USA Banks News

POUND
Sterling is hovering near a two week high against the US currency this morning and is trading back into 1.20 against the Euro. The pound is very sensitive at the moment to speculation of further QE happening in February and developments with the Greek Private Sector Initiative (PSI) talks. Today is a quiet one for UK economic data but this may well be the calm before the storm with Public sector borrowing figures due tomorrow morning, Mervyn King speaking in the evening, MPC minutes and preliminary (GDP) growth figures due for the last quarter of 2011 on Wednesday. There is also a raft of other data but the GDP number is particularly important as many expect it to show the UK economy contracted at the end of last year, providing further support for QE and forecasts that the economy is dipping back into a recession.

EURO
The Euro is trading relatively flat against the pound but has made further gains against a weaker USD, now trading comfortably into 1.29.

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A funny thing happened in the bond markets last week, although it mostly stayed under the public radar. While attention was (understandably) focused on the downgrades of France, Austria and other EU nations, a few days earlier investors were actually paying to lend the British government money. That’s right: the Treasury auctioned £700m of bonds last Tuesday and sold them at an inflation-adjusted interest rate of -0.116%. The UK is being paid to take cash off the hands of fund managers and bankers.

David Cameron and George Osborne regularly wheel out low borrowing costs as proof that the coalition has pulled off its primary task: of reassuring financiers that Britain is a safe haven. While governments in Rome or Madrid are paying sky-high sums just to conduct their regular business, and the folk at Standard & Poor’s are sucking their teeth over the prospects for Paris, London can still raise cash at super-cheap interest rates.

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The RushCard, one of the worst prepaid cards on the market, has announced a new savings tool and cash-back rewards program that it says “helps hard-working members who want to budget and save, but are finding it difficult to do so with the big banks.”

Don’t be fooled. The card is still a bad deal for consumers and should be avoided.

The new feature, called RushGoals, encourages you to set up Goals savings accounts.

For each month you maintain an average daily balance of $500 or more across your Goals accounts, RushCard will reward you with a $2 credit that will be applied against your monthly fees, $24 a year if you maintain that balance for a full year.

“With RushGoals, we not only give customers money back, we’ll also help them realize their financial goals,” RushCard founder Russell Simmons said. “This is ju

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The LivingSocial deal site is offering a special $10 discount off the first month of their new LivingSocial Plus beta program that provides $25 in free Deal Bucks each month and priority access to closed deals.

You’ll pay just $10 for your first month’s subscription to LivingSocial Plus, which regularly costs $20 per month.

LivingSocial Plus benefits include $25 in free Deal Bucks every month plus priority access to closed deals.

You’ll get your first month’s subscription to LivingSocial Plus for $10, and each subsequent month will be charged at the regular $20 price.

LivingSocial Plus members will receive $25 in Deal Bucks every month, $20 of which will roll over if unused.

You’ll also receive priority access to closed deals.

If you enroll today, you can start using your free Deal Bucks as soon as tomorrow.

You can cancel at any time, so there is no long-term commitment required.

If you are not already a LivingSocial member, you can get a $5 LivingSocial Sign-Up Bonus when you open a free LivingSocial account.

LivingSocial Plus Details

The monthly membership fee of $20 will be automatically charged to your account.

Monthly benefits include $25 Deal Bucks to spend on LivingSocial ($20 will roll over and $5 will expire at the end of each billing period if not used).

You’ll gain access to a priority wait list for closed deals that are subject to availability.

Take advantage of this special promotion to get LivingSocial Plus membership for only $10 for the first month.

POUND
Sterling reached a high of 1.1938 vs. the Euro this morning and is trading within tight ranges against the US currency. The pound having recently hit a 10 month high is likely to remain strong against the Euro and take advantage of any further negative news surrounding the Euro zone debt crisis. UK retail sales (recently out) were slightly weaker than the –03% forecast at –0.4% but the impact of this data is likely to be far less than events in Europe. Whilst the outlook for the UK economy remains bleak, expectations are for further gains against the Euro as investors seek more safety in UK government bonds.

EURO
The Euro is continuing to weaken in the FX markets, reaching a low of 1.2973 against the USD and a ten month low against the pound. This weakness in the single currency is showing no signs of stopping as negative news on the euro zone’s efforts to tackle the debt crisis continues to flood the market. The e

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