The US dollar was weaker versus the euro and the yen on Friday after the Labor Department reported that 80,000 jobs were lost in the United States in March, more than had been expected by analysts.

At just before noon in New York the dollar was trading at $1.5730 to the euro while it was at ¥101.7450 in relation to the yen.

The yen was helped by a retreat from carry trades as investor sentiment was hurt by the US jobs report.

The yen traded at ¥160.0398 to the euro.

The pound was down in relation to the euro and the greenback on worries that recession in the US could hurt economic growth in the UK.

In late morning trade in New York the pound traded at 78.82p to the euro and at 50.11p to the dollar.

Meanwhile, the South African rand declined versus major currencies on the avoidance of carry trades.

Earlier in the week the rand was stronger on signs that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe could be on his way out of power after elections there.

Mugabe has presided over a weakening of the Zimbabwe economy that has left the inflation rate there at 164,000 percent.

In New York around noon the rand traded at R7.8035 to the dollar and at R12.275 to the euro.

The US dollar weakened versus the yen on Tuesday for the sixth session in a row on increasing sentiment that the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point this month, to 2.25 percent.

Declines for the dollar also came after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke urged banks to write down more mortgage debt and forgive those debts to homeowners at risk of defaulting on their home loans.

The yen also gained on the euro during the day’s session, trading at ¥156.5302 to the euro and at ¥102.8350 to the dollar in late morning trade in New York.

The pound also gained on the greenback as analysts cut back on their estimates of how much the Bank of England will cut interest rates this year, going as high as $1.9891 to the pound before slipping back to $1.9859 to the pound just after 11 a.m. in New York.

The pound was weaker, however, versus the euro, trading at 76.65p to the shared currency in New York.

The Australian dollar declined versus its US counterpart as the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates there to 7.25 percent but some analysts said that they believe rates will not go up again for awhile.

In addition, the Bank’s governor said that consumer spending in Australia seems to be moderating.

In late afternoon trade in New York, it cost 92.81 cents US to buy an Australian dollar.

The weakness of the U.S. dollar and the possibility of lower interest rates have drawn fresh investment to the oil market, driving the price of oil to over $103 per barrel for the first time.

An energy analyst said such conditions tend to drive investment away from currency and toward commodities, such as oil, which retain an intrinsic value while currency markets fluctuate. He said, however, that a bubble is emerging.

The analyst, Victor Shum of Purvin & Gertz, said investors are ignoring market fundamentals that indicate steady increases in U.S. crude oil supply, while forecasters predict slower growth in oil demand due to the stagnant economy.

Source: news.yahoo.com

When looking for sources of credit in this tight credit market, you might want to take a look at discount payday loans. These types of loans are set up for people who may not be able to get credit under other conventional means either due to bad credit or other factors. You do want to read the loan information provided by the lender that you choose, as the terms can differ across lenders.

Generally, the cash advance (as it is sometimes called) is provided upon verifying employment. Initial loans, for new borrowers, can be discounted payday loans in that they waive the $30 fee associated with the loan. Your credit history will not be checked. The initial loans are sometimes limited to smaller amounts like $300. After you understand the process, you can take out loans for a greater amount, however, it will still be a small loan of up to $600. These types of loans are perfect for emergencies like broken refrigerators and unforeseen medical expenses. They are not recommended for continuous use and there are even limits to how many loans you can withdraw in a year, in some cases.

The loan information given in your agreement will specify repayment terms. Ideally, you should repay the payday loan on the first paycheck cycle after you're taken the loan. This will keep fees down to a minimum. You can then get another loan later, after you're repaid the first. There may be limits on the number of loans you can withdraw in one year. If you want to get another free cash advance (no fee), then some programs will allow you to refer other people to the service and offer you a free loan for the referral. This is another way you can tap discounted loans for future use.

If you are going to be successful as an investor, you must take the time to identify companies with adequate financing, great management, realistic market capitalization, solid properties and etc.

It is the worrisome aspects of the current market -- when all of us are feeling on edge about the risks -- that makes this a good time to invest.

People do dumb things when they are scared:

Like selling great companies, or sit on the sidelines, keeping their "Powder Dry for the Brighter Days!"

And when the brighter days come ...

They will do even dumber things, like spend twice, or ten times, the current ask for the same shares.

They'll be buying those shares from ...

“The Experts!”

The key is to buy when everyone is afraid (like right now), and sell when everyone is confident (in the coming mania).

If you don't have a tolerance for risk, or a willingness to do enough homework to reduce the risk, you really shouldn't be investing -- any more than you should invest with money you can't afford to lose!

By definition, any investment that can turn dimes into dollars can also turn dollars into dimes if you aren't attentive.

This isn't an arena for amateurs ...

Although I do expect millions of complete amateurs will be in it over the next few months.

But if you can handle the risk, there is a very serious opportunity for you to get well positioned ...

Try not to miss it!

Haramis - Stock Brokers - Athens, Greece

Betting on information from people who supposedly have the inside story on a company is extremely dangerous!

Everyone has an opinion and chances are they do not have all the facts. In my experience, trading on tips from these "reliable" sources have always given me the same results:

I lose money!

There is also "Your Brother-In-Law" theory, not highly recommended by anyone ... but followed all too often by many investors!

Your brother-in-law, or "some guy at work," tells you about a stock that is "really going to make you a lot of money." You know nothing about the stock but you rush out and buy a hundred shares nevertheless.

I think the right word for this group is "losers."

Would you buy a stock because an "expert" on TV or a paper says it is a great investment?

Chances are, they or their company own too much of this stock and need to get rid of it.

It is called "Pump and Dump."

Pump up how great the stock is, then dump it when unwitting investors buy it because they think it is a great investment and it is really not.

I am not saying that every "great" stock that is mentioned on TV or in the papers is actually a dud; sometimes they really are high flyers, but I would not put money on them just because some "expert" recommended them!

Would you invest in a stock because of a friend's tip?

It depends ...

But before you decide, check out what he "really" knows about it, and do a thorough research of your own!

Parrot - Stockbroker

Would you place your trust and invest your hard earned money on rumors and street talk?

No!

While we do actually say "buy the rumor" and "sell the fact," on the other hand, how many times didn't the rumor just remained a worthless rumor?

Always try to get unbiased opinion. Ask yourself about the motive behind the "tip." This might save you from a lot of trouble. Besides, you don't need the "tip!"

All it takes to "beat the market" is commonsense thinking, plain good old time dealing and ...

Patience!

People tend to feel sorrow and grief after having made an error in judgement.

Investors deciding whether to sell or buy a security are typically emotionally affected by whether the security was bought or sold for more or less than the current price.

One theory is that investors avoid selling stocks that are going down, in order to avoid the fear, pain and regret of having made a bad investment.

On the other hand, they also avoid selling when prices are going up, because they are very greedy and are afraid that the price will keep on going up.

Many people are wondering why they didn't take their i.e. 50% or 200% gains when they had the chance. Most investors will rationalize they ran these high gains down because they were afraid they would lose even higher profits.

In my opinion, for many of these investors, it was just plain greed that prevented them from selling their stocks.

Every experienced trader knows that fear and greed are two emotions that can dramatically affect your success in the market.

You have to deal with controlling greed and fear every single day. Although there are no easy answers when it comes to the stock market, of one thing I am certain:

If you are a greedy trader and always try to squeeze every last point out of every trade, it's only a matter of time before you end up with a lot less than you actually started with!

Oliver Velez of www.Pristine.com says that greed is "that little monster that resides in every single individual." Part of our success in the market, he says, is learning when to give this little monster a little bit more room to operate and when to curtail its actions.

"Every single event has two ultimate outcomes -- either a win or a loss," says Velez. "Greed can make you gaze at the stars without having any consideration of the rocks below. It can prevent you from considering the fact that there is a downside and establishing a stop loss, or developing a systematic way of exiting or aborting a trade if in fact things don't work out."

The embarrassment of having to report the loss to others may also contribute to the tendency not to sell losing or gaining investments.

Some researchers theorize that investors follow the crowd and conventional wisdom to avoid the possibility of feeling regret in the event that their decisions prove to be incorrect.

Many investors find it easier to buy a popular stock and rationalize it going down since everyone else owned it and thought so highly of it.

It is this time of the year ...

The time of the earnings season again.

The part of each yearly quarter where investors always believe that it doesn't really matter whether a company does well or bad!

It is this time of the year that the only thing that really counts is whether a company did better or worse than actually expected or "forecasted."

In plain words, it is fine for a company to get heavy losses, as long as the extent of the predicted, forecasted or expected decline is at least a little less than the analysts had been expecting.

At the same time, a company that does really well deserves to be hardly punished -- punishment = declining stock price -- if its ascent is even marginally slower than what analysts had actually been expecting!

If this sounds stupid to you ...

It does definitely mean that you 100% get it!

IT IS 100% STUPID!

Measuring actual performance against expectations is OK within the context of a feedback process -- a normal and healthy aspect of intellectual activity, which ...

Is NOT OK when it becomes a real psychosis!