The British Pound’s rise since the beginning of March has been nothing short of spectacular: “Improving economic data have helped the pound advance 14 percent against the dollar this year and 12 percent against the euro.” Due primarily to a recovery in risk appetite and the concomitant belief that the Pound had been oversold following the onset of the credit crisis, investors began pouring hot money back into the UK. As recently as two weeks ago, one analyst intoned that, “Longer term, we are in part of an uptrend for the pound. I don’t think this is over.”
Since then, however, a series of negative developments have cast doubt on such optimism. The first was the release of economic data, which indicated an unexpected widening in Britain’s trade deficit. While exports rose, imports rose even faster, causing analysts to wonder whether it would be realistic to expect the British economic recovery would be led by exports: “We remain skeptical that the U.K. is about to become an export-driven economy any time soon. A return to sustained growth continues to look unlikely in the near term,” said one economist.
The second development was the decision by the Bank of England to expand its quantitative easing program: “The central bank spent 125 billion pounds since March as part of the asset-purchase program and had permission to use as much as 150 billion pounds, about 10 percent of Britain’s gross domestic product. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has now authorized an extra 25 billion pounds.” This came as a huge shock to investors, which had collectively assumed that the program had already been concluded.
Upon closer analysis, it appears that the rise of the Pound and the expanding trade deficit might have contributed to the BOE’s decision: “According to the Bank’s rule of thumb, this [the Pound's rise] is equivalent to interest rate increases of 1.5 percentage points.” However, interest rates are already close to zero. The BOE has already conveyed its intention to maintain an easy monetary policy for the near-term (March 2010 interest rate futures reflect an expectation for a 75 basis point rate hike); otherwise, there is nothing else it could do on the interest rate front. “Unless the UK is ready to deflate its production costs heavily, it can only achieve required competitiveness by reducing the value of sterling…The BoE knows this and its decision to increase its quantitative easing efforts may well have to be seen in the context of summer sterling strength.”
The final factor has been the Dollar’s sudden reversal. Previously, the Pound had been helped as much by UK optimism as by Dollar pessimism. This changed last week, when positive US economic data triggered expectations of a near-term economic recovery and consequent Fed rate hikes. In short, the Pound must now rest on its own two feet, and can no longer count on Dollar pessimism for a boost: “The current gloomy sentiment, which has chipped some 3% off sterling’s value against the dollar in the past four trading days, represents a sharp turnaround.”
The prognosis for UK economic recovery should receive some clarity tomorrow, when the Bank of England releases a report on inflation and GDP. At this point, we will have a better idea as to what to expect from the Pound going forward.
Welcome
A recent WSJ headline reads, Good Economic News Threatens the Dollar, and summarizes the Dollar’s trading pattern as follows: “Demand for the U.S. currency continues to erode amid a tide of more encouraging economic data and corporate earnings that have fed a thirst for riskier assets such as stocks, commodities, and growth-sensitive currencies.”
Less than two weeks after that article was published, the Dollar rose by a healthy 2% against the Euro in only one trading session, as US labor market conditions improved slightly: “The U.S. unemployment rate fell in July for the first time in 15 months as employers cut far fewer jobs than expected, giving the clearest indication yet that the economy was turning around from a deep recession.” While technically another 250,000 jobs were lost and economists forecast that the employment rate will rise past 10% before peaking, investor sentiment is still at a high.
Unsurprisingly, the news triggered a stock market rally. More noteworthy, though, is that the Dollar also rallied. Since the beginning of 2009 and especially since the beginning of March, there has been a clear negative correlation between stocks and the Dollar, as a result of risk appetite. “At one point this year, the correlation between the euro-dollar rate and the S&P 500 index hit 50 percent, according to BNP Paribas calculations. That is, the euro and S&P 500 rose or fell in tandem half the time.”
This latest development suggests that this relationship has broken down, at least temporarily. Argues one analyst, “The dollar’s going to turn. The U.S. economy is more able to withstand shocks than other economies, especially Europe.” Perhaps going forward, the markets will be driven less by risk appetite and more by comparative growth trajectories and economic fundamentals.
Not so fast, though. Much of the Dollar’s recent slide has been a product carry trading patterns, as investors borrow in low-yielding Dollars and invest in higher-yielding alternatives. An improvement in economic conditions could compel the Fed to hike rates, which would seriously dent the attractiveness of the carry trade. “Indeed, long-dated U.S. interest rates have been quietly moving in the dollar’s favor while U.S. interest rate futures on Friday started pricing in a federal funds rate of 1.25 percent by the mid-2010, the highest since June.” Based on this paradigm, then, it’s still risk appetite that’s driving the Dollar, whether up or down.
Agreed, it’s a pain in more places than one when you have to migrate from one web host to the other, but when your needs grow and your current host fails to keep up, it’s best to do the dumping as soon as possible. But before you sever all ties, you must protect what’s yours and make sure your site is up and running without a hitch at your new host. Here’s a list of 13 things you must do before you dump your web host:
1. It’s obvious, but has to be said. Find a new web host and make sure that it meets all your needs.
2. Check if you have enough storage space, enough bandwidth to prevent crashes and down times, support for the operating system and applications that run on your server, support for scripts and an adequate number of email accounts and auto responders.
3. The next thing to do is back up everything on your server to a secure location. You don’t want to be left holding an empty tub looking like a fool when you realize you’ve thrown out both the baby and the bathwater. Make sure you get all your email, databases and website files.
4. Upload all your files and databases to the new server and make sure you retain all the file permissions as they were on your old one so that you don’t end up with scripting errors.
5. Get your new web host to test the scripts, contact pages, and databases your website before you make the necessary DNS change.
6. Before you update your DNS to point browsers to the new location of your site, you need to plan for the downtime that results from this procedure. DNS updates take up to 48 hours to spread to all DNS servers on the Internet.
7. Let your customers and website visitors know of this planned upgrade. Make the move when your servers are expected to be the least busy.
8. To reduce down time as much as possible, make DNS changes before you move the domain. Before you do this though, check to see if your mail server is running on the new host so that you don’t lose any email messages.
9. If your domain name was registered using a third party domain name registration company, you need to check if your domain name is a part of your old hosting plan. If it is, you must separate the two, since moving your site to a new web host means that your domain name company remains the same while your web host changes.
10. If your site is dynamic, DNS update delays can cause havoc if you’re not careful. Some customers may see your old site while others have access to the new one. To minimize such occurrences, close down your old site with an alert so that it becomes static while the move to the new one is being made. You could also use a synchronization tool to get changes made on the old site mirrored on the new one.
11. Check for incompatibility issues between applications on your old server and your new one.
12. If you have more than one domain to migrate, make sure you start the process with enough time to spare for the DNS update delays.
13. Make sure all the visitors to your old site are being redirected to your new site before cancelling your current web host. It’s best to keep both sites up and running in parallel for at least two weeks before saying goodbye to your old hosts.
Previously we mentioned about the Embedded Menlow XL large package Intel Atom processors that being planned as follow on products after its successful launch one year ago, now the giant chipmaker has further unveiled more details that there will be four new processors being added under its Atom family.
The upcoming Intel Z5xx series processors, namely Z510P, Z530P, Z510PT and Z530PT will be based on the same micro architecture and feature sets with current Atom series but one of the major differences is they will now have a slightly larger foot print of 22 X 22mm using 1.0mm ball pitch as compared to current ultra small form factor Atom processor at a size of 13 X 14mm with 0.6mm ball pitch. Besides the foot print package change, two of the new Atom processors Z510PT and Z530PT are claimed to be able to withstand extreme temperature environment ranging from -40 to 85 degree Celsius, which is crucial in both Industrial and Automotive segments. Similarly, the US15W SCH (codenamed Poulsbo), a relatively larger chipset that being paired with Z5XX series Atom processor since its launch last year has also being upgraded in both form factor and extended temperature support to cater for stringent requirements in new market segments.
The new Atom processors will be available in second quarter of this year and is expected to continue great Intel Atom momentum in embedded market.
Typically, most of the consumer PC platforms are fully operable in room temperature. In order to cater for the industrial and embedded markets, VIA Technologies, a Taiwanese fabless chip maker has just announced a new Nano-ITX based platform that is capable to run in extreme temperature environment from -20 up to 70 degree Celsius.
The new platform, codenamed as EPIA N700-10EW is powered by VIA Eden ULV processor running at 1GHz. Further coupled with its famous VX800 all-in-one media system processor, it offers an excellent hardware decode capabilities for various formats such as WMV9, VC1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 media playback, freeing up CPU cycles for other tasks processing. Other interfaces include commonly available USB 2.0 host ports, PCI Express, SATA, Gigabit Ethernet port, Compact Flash slot as well as VGA port for external display. And in order to make it fully functioning in extended temperature, all the discrete components selection have been carefully made that can withstand extreme temperature for much more reliable system under any condition. Regardless of all these great feature sets, the fabless chipmaker has managed to pack everything into a tiny 12cm X 12cm form factor, not to mention about the relatively huge SODIMM memory slot that used to hold the 2GB memory module. Surprisingly, no active fan is required and so the platform can be used in any fanless applications, that makes the design much more flexible in concealed space.
No pricing information yet, the new platform is expected to reach embedded market soon targeted for industrial and vehicle infotainment usages.
The leading provider of consumer electronics as well as home and business security solutions, Astak Inc. has officially announced the launch of its new thin, portable 5-inch eBook reader – EZ Reader Pocket PRO, which incorporates Adobe Digital Editions firmware that enables users to read both public-domain titles and copyright-protected PDF documents on the eBook reader, aiming to provide a strong contender against Amazon’s Kindle.
“We are very excited because the Pocket PRO will give customers greatest freedom of choice. Whether it’s classic titles or new releases, the customer can finally read it all on one device,” said Walter Shan, project director for Astak’s eBook Reader Department.
Features of Astak’s EZ Reader Pocket PRO:
* 400 MHz processor, 512MB of memory and internal Epson controller
* 5-inch 8-level grayscale E-ink screen with 600 x 800 pixel resolution
* Supports more than 20 DRM-free formats
* PDF reflow improves the readability of documents
* Text-to-speech functio reads documents aloud
* Replaceable battery lasts up to 8,000 page turns on a single charge
* SDHC card slot supports up to 16GB of capacity
* Ability to play MP3 music files while reading
* 3 or more font sizes
* Available in 6 different colors
The new compact and lightweight Astak 5″ Pocket PRO eBook Reader that measures 6”(L) x 4.1”(W) x 0.4”(H) and weights in at 6 ounces is slated to be available by the end of August 2009 for around $200.
Forex is the word that essentially describes the business of exchanging the currencies all over the world. Forex is also denoted by the term foreign exchange or FX. The world’s leading forex market carry out many trade activities, which are worthy of more than 1.5 trillion USD.
Forex trades are distinct from stock trading and there is not any kind of dealing with a central exchange that administers the world currency system. This is indeed a kind of accepted trading form between the central banks of every country.
Forex trade requires only telephones or any electronic device network which will hook up the corresponding person (buyers and sellers) all over the world for trading. Besides trading, forex market had also put forward a number of compensations in equities trading. Today, the internet is the major need for forex trading though the traditional methods are still on.
Basically the major ambition of any trade will be to be trading on the profitable side. Forex offers unlimited boundaries and at the extreme it beats the limitations of the other market such as share trading or equity.
Forex trading can be accomplished in 24 hours per day. Furthermore, regardless of forex being a risky trade, the main responsibilities for a trade to be constant and successful are the seller and buyer. The investors, companies and intuitions liquidity is also endowed by the bank.
Generally the traders who are willing to invest in the forex will scrutinize regarding the elemental and practical fact behind its trading. A lot of courses about forex trading are offered to the depositor which will help them in trading. These courses will impart the essential awareness on the basic dealings and it also provides with guidelines for the skilled trading policy.
Previously we mentioned about Stealth Computer’s Rugged PC powered by Core 2 Duo, now the company has just unveiled a new rugged tablet PC under its Notebook warrior series recently. Named as NW-2000, it is specifically designed to be compliant with military MIL-810F standards suitable for those that work in harsh environment.
Designed with magnesium alloy chassis and weighted at only 9.04 lbs, it is equipped with 13.3-inch LCD display with 1280 X 800 resolutions that lets users handle any computer-assisted tasks even in tough environment. Internally, it is powered with Intel Core 2 Duo ultra low voltage running at 1.06GHz. Besides suitable to be used for normal office applications, the machine will definitely show value in military as well as industry usages. In order to simplify the usage, it offers touch screen capability that allows users to input commands via finger and stylus. That is not all, it is further enhanced with some security features such as TPM (Trusted Platform Module), fingerprint sensor as well as a huge 160GB anti-shock hard disk drive for secured data storage and protection. Other features include wireless technologies such as Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi and optional HSDPA module for seamless connectivity anywhere.
At a retail price of $4895, the rugged tablet PC may be too expensive for average users but those that work in harsh environment may appreciate its great functionalities as a companion for mission critical applications.
Motorola is famous for its 2-ways radios that being built specifically tailored for usage in harsh environment. Although it doesn’t seems to do well in mobile phones business in consumer market space, but its hybrid handset plus 2-ways radios function iDEN push-to-talk mobile devices continue to excel in both consumer and industrial market space. Just recently, Sprint has just announced a new Motorola iDEN based r765IS into its product lines as an additional options for selection.
Similar to other models, r765IS is compliant with military MIL 810F standards which can sustain very reliable operability even in extreme environments such as long exposure to water, shock, dust as well as abnormal temperature change. Besides excellent reliability and durability, the portable device is enhanced with GPS (Global Positioning System), making it suitable to be used in any mission critical applications. Furthermore, it is supported by SOS calling mode that can be used for emergency rescue purposes. Some other advanced feature sets include the NextMail support that can convert any voicemail to be sent as email attachment for easy and convenient retrieval by designated recipients and many more.
Regardless of all these great capabilities, the standby time is surprisingly long, rated at 140 hours without the need of recharging while the talk time can last for 4 hours continuously which is sufficient for long traveling. However, the price of $2000 may set you back as an individual user unless you are in military or industrial space that can easily get budget for device upgrade.
Apple Inc’s iPhone is famous for its multi-touch capabilities thanks to the capacitive touch screen embedded into its display LCD module. It is not only offering an easy and convenience way of navigating through your mobile devices with finger but also providing a much more sensitive and responsive touch screen display with greater user experience. However, occasionally you may want to have a very precise touch using stylus and have you ever wonder how good would that be if the capacitive touch can be coupled with resistive touch capability? Here is how the innovative idea from RIM (Research in Motion) that will able to fill the gap. Just recently, the famous mobile manufacturer has just filed a patent on how to have both resistive and capacitive touch screen feature integrated into a single mobile device.
By combining both resistive and capacitive touch screen module into a single device, users will be able to get the best out of it. Firstly, users can enjoy the simple touch with fast response without the need of having any stylus. Besides, they will able to use the stylus for more accurate touch whenever necessary especially on a tiny screen. However, don’t expect it to be cheap since the existing technology with capacitive touch screen is still far more expensive as compared to resistive touch technology. And this hybrid technology could mean even higher cost which would contribute to the whole product BOM (Bill of Material) cost and eventually be reflected into final retail price.
No exact date on when this will be implemented on actual device, or it could be purely a brilliant idea as of now but really hope that the new hybrid technology can be more affordable and be implemented in next generation high end Blackberry devices.
Not long after Acer released its Aspire nettop powered by Intel Atom 230 suitable for average consumers’ usage, now seems that Gateway is ready to continue its momentum by offering a rebranded version based on Aspire targeted for higher end market. Just recently, Gateway has introduced a new version, named as QX2800 that is powered with Intel Atom N330 duo-core processor while still pairing with powerful Nvidia Ion 9400M graphics chipset.
Although both of them looks similar (except with white and black color), there are some improvements being made to the Gateway QX2800 especially in the hardware specification to handle much intensive applications. The most significant one is obviously the change from single core to duo-core Intel Atom processor support with the QX2800 powered by Intel Atom duo-core series N330 clocking at 1.6GHz. Besides, the hard disk space has been tripled from originally 160GB to 500GB so that it can be differentiated better tailored for user groups that need higher performance and memory capacity. Other than these, both of them still stick back to Nvidia’s Ion chipset, which is sufficient enough in offering a significant graphics decode capability improvement as compared to Intel native chipsets such as US15W or 945GSE chipsets. Other unchanged specifications include the 2GB memory RAM, a similar 802.11b/g/n wireless module besides other peripheral interfaces such as HDMI output, USB 2.0 ports and etc.
No pricing information yet, but since the hardware specifications have been upgraded and not to surprise that the selling price will be much higher than Acer Aspire model. The QX2800 will be preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium suitable for all users.
Nikon has announced the launch of its new ultra-stylish 12.1 megapixel Nikon COOLPIX S70 digital camera, which features stylish dual-texture design, enhanced interface and 3.5-inch wide-screen Clear Color OLED (organic light-emitting diode) Display with a new generation of touch-screen control, offering a new level of intuitive fingertip shooting control and a variety of exciting playback options.
Key features of Nikon COOLPIX S70:
* 12.1 megapixel resolution and 5x wide angle zoom NIKKOR lens
* Nikon’s innovative 3.5″ Clear Color OLED display with refined touch control
* Touch Shutter allows users to focus and captures a picture by simply touching it on the camera’s screen
* 3 different stylish HOME screen
* 5 advanced image stabilizing systems for sharper results, including Optical lens shift, Electronic VR, high ISO 6400, Motion Detection and Best Shot Selector
* Ability to record HD video (1280 x 720 pixels resolution) at 30 fps
* Nikon’s Easy Auto Mode determines the subject, analyzes the surrounding settings and then automatically choose the appropriate scene mode for optimal results
* Nikon’s Smart Portrait System (Smile Shutter, Blink Warning, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, Face-Priority AF and D-Lighting) with Skin Softening
* Quick Retouch creates an improved copy with the right finishing touch
* Available in wide variety of colors: Champagne & Light Brown, Champagne & Beige, Red & Dark Red, Red & Red, or Black & Black
The new stylish Nikon COOLPIX S70 digital compact camera which measures 3.8 x 2.4 x 0.8-inches and weights approximately 4.9 ounces will ship in September 2009 for around $400. In addition to Nikon COOLPIX S70, the company also announced the availability of its new Nikon COOLPIX S640 and Nikon COOLPIX S570, scheduled to be available in coming September for about $250 and $200, respectively.
Green cell phones will definitely appeal to nature lovers. The make and design of a cell phone reflect the status and lifestyle of the user; Sprint and Samsung’s collaborated brainchild, Reclaim, is made from 80% recycled material including bio-plastic materials derived from corn. The phone is PVC and BFR-free. The QWERTY-friendly device features a stereo Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel camera.
The phone also comes in environmentally-friendly packaging. Besides constituting 70% recycled material, the package is printed with soy-based ink. Putting its money where its mouth is, every $2 of the profit earned will be donated to Nature’s Conservancy’s Adopt. The phones come in two colors – Ocean Blue or Earth Green.
Usually the design and the color will be the important criteria to consider when you purchase a mobile phone. Targeting the ladies market, LG has recently announced its folding form factor mobile phone, LG KG376. The exterior of the phone has been designed with round flowers and twisting stems of red color. Besides, the exterior combines a color combination of beige, gold and red.
Another attractive features of the phone is it has an indicator light which blinks when an incoming call or text arrives. Along with a internal display of 1.5-inch with 128 x 128 resolutions, the LG KG376 is also equipped with a FM radio for the users to enjoy their favorite music while on the go.
In addition, it comes with 1MB of internal memory and, comes with a 750mAh battery that offers up to 250 hours of standby time and 3 hours of talk time.
The availability and the price of LG KG376 with measurement of 85.9mm x 45mm x19.8mm and weighs 73g are not yet announced.
Acer has released its new light-weight netbook named as Aspire One D250, which features 10.1-inch high brightness CrystalBrite LED backlit display with 1280 × 720 pixel resolution that offers a broader vision for more convenient navigation. The new Acer Aspire One D250 equipped with an 1.60GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of DDR2 533MHz, 160 GB internal hard drive, SD card reader and multi-in-one card reader. In addition, the netbook comes with 802.11b/g WiFi connection and Acer Signal Up technology for an enhanced user experience. It also comes with Fast Ethernet network card and can also be equipped with Bluetooth or 3G wireless technologies for unlimited connectivity. Furthermore, the Aspire One D250 also integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam and Acer Video Conference software for video chats to delivers smooth video streaming and high quality images even in low-light environment.
Features of Acer Aspire One D250
* 10.1-inch WSVGA 16:9 ratio Acer CrystalBrite LED back-lit TFT LCD with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution
* Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
* Mobile Intel 945GSE Express Chipset
* 1024MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
* 160GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
* Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
* Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
* Acer Crystal Eye Web Camera
* Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
* Two USB 2.0 Ports
* 3-cell Li-ion Battery (2600 mAh)
* 1-year International Travelers Warranty (ITW)
* Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Home (Service Pack 3)
The new Acer Aspire One D250 is available in four high-gloss color: seashell white, sapphire blue, ruby red and diamond black. The netbook measures just 258.5 x 184.0 x 25.4 mm and weighs 1.1 kg (including 3-cell battery). Acer Aspire One D250 currently available for pre-order in Norway from starting price of $299 through leading retailer.
Kodak has announced the launch of its new Z-Series digital camera – KODAK EASYSHARE Z950, which combines 12 megapixel sensor, image stabilized SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON 10x optical zoom (35–350 mm) lens and Smart Capture technology into a single device, capturing challenging action shots without delay thanks to the less than 0.3 second click-to-capture speed.
Features of KODAK EASYSHARE Z950:
* Big, bright 3-inch color LCD display (230K dots)
* 10X SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization
* Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture technology automatically identifies the scene and adjusts focus, flash and exposure for beautiful pictures in virtually any environment
* Captures HD pictures in 16:9 format and HD video at 30 fps
* Fast click-to-capture speed (< 0.3 sec.)
* Includes Program auto, aperture priority, shutter priority as well as manual modes
“The combination of these features plus a 12 MP sensor makes the Z950 a compact digital capture powerhouse, with outstanding image quality and ease of use at an affordable price,” said John Blake, General Manager Digital Capture and Devices, Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company.
The new KODAK EASYSHARE Z950 digital camera which measures 110 × 66.8 × 35.5 mm and weights 223 g is expected to hit the market beginning August 2009 for around $280.
Man’s life is very much hooked up with electronic gadgets nowadays. One common problem with too many gadgets around is in recharging these gadgets. If you are a frequent traveler who always flies from one country to another, surely you will understand the pain where your charger cannot be used in some countries due to the different electrical output. You can’t access important information as the battery is running flat. To assist frequent travelers or globetrotters to overcome this practical problem, the famous pocket projector manufacturer, BeamBox, has added another mini lifestyle product, Mili Universal Charger, to their list.
Mili Universal Charger is a mini, compact and practical universal charger which comes with four interchangeable adapters that can enable users to use it without problem in UK, US, Australia and Europe. The adapters suit the US, UK, EU or Australian-style sockets. Besides supporting various socket formats, Mili Universal Charger also allows users to charge their gadget in the car via a car charger adapter that comes along with it. Users can just plug the charger into the cigarette lighter socket to do the charging work. Another interesting feature of the BeamBox’s Mili Universal Charger is the dual USB port which allows users to charge two devices at the same time. Users will be notified when their devices are fully charged by a change of colour in the two LEDs mounted.
For a mere $28.50, users can get the universal charger with a choice of nine different colors: blue, purple, green, yellow, and orange.