to rise further, it could threaten the economic
recovery, and at the very least, the BOC would
proba1bly hold off on hiking rates.


In the end, 1:1 does seem like a reasonable
exchange rate. I haven’t seen any economic models
that argue one way or the other, but it certainly
makes sense from the standpoint of convenience and
market psychology. Barring any unforeseen
developments, I don’t see it fluctuating very much
in the short-term, one way or the other.









pofme.com A Potential Greek Default, Upcoming UK Election and Rising Sovereign Debt Risk Threatens the FX Market







pofme.com A Potential Greek Default,
Upcoming UK Election and Rising Sovereign Debt Risk
Threatens the FX Market




If we were to apply the United States Department of
Homeland Security’s Threat Level System to the
global financial markets, we would surely be in the
orange sector (‘high’ risk) moving on to red
(‘severe’ risk). There has been a range of
fundamental uncertainties that have undermined the
outlook for a stable and healthy future for growth
and investment turnover; but investor sentiment (as
irrational as human behavior itself) has maintained
its bullish bearing thanks to the hope for higher
returns and a general disregard of building risks.

• A Potential Greek Default, Upcoming UK Election
and Rising Sovereign Debt Risk Threatens the FX
Market

• Risk Factors Multiply for the Currency and
Financial Markets but Benchmark Remain Stubbornly
Buoyant

• The IMF Upgrades Growth Forecasts, Switches
Concern from Write Downs to Government Deficits




If we were to apply the United States Department
of Homeland Security’s Threat Level System to the
global financial markets, we would surely be in the
orange sector (‘high’ risk) moving on to red
(‘severe’ risk). There has been a range of
fundamental uncertainties that have undermined the
outlook for a stable and healthy future for growth
and investment turnover; but investor sentiment (as
irrational as human behavior itself) has maintained
its bullish bearing thanks to the hope for higher
returns and a general disregard of building risks.
However, feigning ignorance to the immediate and
distant threats to stable markets is growing
exponentially more difficult. Not only are the
relentless concerns over a downshift in economic
expansion and ballooning government debt hanging
over the market; but now there are immediate
concerns that have the capability to spark an actual
crisis. News of Greece’s deficit revision (its ratio
to GDP was increased) and the subsequent downgrade
to its national credit rating adds significant
pressure to an already strained market. And yet,
price action has yet to bear out the increased risk.
Looking to the benchmarks for the financial markets,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average has maintained its
incredible two-and-a-half month climb while US-based
crude oil futures have held above $80 per barrel.
For the currency market, the Carry Trade Index has
climbed back up to test the swing highs from October
and January with notable returns from high yielders
like the Australian dollar and stubbornness from
fundamentally-weakened currencies like the Euro.
This dramatic divergence between expected value and
realized price doesn’t come as a surprise
considering how long the markets have run askew of
fundamentals. However, the sheer lack of risk
premium in instruments like default swaps, options
and volatility gauges in the face of such events
presents a blaring warning sign for how significant
a correction in sentiment and markets can be.


For the speculator, taking on risk for the
prospect of moderately higher return is perhaps easy
to justify. Given the capital appreciation through
2009 and the initial recovery in yields (which
traditionally translates into capital gains as
well), investors see the opportunity to recover from
losses suffered during the financial crisis and take
advantage of extraordinarily low rates on loans and
leverage. As for the risks entailed with exposing
themselves to the possibility of a significant
correction from overextended markets, well, there is
a precedence for government intervention to stem the
bleeding. However, the world’s governments are
already pushed their limits to the point where
sovereign debt risk is now the IMF’s (International
Monetary Fund) primary concern for financial
stability going forward. What does that mean? If
indeed there was a crisis, policy officials may be
unable to save the day – whether they wanted to or
not. For this reason, it is essential to monitor the
most fluid situations and the market’s
interpretation of these imposing matters. The most
pressing threat is Greece’s future. The EU and IMF
are struggling to come agree on terms to craft a
viable rescue package for the pained economy. This
is particularly concerning given doubts that the
full measures of the rumored bailout would not
likely salvage the country regardless. Since
receiving a tentative promise of up to 45 billion
euros, the nation’s deficit ratio was boosted to
13.6 percent (from 12.7 percent) and Moody’s has
downgraded the country to investment grade. The
potential here is violent; but ultimately it would
only be a spark for even greater troubles. The next
dominos to tip could be credit liquidity and
sovereign debt yields









pofme.com Euro Losses Relatively Tame Considering Threat Level on Greece Has Jumped







pofme.com Euro Losses Relatively Tame
Considering Threat Level on Greece Has Jumped




•    Dollar Rallies on Growing Greek Default
Concerns Despite Stubborn Risk Trends

•    Euro Losses Relatively Tame Considering Threat
Level on Greece Has Jumped

•    British Pound Drifts Through Lending and
Mortgage Figures, Can GDP Rouse Traders?

•    Canadian Dollar Tripped up by Monetary Policy
Report, Looks to Heavy-Hitting Data

•    Japanese Yen Receives Another Warning About its
Financial Health

 

Dollar Rallies on Growing Greek Default Concerns
Despite Stubborn Risk Trends

It was a crazed and unusual day for the financial
markets. Investor sentiment was delivered a shock by
startling developments in Greece’s painful descent
into default; but the reaction would not be as
straightforward as one would expect. Taking on its
own progression through the day, the action began
with news from the European Union’s statistical
group that Greece’s initial estimates for its own
debt load were low ball figures. Now at 13.6 percent
of GDP (with the possibility that it could
eventually top 14 percent), this floundering nation
is finding itself in an even deeper hole that it
will have to dig itself out from. Adding to this
burden, the revision to its deficit would draw a
downgrade from Moody’s, officially raising the
possibility that default and further boosting its
cost of financing. What does all of this mean for
the global financial markets and more specifically
the dollar? The risks to general stability across
the speculative markets have grown substantially
over the months all while positioning has pushed
further out onto a limb. What is needed to curb risk
appetite and ultimately lead to an unwinding of this
premium build up is a definitive catalyst. If Greece
were indeed to fall into arrears, the implications
would obviously be dire for the euro; but could also
catalyze a credit seizure and market-wide financial
crisis. In this scenario, the greenback will be
bolstered by its safe haven appeal. And, while some
would argue that the United States’ own debt load
could encourage an unfavorable slant though
sovereign debt risk; the inevitable flight to safety
will likely be so aggressive that the dollar will
attract funds from overextended emerging markets and
comparatively risky advance economies.






Moving from the dollar’s role as a harbor from
turmoil to its own fundamental appeal, we have
actually seen the case for yield-based strength
temper over the past week. In contrast to the rise
in its value as a safe haven, interest rate
forecasts have notably slumped. Fed Fund futures are
now only pricing in a better than 50 percent chance
of at least a quarter point hike until December.
More sensitive to the fluctuations in expectations,
market forecasts through overnight index swaps (from
Credit Suisse) are pricing in a mere 71 basis points
of hikes over the coming 12 months. This is
significantly below the near 100 basis points
forecasted just a few weeks ago; and more
importantly, it cuts the premium that the Fed held
over the ECB (56 bps) and BoE (56 bps)
significantly. Where is this doubt seeping in?
Ironically, the IMF’s upgrades to US GDP may
actually have something to do with it. While the
figures for 2010 and 2011 were upgraded, the notable
downshift in pace between the two years is becoming
harder to ignore. Like its peers, the world’s
largest economy is likely to cool as the
responsibility for growth is shifted from government
stimulus to actual business and consumer demand. The
greater detraction though comes from the inflation
argument. Without price pressures, the Fed could
keep rates low to promote growth and fiscal
stability through the foreseeable future. It is only
the side effect of rapid inflation that makes this
impossible to sustain. However, today’s
factory-level inflation data for the month of March
further reduced fears of such an event. While the
headline annualized pace of the Producer Price Index
was 6.0 percent (in line with expectations), the
core figure for the same period was a mere 0.9
percent. There isn’t much pressure in the pipeline.


The other notable fundamental release for the day
was the rise in existing home sales for last month.
The 6.8 percent jump in deals to a 5.35 million rate
of turnover for the year doesn’t fully offset the
sharp declines in December in January; but it does
point to much needed stability. Looking ahead to
tomorrow, we may see some temporary volatility
through durable goods and new home sales data.


Related: Discuss the US Dollar in the DailyFX
Forum, Dollar Enjoys Safe Haven Status, Loses
Interest Rate Potential


Euro Losses Relatively Tame Considering Threat
Level on Greece Has Jumped

How much more convincing do policy officials need
that Greece is on the path to default. News today
that the nation’s deficit-to-GDP ratio is 0.9
percentage points higher than originally reported
(at 13.6 percent) and could further rise an
additional 0.5 percentage points has further added
to a burden that had already seemed insurmountable.
Before this announcement there was doubt that the
country could rouse the necessary funds to fund its
debts while riding out a probable recession to meet
the necessary austerity cuts to meet the EU’s
conditions for accessing loans. The hole is now even
deeper and Moody’s has subsequently reduced Greece’s
Sovereign credit rating to A3. Fortunately the ECB
announced changes to its collateral rules that
prevented such a change from preventing the
country’s ability to access liquidity from the
central bank. This will only lengthen the long, hard
road to recovery; and the economic and social impact
this will have will not likely be tolerated.
Politicians are probably already going through the
logistics of a default; but when will the market?


British Pound Drifts Through Lending and Mortgage
Figures, Can GDP Rouse Traders?

Yet another round of heavy-hitting economic data
from the United Kingdom has crossed the wires with
only limited impact on the pound itself. Thursday
ushered in a larger than expected increase in
mortgage approvals through March (52,000) as well as
smaller than expected increases in public. However,
it is important to put these timely changes into
context. Housing is at risk of stalling in a
recovery born largely through a lack of supply. More
importantly, public debt has soared over time and
led sovereign debt risk to dangerous levels. The
regular fundamental docket requires a real shock to
overcome the stabilizing effect of the upcoming
general election. Perhaps the advanced 1Q GDP data
can step up…


Canadian Dollar Tripped up by Monetary Policy
Report, Looks to Heavy-Hitting Data

Yesterday, the IMF upgraded its growth outlook for
Canada from 2.6 to 3.1 percent. Today, the Bank of
Canada set its own prediction for 1Q growth to an
impressive 5.8 percent clip. Everything seems to be
going the loonie’s way. However, there is reason for
doubt. Despite the leading rate of recovery,
Canada’s recovery is also destined to cool according
to the central bank as stimulus gives way to
consumer spending.


Japanese Yen Receives Another Warning About its
Financial Health

It is difficult to see the Japanese yen for its own
merits. The low interest rate and active sentiment
changes have pegged the single currency as a carry
currency in heavy risk-based winds. However, Japan
is the world’s second largest economy and a vast
source of capital. The stability of this wealth is
at risk according to Fitch. The rating agency set
its debt-to-GDP forecast a 2.1 percent and warned of
a future downgrade.









pofme.com Loonie Resumed its Rise Against U.S. Dollar







pofme.com Loonie Resumed its Rise
Against U.S. Dollar






The Canadian dollar resumed today the rise against
its U.S. counterpart, after it dropped yesterday,
on speculation that the central bank will increase
the interest rates, signaling about the waning need
for stimulus measures.


The Bank
of Canada
reported that the economic growth will
expand by 5.8 percent through the first quarter,
while inflation will rise to 2 percent in the third
quarter of 2010 and remain near that level until
the end of 2012.

Mark Carney
, the Governor of the Bank of Canada,
explained that he dropped the conditional pledge
to hold the rates at the record low level till July
as it is no longer necessary.


The evidences that the central bank will raise
the interest rates are becoming stronger.
The analysts say that the Canadian currency has hard
time to remain at parity at present, but in the long
run it should outperform the greenback.


USD/CAD traded today at about 0.9989 as of 18:24
GMT after opening at 0.9995 and reaching its daily
low of 0.9958. EUR/CAD traded near 1.3301 after
opening at 1.3385.


If you want to comment on the Canadian dollar’s
recent action or have any questions regarding this
currency, please, feel free to reply below.









pofme.com Fear of Budget Shortage Strangles Euro







Fear of Budget Shortage Strangles Euro






The euro sank today to almost the lowest level
in a year against the U.S. dollar as the possibility
that Greece will be forced to activate the rescue
package increased after the announcement that
the Greece’s deficit the last year was higher than
previously estimated.


After the meeting of the European leaders with
their Greek counterparts, which was held to discuss
the proposed bailout, the report showed that
the nation’s budget shortage was 13.6 percent
of gross domestic product in 2009, higher than
previously estimated. The Greece’s government may
delay or cut payments to bond investors during
the negotiations about the terms of the bailout.


The growing concern about the Greece’s budget
deficit and worries that other European countries
will experience the same problem drives the euro
these days. Until the European Union’s government
find the way to lessen these fears the euro will
remain inherently weak.


EUR/USD traded near 1.3298 as of 16:07 GMT today,
falling from its opening level of 1.3389. EUR/JPY
traded at 123.77 after it opened at 124.76.


If you want to comment on the Euro’s recent
action or have any questions regarding this
currency, please, feel free to reply below.