From our Currency Research Team:

As you may have heard, a foreign-currency CD is one of the simplest ways to buy foreign currencies.

You’re not really trading one currency for another like in the foreign-exchange market. Nor are you investing with leverage like a currency option.

Instead, you’re just buying and holding a foreign currency - just as if you were holding an average dollar-based CD.

Really, it’s just a four-step process:

From Chuck Butler, President of World Markets at EverBank

What Happened:

One of the currencies hardest hit by the dollar’s rally has been the Aussie dollar.

Add to the U.S. dollar strength the fact that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced an easing bias following last week’s board meeting.

What I Say:

From Guest Writer and Swiss Macroeconomist Karl Weber

What Happened:

Both the New Zealand dollar (NZD) and the Australian dollar (AUD) have fallen from favor among carry traders lately.

Australia’s and New Zealand’s central banks look increasingly likely to cut their key rates from over 7% and 8% respectively as a response to the rapid economic cooling.

From Our Currency Research Team:

The most important part of investing is “understand what you’re investing in.” When you’re talking about investing in currencies, most currency traders will talk about the “seven” majors.

The seven majors are the currencies that are traded most often on major dealing desks around the world. The seven majors are generally paired with the dollar (so technically if you could the dollar as a “major,” you have eight).

Here’s your 30 second introduction to these major currencies…

From our friend at EverBank, Chris Gaffney

What Happened:

Yesterday's NY Times had a lead article warning about how housing lenders now fear a bigger wave of loan defaults.

Homeowners with good credit are falling behind on their payments in growing numbers. This is happening even though the problems with mortgages made to people with weak, or sub-prime credit are looking like they're beginning to level off.

From Currency Analyst, Sean Hyman

What Happened:

Isn't the market just as shaky as last year?

Well, not according to the VIX. One way we can measure this is by looking at the ultimate gauge of volatility, the VIX. The volatility index peaked way back in August 2007. See the chart below.

While Volatility Is Still High, It's Much Lower
Than This Time Last Year

From Chuck Butler, President of WorldMarkets at EverBank.

What's Happened:

It sure looks like the markets, once again took the bait, hook, line, and sinker yesterday. Consumer Confidence rises from a deep dark abyss, and the markets were singing "Ding, dong the witch is dead."

What I Say:

From Chris Gaffney, CFA and Vice President of World Markets at EverBank

What's Happened:

A story in this week's Economist magazine really demonstrates the possible impacts of runaway inflation.

Zimbabwe, has been experiencing hyperinflation. Stuck in a political and economic quagmire, the country recently introduced a new banknote. Last week Zimbabwe's central bank unveiled a 100 billion dollar banknote to cope with inflation. That is a bank note with 11 zeros!

What I Say:

From Chris Gaffney, CFA and Vice President of World Markets at EverBank

What's Happened:

The Senate passed the massive housing-rescue legislation which had made it through the House on Wednesday.

What's Happened:

The dollar has rallied for the last three days, but we finally saw the currencies rebound a bit yesterday when the awful housing data hit the news.

What I Say:

This miserable housing data once again reminded the dolts that want to forget we have this albatross around our necks, that the fundamentals here are awful!