Asia-Pacific ETFs for Currency Wars | Benzinga

It's not just the Fed. All over the world, central banks are taking action to weaken their currencies as a means of stimulating their domestic economies and protecting exporters. Rampant monetary easing and cutting of interest rates has prompted talk of global currency wars, a scenario under which there will easily defined winners and losers.

That is the rub with currency market. It is the ultimate zero-sum game. In a currency pair such as EUR/USD, things are as simple as the euro being strong and the dollar being weak or vice-versa. There is no middle ground.

Do not expect countries that are currently on the losing end of the brewing currency war to take that position lightly. Previous currency battles have prompted protectionism and capital controls as well as increased tariffs, CNBC noted.

With those ominous warnings in mind, investors need to be aware of how the looming currencies war may impact some of the following ETFs.

iShares MSCI New Zealand Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: ENZL) Including today's gain of about one percent, which has taken the ETF to a new 52-week high, the iShares MSCI New Zealand Investable Market Index Fund has 5.7 percent to start 2013. ENZL's sturdy performance to start the new year indicates one important factor: Investors are glossing the negative impact the strong kiwi is having on New Zealand's economy.

Simply put, the the strong New Zealand dollar is being blamed for large job losses in the country's manufacturing sector. Executives from New Zealand industrial companies are imploring policymakers there to do something to stem the tide of the rising kiwi, but the Reserve Bank has shown reluctance regarding direct intervention in the currency market.

ENZL continuing rise along with the kiwi seems to be a flawed concept because the ETF devotes over 38 percent of its weight to materials and industrial names, the very companies that would be most adversely impacted by New Zealand's strong currency. If the central bank does take direct action to weaken the kiwi, then ENZL would have a legitimate fundamental catalyst to keep moving higher.

WisdomTree Australia Dividend Fund (NYSE: AUSE) Not too far away from New Zealand, Australia's export-laden economy is attempting to cope with a strong dollar of its own. As a major exporter of coal, iron ore and other commodities, particularly to China, a strong Aussie dollar is not the scenario Australian equity bulls want to contend with.

While the CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust (NYSE: FXA) has been mostly lethargic this year, the longer term trend for the Aussie dollar, particularly against its U.S. rival, has been higher due in large part to Australia being home to higher interest rates. The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut rates by 175 basis points to three percent since late 2011, but even Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned the strong dollar could persist.

That could put AUSE in play as a preferred way of accessing Australian equities. The rival iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (NYSE: EWA) allocates about a third of its weight to export industries such as materials, energy and industrials. On the other hand, AUSE offers a bit more of a domestic focus as financials, discretionary and staples names combine for 53 percent of that fund's weight. Plus AUSE has a 30-day SEC yield of 4.46 percent.

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSE: DXJ) It is almost impossible to exclude DXJ, one of this year's most impressive gatherers of ETF assets, from this list.

As has been noted time again during its recent surge, DXJ offers not one, but two advantages. First, the ETF screens its constituents to include companies that derive the bulk of their revenue outside of Japan. Second, the fund exposure to fluctuations between the value of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. Those points mean DXJ flourishes in a weak yen environment without necessarily needing Japan's domestic economy to immediately improve.

Over the past three months, DXJ has also proven to be a better bet than shorting the CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE: FXY). FXY is down 13.8 percent in that time, but DXJ has jumped 24.8 percent.

For more on ETFs, here.

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Tags: Currency War

Posted in: Long Ideas, News, Short Ideas, Specialty ETFs, Forex, Currency ETFs, Events, Global, Intraday Update, Markets, Trading Ideas, ETFs, Best of Benzinga

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Source: http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/13/02/3297831/asia-pacific-etfs-for-currency-wars

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Physics professors find new order in quantum electronic material

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Two Rutgers physics professors have proposed an explanation for a new type of order, or symmetry, in an exotic material made with uranium ? a theory that may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

Their discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, has piqued the interest of scientists worldwide. It is one of the rare theory-only papers that this selective publication accepts. Typically the journal's papers describe results of laboratory experimentation.

Collaborating with the Rutgers professors was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who earned her doctorate at Rutgers.

"Scientists have seen this behavior for 25 years, but it has eluded explanation." said Piers Coleman, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences. When cooled to 17.5 degrees above absolute zero or lower (a bone-chilling minus 428 degrees Fahrenheit), the flow of electricity through this material changes subtly.

The material essentially acts like an electronic version of polarized sunglasses, he explains. Electrons behave like tiny magnets, and normally these magnets can point in any direction. But when they flow through this cooled material, they come out with their magnetic fields aligned with the material's main crystal axis.

This effect, claims Coleman, comes from a new type of hidden order, or symmetry, in this material's magnetic and electronic properties. Changes in order are what make liquid crystals, magnetic materials and superconductors work and perform useful functions.

"Our quest to understand new types of order is a vital part of understanding how materials can be developed to benefit the world around us," he said.

Similar discoveries have led to technologies such as liquid crystal displays, which are now ubiquitous in flat-screen TVs, computers and smart phones, although the scientists are quick to acknowledge that their theoretical discovery won't transform high-tech products overnight.

Coleman, along with Rutgers colleague Premala Chandra and MIT collaborator Rebecca Flint, describe what they call a "hidden order" in this compound of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. Uranium is commonly known for being nuclear reactor fuel or weapons material, but in this case physicists value it as a heavy metal with electrons that behave differently than those in common metals.

Recent experiments on the material at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico provided the three physicists with data to refine their discovery.

"We've dubbed our fundamental new order 'hastatic' order, named after the Greek word for spear," said Chandra, also a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The name reflects the highly ordered properties of the material and its effect on aligning electrons that flow through it.

"This new category of order may open the world to new kinds of materials, magnets, superconductors and states of matter with properties yet unknown," she said. The scientists have predicted other instances where hastatic order may show up, and physicists are beginning to test for it.

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Rutgers University: http://www.rutgers.edu

Thanks to Rutgers University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126556/Physics_professors_find_new_order_in_quantum_electronic_material

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Mid. Ga State College Activities Continue in Dublin, Eastman, Cochran

Evening activities scheduled at Cochran, Dublin and Eastman campuses will proceed as scheduled.

Classes are canceled at Macon and Warner Robins campuses of Middle Georgia State College. The campuses will close at 5:30 p.m.

Faculty, staff and students should leave, or not come to, the campuses after 5:30 p.m., according to a news release.

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Source: http://bleckleydodgepulaski.13wmaz.com/news/families/81591-mid-ga-state-college-activities-continue-dublin-eastman-cochran

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Norwegian targets global business travel growth with Sabre | News ...

Sabre Travel Network, a global technology company serving travel agencies and suppliers, has signed a multi-year agreement with Norwegian to sell its fares, schedules and inventory to Sabre-connected travel agencies.

As part of the agreement, travel agents will be able to shop for and book tickets that include ancillary services offered by the carrier, including on-board meals and up to two checked bags.

The deal with Sabre is part of Norwegian?s long-term growth strategy that includes entry in to the North American marketplace.

Lars Sande , sales director for Norwegian said: ?This agreement with Sabre, and the global reach it provides, will help distribute our product into new markets. The agency channel will play a crucial role in our ability to provide a first-rate travel experience at affordable prices to the broadest possible customer base. It will also allow agencies and travel management companies to efficiently shop and book our bundled fares.?

Harald Eisenaecher, senior vice president for Sabre EMEA, said: ?Norwegian?s importance among European corporations and business travellers has been growing in recent years.

?Sabre aims to play a pivotal role in the airline?s future by making its fares, ancillaries and schedules available to our global travel agency community and helping drive revenue from the corporate market. We will continue to invest in the products and services that low-cost carriers, such as Norwegian, need to grow their international businesses.

?This deal is also a crucial development for Sabre as we continually strive to bolster the low-cost airline content available for our travel agency customers.?
Norwegian joins a growing list of more than 400 airlines that have chosen the Sabre GDS to sell to travel agencies, including low-cost carriers such as easyJet, Germanwings, Kulula and FlyDubai.

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Source: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/norwegian-targets-global-business-travel-growth-with-sabre/

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Clinton: window for Iran talks can't stay open "too much longer"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The window for negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program cannot stay open for "too much longer," outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday but she declined to provide a deadline.

"I don't think the window can remain open for too much longer (but) I am not going to put days, weeks or months on it," Clinton told a small group of reporters on the eve of her departure from the State Department.

The United States and its Western allies suspect that Iran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop a bomb. Iran denies this, saying its program is for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity and medical isotopes.

Iran has refused to set a date and venue for fresh talks with six major powers on its nuclear program, a reluctance that Clinton ascribed to "a lot of disagreement within the highest levels of the regime about how to handle this" as well as to political jockeying ahead of Iran's June presidential election.

"They will decide to meet or not to meet based on their own internal calculations," Clinton said. "They have an election coming up in June. People are jockeying to see who the supreme leader is going to anoint to be the next president.

"They are preoccupied with their internal political calculations and that's far more important to them right now than setting a date and a time" to meet the six major powers: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

Clinton, who is to be replaced by Senator John Kerry on Friday, said President Barack Obama had never given up on the idea of engaging Iran but she stressed this was only one side of its dual-track policy with economic sanctions as the other.

'CONSTRUCTIVE AMBIGUITY'

Clinton played down a report that Iran's crude oil exports rose in December to their highest level since a European Union embargo kicked in July, saying "it's been our experience that you can't take any monthly number at face value.

"Their exports have fallen dramatically to a point where they are seeking any way around the sanctions and not having the kind of receptivity that they were hoping for," she added, saying she was satisfied with other nations' "general compliance" with the sanctions.

The United States believes that Iran's possession of nuclear weapons could spark a regional arms race as well as embolden Tehran in its dealings with its neighbors and in what Washington says is its support for terrorist groups around the world.

U.S. officials believe it would also endanger Israel, a U.S. ally which sees an Iranian atomic bomb as an existential threat.

During a speech at the United Nations in September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran will have acquired enough highly enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon at some point this year, possibly as early as the spring or summer.

Clinton would not be drawn on exactly how much time might be left for negotiations and she repeated the U.S. view that "all options are on the table" - diplomatic code for the possibility of a military strike against Iran.

"Our policy is prevention, not containment, and all the options remain on the table and at some point the window for engagement has to close," she said.

Pressed on the view expressed by many analysts, as well as some Israeli officials, that the issue will come to a head this year, Clinton demurred.

"The United States is not going to say that. There is no reason to," she said. "Constructive ambiguity is a clear benefit in a lot of what we do."

(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-window-iran-talks-cant-stay-open-too-012020444.html

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Samsung fined $1,000 over fatal gas leak, according to Yonhap News

Korea's Yonhap News Agency is reporting that Samsung will be fined a nominal 1 million won (roughly $1,000) for not reporting its recent gas leak quickly enough. The incident led to the death of a maintenance contractor who was brought in to fix a pipe leaking hydrofluoric acid gas at one of Samsung's semiconductor plants. Police are said to be imposing the fine on both Samsung and its subcontractor for violating a law stipulating that such chemical leaks must be "promptly" reported to the authorities. It appears no official alert was given until the contractor died in hospital. Police say they're continuing to investigate how the fatal accident happened and that it's clear "someone died due to poor administration," so this isn't the end of the matter -- a fuller report is expected within two weeks.

Filed under: Samsung

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Source: Yonhap News

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/samsung-fined-over-gas-leak/

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1 dead in Arizona office shooting, suspect on loose

PHOENIX (AP) ? Police are hunting for an "armed and dangerous" 70-year-old man suspected in a Phoenix office complex shooting that left one person dead and two wounded.

Arthur Douglas Harmon allegedly opened fire at the end of a mediation session Wednesday morning at a three-story office complex in north-central Phoenix, police said.

One man ? identified by police as 48-year-old Steve Singer ? died hours after the shooting. They said a 43-year-old man was listed in critical condition and a 32-year-old woman suffered non-life threatening injuries.

"We believe the two men were the targets. It was not a random shooting," said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Thompson said the gunman arrived at the office building about 10:30 a.m. and got into a dispute with someone, a conflict that escalated to the point where the suspect drew a gun and shot three people.

Police believe Harmon acted alone and fled the scene in a car. Police said he had at least one gun and was considered "armed and dangerous."

Harmon also allegedly shot at someone who tried to follow him after the shooting in an attempt to get his license plate number, according to authorities.

Police didn't immediately release the names of the wounded. But a Phoenix law firm, Osborn Maledon, said one of its lawyers, Mark Hummels, was among the wounded. The firm said Hummels "was representing a client in a mediation" when he was shot.

According to court documents, Harmon was scheduled to go to a law office in the same building where the shooting took place for a settlement conference in a lawsuit he filed last April against Scottsdale-based Fusion Contact Centers LLC, where Singer was the CEO.

The company had hired him to refurbish office cubicles at two call centers in California, but a contract dispute arose.

Fusion said Harmon was paid nearly $30,000 under the $47,000 contract. But the company asked him to repay much of the money when it discovered that the cubicles could not be refurbished, according to the documents.

Harmon argued Fusion hung him out to dry by telling him to remove and store 206 "worthless" work stations after the mix-up was discovered. Harmon said Fusion then told him that the company decided to use a competitor.

Harmon's lawsuit had sought payment for the remainder of the contract, $20,000 in damages and reimbursement for storage fees and legal costs.

Hummels was representing Fusion in the lawsuit.

Pro tempore Judge Ira Schwartz, who scheduled the meeting, didn't immediately return an email seeking comment. A message left Wednesday at the home of Singer also wasn't returned.

As police searched for the shooter, SWAT teams and two armored vehicles surrounded a home about 7 miles north of the shooting scene. Police served a search warrant to enter the house, which county property records show was sold by Harmon to his son last year for $26,000.

For a time, officers used a megaphone to ask Harmon to surrender, believing he might be inside the home.

Lois Ellen, who has lived across the street from the Harmon home for about eight years, said she was startled to see all the police cars in the neighborhood.

She said she never met Arthur Harmon but had seen him walking a dog before.

Ellen said he wasn't very neighborly and the people in the Harmon home "keep to themselves."

The gunfire at the office complex prompted terrified workers to lock the doors to their offices and hide far from the windows. SWAT officers searched the building.

"Everyone was just scared, honestly, just scared," said Navika Sood, assistant director of nursing at First at Home Health Services who along with her co-workers locked the entrances to their office.

Sood said police evacuated the office about 30 minutes after she first heard the popping noises.

Vanessa Brogan, who works in sales support at an insurance business in the three-story complex, said she heard a loud bang that she thought at first was from somebody working in or near the building.

She said others at the business thought they heard multiple loud noises. She said people locked themselves in offices until authorities evacuated the complex that houses insurance, medical and law offices.

Becky Neher, who works for a title company in the building, said the two gunshots she heard sounded like two pieces of metal banging against each other.

Watching from her second-story office, she saw people leaving the building.

"Someone yelled, 'We have a shooter,'" she said. She saw two victims lying on the ground outside the back side of the building. She said health care workers who have offices in the complex came out to help.

Don Jaksa, a software consultant who works in the building, said he was listening to the radio when he suddenly heard "two pops." He said he didn't think they were gunshots.

"My co-worker goes to the range all the time," he said. "He identified it as gunfire."

The shooting took place on the same day that hearings on legislation to address gun violence were convened in Washington, with former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords testifying for stricter gun controls.

A gunman shot Giffords in the head during a shooting rampage in Tucson in January 2011.

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Associated Press writers Paul Davenport, Felicia Fonseca, Terry Tang and Walter Berry contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-1-dead-ariz-shooting-suspect-loose-234833738.html

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