Dollar strength has been the dominant trend as we head into the second half of the summer, with the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE: UUP) starting the month at new highs.  These moves have been propelled largely by geopolitical concerns in areas like the Ukraine, Gaza, and Iraq.  Typically, the summer months tend to be market by slower price volatility, but geopolitical concerns like these can have the potential to influence short-term trends in illiquid markets.  Here, we look at the latest technical developments in the forex majors.

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AUD/USD – Australian Dollar vs. US Dollar

Critical Resistance:   0.9505

Critical Support:   0.9210

(Chart Source:  CornerTrader)

AUD/USD Forex Strategy:  Wait for additional pushes lower before getting long again.  Buy at 0.9110, with stop losses below the 0.90 mark in AUD/USD.

The Aussie is starting to show slowing momentum and prices are now rolling over after hitting highs at 0.9505.   Further downside is now expected, given that the AUD failed at 78.6% Fibonacci retracement at 0.95.  Critical support can now be found at 0.92 but any approach of this level would create a head and shoulders pattern on the hourly charts, and a break of 0.92 could be defined as the neckline.  Daily RSI is approaching oversold territory, so bounces are still possible.  The data in these trends has also been confirmed by reports released by FXPips.

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GBP/JPY – British Pound vs. Japanese Yen

Critical Resistance:   1.7530

Critical Support:   1.6950

(Chart Source:  CornerTrader)

GBP/JPY Forex Strategy:  Stay with the positive trend but wait for better buying opportunities, after prices move into oversold territory.  Go long at 1.7050, with a stop loss below 169.50.  

The GBP/JPY is showing a strong uptrend, with long-term highs posted at 175.30  But we are seeing prices drop below the 100-day moving average and break the uptrend line that started back in February.  This suggests that the forex pair has further to fall, and the RSI still has more room to the downside before becoming oversold.  Strong support is not seen until we reach 1.6950, so it is prudent for forex traders to wait until price reach these areas before buying again.

When we think of traditional investments, stocks and mutual funds are probably the first things that come to mind.  But when we think in historical terms, precious metals have been around far longer, and are still actively used by investors today.  Assets like gold and silver have set a strong historical precedent in the marketplace but there can be difficulties when trying to figure out when and how to invest.  There are common market instruments like the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV), but these are typically referred to as “paper assets” because they do not allow you to take ownership is physical assets.

Physical Assets vs. Market Funds

In these cases (GLD and SLV), you are buying into a fund.  This is very different from buying a gold coin or gold bar, and these two asset types will generally not trade at the same value.  For these reasons, most traditional investors feel much more comfortable owning physical gold or silver, which generally comes in the form of jewelry, gold coins, or gold bars.  There is a variety of ways to buy these types of assets but it is important to understand that much of what you might typically see in the financial news headlines does not actually refer to gold prices, but instead to funds that are designed to trade close to the underlying prices in the physical metal.

When To Buy Gold

Now comes the real question:  When is the best time to start buying gold?  Traditionally, investors have used gold as a hedge against price inflation and a falling US Dollar.  When the Dollar is buying, your cash purchasing power is falling, and it will often make sense to start moving into safer assets in order to gain additional financial protection.  Most investment managers recommend that you have at least some precious metals exposure as part of your portfolio.

Gold also tends to perform well during times of uncertainty.  If we think back a few years to the financial crisis of 2008, gold markets began trading in an incredibly strong rally that ultimately reached valuations above $1,900 per ounce.  This was largely because investors were looking for asset security during a time of financial turmoil.  Since gold has one of the longest histories as a stable financial market asset, gold tends to be one of the first choices when the economy starts to look gloomy and negative.

But even when we understand these historical tendencies, there are still difficulties that can be found when you first start trying to invest in gold and other precious metals (like silver or platinum).  Daily commodities market updates at ForexMinute offer a good way for investors to stay ahead of the market and to monitor gold prices as they begin to change.  It can be easy to miss new information and start to make position mistakes if this is not done correctly.  Fortunately, these mistakes can be avoided when we take a conservative approach.

How Long Should You Hold a Gold Investment?

Gold investments tend to be long-term investments.  This means that most people buying exposure in these sectors tend to avoid the “day trader mentality” and hold their positions for extended periods of time.  When price moves occur in gold and other metals, those moves tend to unfold over years (rather than months or days).  This is the reason that a majority of investment advisers recommend obtaining exposure with a “retirement mindset” rather than to assume you will be actively buying and selling your assets on a regular basis.  Fortunately, this makes investments in these areas much easier as you will not be forced to “time the market” and risk significant losses if you happen to buy or sell at the wrong time.

When we look at the price activity seen in recent weeks, it certainly looks like the tide is turning for the Euro and that we are ready to see lower market valuations into next quarter.  From a chart perspective, we have already seen a break in critical support in the 1.3630 region and was a highly bearish move that has built in momentum and sent prices much lower as we head into the middle of June.

On the other side of the coin (looking at the fundamentals), there are plenty of factors that support these moves.  So while the US Dollar has been on the receiving end of most of this year’s selling pressure, there have been many developing reasons for why forex traders should have expected bearish moved in the Euro shared currency.  For stock traders, it will be important to see how the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE:UUP)  and SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSE:SPY) behave in response.  But there is likely to be some carry over into precious metals, as well.  So watch for increased volatility in the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE:GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSE:SLV).

New investors should consider researching these topics further, and learn finance online at Global Finance School.

Sovereign Debt Crisis

Most important is the fact that there is little reason to believe that the Eurozone has officially recovered from its sovereign debt crisis from just a few years back.  If you remember, these negative economic scenarios tyrannized financial news headlines for an extended period of time and then quickly disappeared.  But when we look at the underlying economic data, this lack of attention makes little sense.  What makes even less sense is the fact that the currency has been rallying against the Dollar for most of this year even though the Federal Reserve has made it abundantly clear that its QE stimulus programs will be completed before the end of this year.

Since this essentially means that fewer Dollars will be running through the global economic system (and no real change in the underlying demand for the US currency), the implications here should be bullish for the currency.  But the broader cross-currency correlations have snowballed and the resulting forex news stories for most of the year have involved higher market valuations in the EUR/USD and GBP/USD.  These latest moves signal that a change is afoot and that the market is now ready to correct back toward its fundamentals.  This means that forex traders will need to acknowledge the 11.3% unemployment that is seen in the region as a whole along with the fact that annual growth numbers as measured by GDP clearly favor the US economy on a relative basis.

Chart Perspective:  EUR/USD

But while most of the market has ignored the fundamentals and traded almost entirely using momentum based strategies, the break of 1.3630 has confirmed that a new environment is in place and that the Euro itself is likely to encounter prolonged weakness.  “Critical support for the EUR/USD was originally found at 1.3630, but since this area was invalidated we are not likely to encounter additional support until we reach 1.3480,” according to the expert market analysis team at ForexAbode.  “1.35 is likely to give some psychological support in the interim but the overall bias is clearly bearish given the latest price trajectory.”

Google is said to be negotiating the fine. Industry analysts said that the ruling is a landmark case as this is the first fine imposed by the FTC for internet privacy violation. 

According to reports, Google violated user’s consent decree by planting cookies on Apple’s internet browser. This essentially bypassed Apple’s privacy settings. 

The cookies planted by Google aimed those advertisements targeting Safari users. Google said that they did not expect the cookies to bypass the privacy protections of Safari. The company also pledged to remove the files. 

Jonathan Mayer, a researcher from Stanford, was the first to discover the breach. Mayer published his findings on his blog last February 16. 

Google spokesman Chris Gaither said the company is prepared to cooperate with the commission for any questions. Claudia Bourne Farrell, spokeswoman for the FTC, did not issue a comment. 

The consent decree was signed by Google and the FTC last year. The decree was to settle allegations that the company violated its privacy policies when it launched its social networking service Buzz in 2010. 

Under the 20-year settlement, Google is barred from misrepresenting how the company handles information of users. It also mandates the company to strictly follow policies on consumer data protection. 

According to Centre for Digital Democracy executive director Jeffrey Chester, Google is quickly becoming the poster child of privacy problems.

iPhone 5 is also expected to have a smaller dock connector and is thinner than its predecessor iPhone 4. According to the blog’s sources, the iPhone 5 would measure 125mm by 58.5mm by 7.4mm. The tech giant is also expected to create a major change on the smartphone’s rear casing. 

Other alleged features of iPhone 5 also include a metal panel at the phone’s central back. Sources said that panel would be flat and metallic. 

Of course, nothing is confirmed until Apple has formally unveiled its iPhone 5. To date, Apple has not released an announcement on the launch date of the smartphone and app developers are eagerly awaiting any clues from Apple as to how the operating system might differ from the current models.

Apple fans, however, are hoping that iLounge’s claims are true. The blog has a proven track record when it comes to leaking information related to Apple devices. It was the same blog who leaked features of then iPad 3, claiming the latest Apple tablet is thicker with a better camera feature. The two features were proven correct. 

Some industry observers say they expect the iPhone 5 to be formally launched in late October of this year, in time for the tech giant’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). 

According to Apple Reseller and Care head Michael Oh, however, the company is thinking of not following the tradition of launching a major device during the WWDC. Oh added that Apple may have a different press conference to announce the launch of iPhone 5.

Symantec said the virus targets searches made on Google using Firefox, Safari or Chrome. The virus also directs users to pages that have been determined by the hackers. Symantec is an Internet security firm, which offers anti-virus software. 

Symantec added that when a user clicks an online ad, he is then directed to websites of various publishers and merchants. The hackers earn about eight cents per click instead of Google receiving the amount as referral fee. 

A researcher from Symantec said Google doesn’t receive any money from these hijacked clicks and the tech giant is essentially losing as much as $10,000 in daily revenue. 

Based on Symantec’s research, those affected by Trojan are Macintosh computers. Last month, Apple issued a software update that should prevent Flashback from affecting its computers. The virus was believed to be hijacking Java programs. 

Industry analysts said that Flashback may have affected as many as 600,000 Apple computers globally, with about 30,000 of these in Australia.

The breach was discovered by Dr. Web in early April. Dr. Web is a Russian security firm. Mac users turned to online to express their disappointment over the tech giant. 

Tech bloggers have also advised users to delete Java from their Mac computer if they are not using the software at all. 

The appearance of Flashback in Mac computers has put the spotlight on Apple with industry observers saying more hackers might attempt to hack Apple devices.

The Parliament has ordered a probe to inquire why tech companies have a different pricing for Australian customers. Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy has officially signed off the inquiry.

In his letter to Sydney MP Ed Husic, Conroy said that Australian households and businesses should have access to IT purchases at a fair price.  These purchases include hardware and software like game and music downloads.

The inquiry was welcomed by Choice, a consumer advocate group.

A week ago, Husic revealed that IT companies are charging Aussies more when they buy software online. He showed that a US-based customer would normally pay $199.99 for Microsoft Windows 7 Professional. If a customer buys the same software from an Australian website, he would have to shell out $499, a 125-percent difference.

Technology companies have said that the disparity in the price is because of a number of factors like supply and demand, market size, and overhead costs of support centers. Local taxes and duties are also blamed for the price difference.

Ingrid Just, spokeswoman of Choice, said the move is unacceptable.

The formal inquiry marks the first time when tech companies are called to explain why they sell IT products at exorbitant prices.

Husic said the inquiry should shed light on the situation as more Aussies are wondering why they need to pay more than other overseas customers. He added that the excessive prices would definitely affect small- and medium-based businesses.

The annual event is mounted by tech giant Apple as a venue to showcase its latest products in software and iPhone development. It has also been the venue to announce Apple’s latest gadgets. But not this year. 

The company has just announced that WWDC will take place in San Francisco’s Moscone West on June 11-15. 

According to the company’s head of Apple Reseller and Care Michael Oh, Apple may consider “breaking the normal release cycle” for the iPhone 5. Rumors of the launch of smartphone have been floating for several months now. But Oh said that he sees Apple doing a separate press conference for this. 

Also rumored for launching at the WWDC are the latest in the MacBook Pro line, as well as a state of the art high-resolution Retina displays. Oh, however, expects the June event will be all about the latest in Apple’s operating system and software, such as a “more baked version” of the Mountain Lion OS. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook is also expected to make his keynote speech. Industry observers said Cook’s speech might be different from what former Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs used to do. Oh said Cook will not imitate Job’s style. 

The WWDC conference has over 100 hands-on lab technicians and more than a thousand of Apple’s engineers. Last year, representatives from over 60 countries attended the event.

Industry sources say that the sixth-generation iPhone may include a 3D camera which will have huge implications for iPhone application development. According to Patently Apple, the tech giant has filed for a patent on a new 3D imaging camera that is both applicable to video and photography.

Patently Apple is a news site that provides updates on Apple’s intellectual property moves. The patent application was filed by the tech giant in the third quarter of 2011.

According to the site, the camera will feature depth-detection sensors like RADAR, LIDAR and Laser. These sensors can use stereo disparity maps to create 3D images. The blog post also revealed that the cameras boast of advanced luminance sensors and chrominance, which are essential elements in superior color accuracy.

Industry observers note that if the rumors are true, the 3D image capturing would be, by far, the most advanced camera technology the market will have. Current 3D cameras have limited depth-perception capability.

Although Apple has not issued a statement, many are speculating and hoping that iPhone 5 will have these features.

Sources have also noted that Foxconn, the China-based supplier of Apple, has hired 20,000 additional workers in their factories. Speculations swirl that these would work on the iPhone 5.

Apple’s latest iPhone 4S was launched last October 11. It was the first Apple smartphone launched without Steve Jobs, who by then was battling with cancer and could not make his traditional unveiling speech. Jobs died a day after the iPhone 4S launch.

A screenshot of Google Drive has been leaked, further fueling rumors of its cloud service. It appears that an employee of Google accidentally accessed the service during a seminar held in a Brazilian university.

University student Pedro Henrique Moschetta took a photo of the image and sent it digital news website Mashable. Google Enterprise director Joao Itaqui hosted the seminar when Moschetta noticed the “Drive” option in Itaqui’s Google toolbar.

According to Moschetta, the Drive icon appeared between sites options and Calendar. When asked for comment, Google refused to issue a statement, saying the company doesn’t comment on speculations. Rumor has it that Google Drive will be launched next week.

The app is available in Apple store. Earlier this year, a draft release also leaked online and showed that use of this is free. Google Drive also appears to offer as much as 5GB of storage.

Industry observers expect that the competition for cloud service would intensify once Google Drive has been officially launched.

Apple launched its iCloud last June 2011 as a cloud computing and storage service. It allows users to store different data like photos, music, documents, books, etc. on remote computer servers and can be accessed through different devices.

The iCloud has been well-received by users. Based on its latest data, the iCloud has more than 100 million users worldwide.