European Government Bonds Drop Before France, Spain Sell Debt

-- European government bonds declined for a second day as France and Spain prepared to sell as much as 12 billion euros ($15 billion) of government securities.
Two-year German note yields rose from near a record low as gains in Asian equities and U.S. stock-index futures sapped demand for fixed-income assets. Euro-region governments will issue about 20 billion euros of bonds every week in the first quarter of 2009, up from 10 to 15 billion euros a week during the past two years, according to Societe Generale SA.
“We are in the middle of a very heavy net supply environment,” said Padhraic Garvey, head of investment-grade debt strategy in Amsterdam at ING Groep NV, the largest Dutch financial-services company.
The yield on the German two-year note climbed one basis point to 1.25 percent by 7:12 a.m. in London. The 2.25 percent security due December 2010 declined 0.02, or 20 euro cents per 1,000-euro ($1,258) face amount, to 101.75.

The yield on the 10-year bund, Europe’s benchmark government security, rose two basis points to 3.01 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
France will sell as much as 7.5 billion euros of two-, four- and five-year bonds and 800 million euros of inflation-linked securities today. Spain will offer about 3.5 billion euros in seven- and 20-year debt.
Governments around the world are increasing borrowing to finance bank bailouts and revive their economies amid the fallout from the global credit crisis. The 16 nations using the euro will borrow about $1.1 trillion in 2009, while the U.S. will issue at least $1.5 trillion of debt. The U.K. plans to sell $207 billion of gilts in the year through March.
Asian stocks rose for the first time in four days, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advancing 0.9 percent. The MSCI World Index added 0.3 percent.
German bonds earned investors 0.8 percent this year, compared with a loss of 1.4 percent for gilts and a drop of 2.5 percent for Treasuries, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.’s German Federal Governments, U.K. Gilts and U.S. Treasury Master indexes.


[SigmaForex Money Manager]

Elevate the quality of your trading, Money managers trading pooled or individual client funds benefit from Sigma’s trading and administrative tools and services.

With preferential rating access to Sigma’s research staff, sophisticated trading platform and reporting tools, Sigma’s money manager solution is one of the most competitive in the marketplace.
Sigma provides a dedicated team of account management specialists to provide ongoing back-office support, and help reduce your administrative responsibilities.
Highly developed trading platform

Our trading platform feature quality execution capabilities as well as advanced and easy-to-use order entry and position management tools, all in a secure friendly environment. A full suite of decision support tools, from charting to research, news and more, are also available to clients all for free.
Characteristic tools
Our proprietary tool offers money managers a comprehensive and efficient way to manage pooled customer funds and track portfolio performance. Accessible online, the system automatically journals percentages of your transactions from your Master account into your client's sub accounts at the close of each trade.

We also support the needs of money managers who wish to execute trades and place orders on a per account basis. Reporting capabilities are available directly within the application, as well as real-time margin and P&L.
Back-office support
Our Partner Services team is dedicated to providing full account management support to our money managers and your clients. Our customer support is 24 hours, customers may fund around the clock. Sigma’s Partner Services team is dedicated to providing Outstanding Compensation and full account management support.

For more details contcat MM@SigmaForex.com

Zurich Financial's profit falls, suspends buyback

AG reported a below-forecast 15 percent drop in its nine-month business operating profit to $4.2 billion, hit by hurricane claims and capital losses, and suspended share buybacks.

The insurer said its underlying performance was resilient despite 'particularly adverse circumstances' in the third quarter that forced it to write down $595 million for claim payments related to hurricanes Gustav and Ike and record capital losses for shareholders of $1.1 billion.
'At first glance the results look a bit disappointing and the suspension of the buyback programme is hardly going to be received positively, although it's clever to hoard cash reserves,' said analysts at Swiss private bank Wegelin.
The last week has seen a raft of disappointing results from European insurers hit by the financial crisis. Swiss Life warned on profits on Wednesday and cut its dividend, while Dutch group ING (nyse: ING - news - people ) posted its first quarterly loss.
Zurich Financial's share price dipped almost 6 percent at the open but later pared losses and was down 1 percent at 213.80 Swiss francs at 0839 GMT, when the DJ Stoxx European insurance sector index was down 0.4 percent.
'It's a good result compared to other European insurers,' said Sal. Oppenheim analyst Rene Locher. 'I have a 'buy' rating on the share and it remains one of my favourite stocks in the insurance sector.'


[SigmaForex White Label]

Forex White Label Program

As your partner, our goal is to support you through the planning and launch phases and beyond to ensure a mutually successful and long-term business relationship
Establish your brand in the Forex Brokerage industry.

Our Forex White Label program is for individuals and institutions that want to establish a brand name and a presence in the Forex industry. As a white label partner, you will be provided with a platform branded with your name and logo as well as content for your introducing broker website. Also Sigma white label partner program enables banks and brokers to satisfy their customers' demand for online trading tools. Our trading solutions enable you to harness and develop already existing customer trading relationships and extract greater returns from them whilst streamlining internal trading operations and rendering them as efficient as possible.

You will also enjoy our 24-hour market, full service of back office support, and other administrative and support functions.

Ideal candidates for the Forex white label program include:

• Financial services firms that want to establish a new Forex brokerage division. For example, banks, insurance companies, etc.
• Trading firms and/or online brokers that want to offer a greater range of products to their customers. you will be providing your clients with a great value-added service while increasing the profitability of your firm.
• Companies offering Forex tools and advisory services - This can be websites or newsletters that provide an analysis of the Forex or futures market, advisory businesses, etc. that want to expand their web presence by offering online Forex trading capabilities to their existing client base.
• Forex White Label Introducing Brokers will enjoy the most advanced Forex trading software in the market. The web-based white label trading platform provides real time, streaming currency prices and instantaneous one click execution, real time management of currency positions, in addition to complete back office support and reporting features. Along with other tools to help traders make trading decisions. The software is also compatible with most operating systems. This means that your customers can trade currencies from any computer, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.

If you want to discuss your potential Forex White Label Introducing Brokerage business with us via mail

Takeda Wins U.S. Approval for First New Gout Drug in 40 Years

-- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Asia’s biggest drugmaker, won U.S. approval to sell the first new gout treatment in four decades.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared febuxostat, to be marketed as Uloric, to control excess uric acid in the blood that can build up in joints or soft tissues, the company said today in a statement. Regulators took more than four years to review the drug because of concerns about dosing and a potential increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Takeda, based in Osaka, Japan, submitted the drug to regulators in December 2004 with former TAP Pharmaceutical Products partner Abbott Laboratories. Outside advisers to the FDA unanimously recommended approval in November, saying the estimated 6 million Americans suffering from gout need new treatment choices.
“This approval is a significant milestone for Takeda,” Alan MacKenzie, president of Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., said in the statement. “We are pleased to offer a new treatment option to the more than five million Americans who have hyperuricemia associated with gout.”
Gout is a chronic condition marked by outbreaks of intense pain and swelling in the joints typically starting in the big toe, sometimes spreading to knees or fingers. It most often affects men, especially those ages 40 to 50, and people who have had an organ transplant. Gout was once known as a disease of kings because the risks increase if people are overweight, eat a lot of meat or indulge in alcohol.

Dosage Concerns
Takeda tested its drug against generic allopurinol, the most commonly prescribed treatment to lower levels of uric acid in the blood. While allopurinol was approved by the FDA in 1966 for use in a range of doses, concerns that the drug may cause rashes or a deadly skin reaction have discouraged doctors from using the highest, most effective doses, according to briefing documents released by Takeda before the advisory panel meeting.
Takeda had initially sought approval for 80-milligram and 120-milligram oral doses of febuxostat. Regulators were worried about a higher number of cardiovascular side effects in patients taking the drug, and they asked for a new study using only 80- milligram and 40-milligram doses. Takeda stuck with the lower strengths when both worked in the study and weren’t linked to a higher rate of heart attacks or strokes.
Febuxostat was created by Japan’s Teijin Ltd., and Takeda has the rights to sell it in the U.S. and Canada. Ipsen SA of France has the rights for Europe, where it was approved last May.

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Share sales in Australia expected to help banks

National Australia Bank is raising up to 3 billion Australian dollars in a share placement to strengthen its balance sheet, prompting analysts to predict that other lenders will follow suit as bad debts increase.
NAB, the biggest Australian bank, initially said in a statement Monday that it intended to raise 2 billion dollars, or $1.4 billion, from selling new shares, but later announced that it had increased the size of the placement because of strong demand.
"The size of this raise comes as a surprise," because "management has been saying they think they are O.K. on capital," said Jarrod Martin, an analyst at ABN AMRO. "Clearly you don't want to be in a capital deficit position in the environment where you have got increasing bad debts going forward."
Last month, NAB reported a quadrupling in bad debt charges and a 28 percent drop in second-half cash profit. Rival banks also saw bad debts rising.

Australian banks have escaped the worst of the subprime mortgage fallout that has battered their U.S. and European peers, but with growing signs of a global recession, they face increasing bad debts and will have to raise more capital, analysts said.NAB offered the new shares at 20 dollars each, a near 10 percent discount to its closing price of 22.15 dollars Friday, said a person with knowledge of the transaction, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.
"We think Westpac and ANZ will come to the market at some point in the next 3 to 6 months," the person said. "We have a general view that effectively all four majors will at some point try to tap the market."
Some analysts said the second-ranked Commonwealth Bank, which is paying $1.4 billion for HBOS's BankWest unit, would be next in line to raise capital. CBA sold $1.3 billion of new shares last month to finance the acquisition.
Recent corporate collapses in Australia, like those of Allco Finance Group and the childcare operator ABC Learning Centres, have added to banks' financing pressures.
On Monday the Australian central bank cut its forecasts for economic growth for the next two years, saying it would review interest rates in the months ahead with the aim of avoiding an even sharper slowdown in domestic demand.

Proceeds from the share sale would take NAB's Tier-1 capital adequacy ratio - the core measure of a bank's capital strength used by regulatory agencies - to about 8 percent, nearing ANZ's benchmark 8.1 percent.
The placement would be followed by an offer to retail shareholders to participate in a non-underwritten share purchase plan for up to 10,000 Australian dollars' worth of NAB ordinary shares, the bank said.
Trade in NAB shares was suspended on Monday pending the share sale announcement, but an index of Australian bank shares fell 1.4 percent, underperforming a 1.4 percent gain on the main S&P/ASX 200 index. "That tells you something in itself, that the sector faces significant headwinds," Martin said.
The investment firm Babcock & Brown said on Monday that it had sold its rights to manage the Babcock Capital fund, a move consistent with its narrowing the focus of the group's activities. Its shares dropped by more than a quarter.
In its statement, NAB said that it was raising capital in order to strengthen its balance sheet and take advantage of organic growth opportunities, citing more favorable market conditions, which would be equivalent to expected shortfalls in its dividend reinvestment plan.

[Sigma Contract Specification]

Sigma Forex provide the clients with the lowest spreads in Forex Market for the most traded pairs and Forex spots.

Trading Hours
Sigma Dealing Room operate 24/5 from Sunday 23:00 CET until Friday 23.00 CET.
You Can contact us directly: + 41 435 004 145

Margin Requirements
The margin requirements must be respected by Friday at 23:00 GMT and before holidays.
One of our dealers will contact you if you are below your margin requirements at that time. Your margin requirements will depend on the client's account equity. However, if you approach the level where the loss of your open positions approaches the balance of your account, you will be stopped out and your positions will be closed. Stop positions will be executed when there is only around 50% equity of the required margin left in your account.

Streamline Dealing
Clients will not suffer Price Re-Quote that you can buy and sell directly on real-time prices without a request for quote (RFQ).
Clients taking advantage of wrong price quotes in the Market Watch will be requoted.
Sigma Forex effort is taken to ensure correct pricing at all times. However, there are rare circumstances when wrong prices are given.

Stop Order Execution
Volatile market conditions can result in prices gapping, which may prevent the execution of stop orders (sell stop, buy stop, stop loss) at the price you initially requested. However, our dealers strive to execute all stop orders at the price, or failing that, at the best attainable rate the market allows.

Lot Types
Sigma Forex has generated an ultimate account type that allow you to trade Standard, Mini and Micro lot in the same account which is Sigma Account to make it more simple and easy for traders.

Multi Currency Denomination

Sigma offers the ability to set-up accounts denominated in the following currencies:
• United States dollar (USD)
• Euro (EUR)
• Great Britain pound (GBP)
• Australian dollar (AUD)
• Swiss Frank (CHF)

There is no minimum deposit for opening an account, in order to review the spreads, pip value & margin requirement choose the required pair, leverage & the lot type.
If you have any problem regarding Sigma Contract Specification click on the Live Chat button on the right hand side and our customer support staff will help you through the process.

European investors European Bonds Drop as Stock-Market Rally Boosts Risk Appetite

German 10-year government bonds fell, paring the biggest weekly advance this year, as a rebound in stocks eroded demand for the safety of fixed-income securities.
The difference in yield between the bund and the two-year German note was near the narrowest in two weeks as investors reduced holdings of the safest assets. Bonds dropped even as a report showed the euro-area economy shrank in the fourth quarter by the most in at least 13 years, making it more likely the European Central Bank will cut the refinancing rate next month.

“We’ve had a recovery in equities overnight and investors are selling bonds a bit,” said Luca Cazzulani, a fixed-income strategist in Milan at Unicredit Markets & Investment Banking, a unit of Italy’s largest lender. “There has already been a sharp rally this week and the data wasn’t really a surprise.”

The yield on the bund, Europe’s benchmark government security, rose four basis points to 3.12 percent by 10:17 a.m. in London, leaving it 25 basis points lower this week. That would be the biggest weekly yield decline since Dec. 19. The 3.75 percent security due January 2019 fell 0.37, or 3.7 euros per 1,000-euro ($1,289) face amount, to 105.24.
The yield on the two-year note climbed two basis points to 1.32 percent, near the lowest level since at least 1990. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
European stocks tracked gains in Asian markets amid optimism governments will expand efforts to revive the global economy and rescue banks. The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro region, added 1.8 percent.

Deepening Recession
Bonds gained this week amid signs the first recession since the European currency’s debut a decade ago is deepening, putting pressure on policy makers to cut interest rates. ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos said this week the central bank may lower rates to a record in March and consider other measures to stimulate growth. The ECB trimmed the main refinancing rate 50 basis points to 2 percent last month.
Gross domestic product in the region fell 1.5 percent from the previous quarter, the European Union’s statistics office said. That compares with the 1.3 percent decline forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. GDP declined 2.1 percent in Germany and 1.2 percent in France, the two national statistics offices said today.
“Persistent uncertainty and risk aversion should continue to generate relatively stronger demand for longer maturities,” fixed-income strategists at WestLB wrote in a client note today.
Countries around the world are scrambling to put together aid packages to prop up the international financial system after a crisis that resulted in more than $1 trillion in credit-market related losses.

‘Temporary Obstacle’
Italy sold 7.3 billion euros of securities maturing between 2013 and 2029 today. The auction included 3.4 billion euros of bonds due 2013, which yielded an average 3.75 percent, 154 basis points more than the equivalent German five-year note.
“Supply is a temporary obstacle” to lower yields, Nick Stamenkovic, a fixed-income strategist in Edinburgh at RIA Capital Markets, a securities broker for banks and institutional investors. “The fundamental backdrop remains positive.”
German bonds earned investors 0.4 percent this year, compared with a loss of 1.5 percent for gilts and a drop of 2.2 percent for Treasuries, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.’s German Federal Governments, U.K. Gilts and U.S. Treasury Master indexes. German bonds returned 12 percent last year.

[SigmaForex Introducing Broker]

Expand your business and revenue potential while offering your referred clients the highest available level of service and support.
Sigma’s Introducing Broker Program allows individuals to receive remuneration for directing new clients to Sigma.

Refer new self-directed or managed account clients to Sigma and make easier the account opening and funding process. In return, Sigma provides all of the essential tools and resources you need to launch and manage a successful IB operation.
We are committed to delivering the highest levels of service and a quality product offering to help you grow your business.
Sigma provides an array of services and as an Introducing Broker, you and your clients will benefit from:

Sophisticated trading platform

Our trading platform feature quality execution capabilities as well as advanced and easy-to-use order entry and position management tools, all in a secure environment. A full suite of decision support tools, from charting to research, news and more, are also available to clients free of charge.
Furthermore, our software, service, and execution is second to none.
Account for all levels of experience

Your clients will be able to organize their trading account according to their needs and their experience level and risk appetite. Sigma is best suited and ideal for experienced traders and individual investors.
Unique Product, is the only firm to offer competitive spreads and zero commissions and zero swaps
Dedicated back-office support

Sigma supplies complete back office services.
Sigma’s Partner Services team is dedicated to providing Outstanding Compensation and full account management support to our IB clients. As part of our service, Sigma provides all IB partners online access to our proprietary reporting tool, allowing you to closely monitor referred account volume and revenue. Our customer support is 24 hours, customers may fund around the clock.

For more details contcat IB@SigmaForex.com

Chemical Companies Poland Plans IPOs of Power, Chemical, Coal Companies

Poland plans “at least” four initial public offerings of state-owned companies this year, including Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, the country’s biggest power group.

State-owned coal producer Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka SA and chemical company Zaklady Azotowe Kedzierzyn SA may also sell shares to the public, Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said in an interview with TVN CNBC Biznes today. He didn’t name the fourth company.
Polska Grupa’s share sale may become the biggest this year as it plans to raise as much as 5 billion zloty (1.4 billion) for investment, according to Grad. The proceeds from the sales of new shares will go to the companies and not the government.

Poland may dispose of its controlling stakes in utility Enea SA, chemical producers Ciech SA and Azoty Tarnow, as well as in the Warsaw Stock Exchange this year to meet its target of 12 billion zloty. Last year Poland sold 2.37 billion zloty of state assets.
“We should be able to meet this target but it will be hard in the current conditions,” Grad said.
The sale of the remaining state-owned stakes in domestic lenders, including Bank Pekao SA and Bank BPH SA, is “not being considered at all” after stock prices of financial companies dropped amid the global credit crunch, Grad said.

The benchmark WIG20 Index slid 16 percent this year, extending a record 48 percent decline in 2008, as the global crisis cut demand for riskier assets. The financial industry’s WIGBANK Index slumped 28 percent in 2009, after a 45 percent drop last year.

[SigmaForex Money Manager]

Elevate the quality of your trading, Money managers trading pooled or individual client funds benefit from Sigma’s trading and administrative tools and services.

With preferential rating access to Sigma’s research staff, sophisticated trading platform and reporting tools, Sigma’s money manager solution is one of the most competitive in the marketplace.
Sigma provides a dedicated team of account management specialists to provide ongoing back-office support, and help reduce your administrative responsibilities.
Highly developed trading platform

Our trading platform feature quality execution capabilities as well as advanced and easy-to-use order entry and position management tools, all in a secure friendly environment. A full suite of decision support tools, from charting to research, news and more, are also available to clients all for free.
Characteristic tools
Our proprietary tool offers money managers a comprehensive and efficient way to manage pooled customer funds and track portfolio performance. Accessible online, the system automatically journals percentages of your transactions from your Master account into your client's sub accounts at the close of each trade.

We also support the needs of money managers who wish to execute trades and place orders on a per account basis. Reporting capabilities are available directly within the application, as well as real-time margin and P&L.
Back-office support
Our Partner Services team is dedicated to providing full account management support to our money managers and your clients. Our customer support is 24 hours, customers may fund around the clock. Sigma’s Partner Services team is dedicated to providing Outstanding Compensation and full account management support.

For more details contcat MM@SigmaForex.com

Rate cut Three-Month Euribor Falls to Record Low on ECB Rate-Cut Bets

The euro interbank offered rate, or Euribor, for three-month loans fell to a record low on speculation the European Central Bank will cut its main refinancing rate next month.

The rate dropped two basis points to 1.94 percent today, the European Banking Federation said. That’s the lowest level since the inception of the euro in January 1999 and down from a record high of 5.39 percent on Oct. 10. The three-month euro overnight index average rate, which shows traders’ expectations for the central bank’s key rate, was at 0.98 percent, down from 1.2 percent at the end of January and 1.73 percent on Dec. 31.

[SigmaForex White Label]

Forex White Label Program

As your partner, our goal is to support you through the planning and launch phases and beyond to ensure a mutually successful and long-term business relationship
Establish your brand in the Forex Brokerage industry.

Our Forex White Label program is for individuals and institutions that want to establish a brand name and a presence in the Forex industry. As a white label partner, you will be provided with a platform branded with your name and logo as well as content for your introducing broker website. Also Sigma white label partner program enables banks and brokers to satisfy their customers' demand for online trading tools. Our trading solutions enable you to harness and develop already existing customer trading relationships and extract greater returns from them whilst streamlining internal trading operations and rendering them as efficient as possible.

You will also enjoy our 24-hour market, full service of back office support, and other administrative and support functions.

Ideal candidates for the Forex white label program include:

• Financial services firms that want to establish a new Forex brokerage division. For example, banks, insurance companies, etc.
• Trading firms and/or online brokers that want to offer a greater range of products to their customers. you will be providing your clients with a great value-added service while increasing the profitability of your firm.
• Companies offering Forex tools and advisory services - This can be websites or newsletters that provide an analysis of the Forex or futures market, advisory businesses, etc. that want to expand their web presence by offering online Forex trading capabilities to their existing client base.
• Forex White Label Introducing Brokers will enjoy the most advanced Forex trading software in the market. The web-based white label trading platform provides real time, streaming currency prices and instantaneous one click execution, real time management of currency positions, in addition to complete back office support and reporting features. Along with other tools to help traders make trading decisions. The software is also compatible with most operating systems. This means that your customers can trade currencies from any computer, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.

If you want to discuss your potential Forex White Label Introducing Brokerage business with us via mail

Inflation report,Polish January Inflation Was Slowest in 15 Months, Survey Shows

Poland’s inflation rate probably dropped to a 15-month low in January as economic growth slows, increasing the likelihood of further interest rate cuts.
The annual rate fell for a fifth consecutive month to 3 percent, according to the median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Consumer prices probably rose 0.4 percent in the month after falling 90.1 percent in December, according to the median estimate of eight economists. The Central Statistical Office will release the report at 2 p.m. today in Warsaw.
Economic growth is slowing in the European Union’s biggest eastern member state as its main export markets in western Europe struggle with recession and investors shun riskier emerging economy assets. The slowdown is also braking wage growth, easing inflationary pressure.

“We’ll see the inflation rate continuing to fall over the next few months,” said Maciej Reluga, the chief economist at Bank Zachodni WBK, by phone. “The economic slowdown is really
significant.”

The central bank has cut the benchmark seven-day reference rate by 1.75 percentage points since November to 4.25 percent in an effort to boost economic growth. Reluga said another reduction can be expected this month.
The Polish Finance Ministry said earlier this month it expected an annual inflation rate of 3.2 percent in January.

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Financial services companies

Stocks in Europe, Asia Climb; Barclays, ING, ThyssenKrupp GainStocks in Europe and Asia advanced, sending the MSCI World Index higher for the first time in four days, on speculation governments will expand efforts to revive the economy. U.S. futures fluctuated between gains and losses.

Barclays Plc, the U.K.’s third-biggest bank, and ING Groep NV gained more than 2 percent amid speculation the White House will help mortgage borrowers. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. jumped 9 percent in Sydney as the country’s senate passed a $28 billion stimulus package. ThyssenKrupp AG rallied 4.4 percent after Germany’s largest steelmaker posted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.
The MSCI World Index added 0.9 percent to 845.51 at 10:58 a.m. in London. The gauge of 23 developed markets has lost 2.9 percent this week as companies from Electricite de France SA to Diageo Plc posted disappointing results.
“The market is starting to look a little farther ahead and anticipate a recovery, that the huge stimulus packages will bear fruit,” said Franz Wenzel, Paris-based deputy director for investment strategy at Axa Investment Managers, which oversees about $770 billion.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added less than 0.1 percent before a private report today that may show confidence among U.S. consumers fell in February. The benchmark for U.S. equities yesterday recovered from a 3.1 percent tumble in the final hour of trading as banks recouped losses.

Asia, Europe
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for the first time in five days, adding 0.9 percent. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index gained 1.8 percent, led by Air France-KLM Group, Michelin & Cie. and Pernod Ricard SA, as all 19 industry groups advanced.
The Stoxx 600 is still down 2.3 percent this week, poised for its first weekly loss since Jan. 23. Europe’s economy contracted 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, the most in at least 13 years, compounding pressure on the European Central Bank to reduce interest rates next month.
Profits have declined 65 percent for 574 companies in western Europe that have released earnings since Jan. 12, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“The one factor that investors are hanging onto is the government intervention,” Julien Quistrebert, who helps manage $5.2 billion at KBL Richelieu Gestion in Paris, said in a Bloomberg television interview. “It’s reassuring the market.”
The Obama administration’s housing plan will use government money to help reduce interest rates for struggling borrowers, while asking lawmakers to approve more ways to modify mortgages, according to a person briefed on the proposal. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner intends to make the plan public in coming days, possibly within a week, said the person, who declined to be identified before the announcement.

Barclays, ING
Barclays advanced 4.1 percent to 109.3 pence while ING, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, added 2.4 percent to 6 euros.
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group jumped 9 percent to A$12.96 in Sydney. Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank, added 2.9 percent to A$24.08.
The country’s Senate approved in a second vote a A$42 billion ($28 billion) stimulus package aimed at ensuring the economy doesn’t enter its first recession in 18 years.
ThyssenKrupp climbed 4.4 percent to 18.22 euros. The steelmaker said first-quarter profit slumped 59 percent to 168 million euros ($215.5 million) as demand dropped at the quickest pace since World War II and it wrote down the value of inventories. That beat the 135 million-euro median of seven analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell 6.1 percent to 11.5 billion euros.

Semiconductor Companies
STMicroelectronics NV increased 5.5 percent to 4.41 euros. Europe’s biggest semiconductor maker was raised to “neutral” from “sell” at UBS AG. The bank lifted its recommendation on European semiconductor shares and technology hardware shares to “overweight,” saying valuations are attractive.
Air France added 4.5 percent to 8.08 euros. Europe’s biggest airline kept its goal of having an operating profit this fiscal year even after reporting a third-quarter operating loss of 194 million euros. Air France also said it will reduce its workforce by 2,000 employees.
Michelin rose 2.9 percent to 31.86 euros. The world’s second-largest tiremaker said it will focus on “improving its profitability and preserving its robust financial position” this year after 2008 profit fell 53 percent.
Pernod jumped 6.1 percent to 48.88 euros. The world’s second-largest liquor company said first-half profit rose 15 percent on Asian demand. UBS analysts reiterated a “buy” recommendation after Pernod’s earnings statement, citing an improved outlook for the company’s profit margins and benefits from lower interest rates.

New LSE CEO
London Stock Exchange Group Plc gained 5.5 percent to 496 pence. The company named Xavier Rolet to succeed Clara Furse as chief executive officer, bringing an end to her eight-year reign at Europe’s oldest independent bourse.
Under Furse, LSE’s first female CEO, the bourse fought off five takeover offers in two years and bought the operator of the Milan stock exchange in 2007. While LSE has remained independent, rivals including Euronext NV, Deutsche Boerse AG and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. have forged alliances, adding to the range of products they offer and giving them greater size. LSE’s shares lost 74 percent last year on concern falling stock prices and competition from electronic exchanges will erode earnings.

Kingfisher Upgrade
Kingfisher Plc added 5.5 percent to 144.2 pence. Europe’s largest home-improvement retailer was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at UBS.
“Although there is no evidence yet that demand is improving, the capacity situation in both the retail and trade markets, and a better outlook on costs, suggest B&Q profit forecasts may be on the turn,” the brokerage wrote in a note to clients.

[Sigma Contract Specification]

Sigma Forex provide the clients with the lowest spreads in Forex Market for the most traded pairs and Forex spots.

Trading Hours
Sigma Dealing Room operate 24/5 from Sunday 23:00 CET until Friday 23.00 CET.
You Can contact us directly: + 41 435 004 145

Margin Requirements
The margin requirements must be respected by Friday at 23:00 GMT and before holidays.
One of our dealers will contact you if you are below your margin requirements at that time. Your margin requirements will depend on the client's account equity. However, if you approach the level where the loss of your open positions approaches the balance of your account, you will be stopped out and your positions will be closed. Stop positions will be executed when there is only around 50% equity of the required margin left in your account.

Streamline Dealing
Clients will not suffer Price Re-Quote that you can buy and sell directly on real-time prices without a request for quote (RFQ).
Clients taking advantage of wrong price quotes in the Market Watch will be requoted.
Sigma Forex effort is taken to ensure correct pricing at all times. However, there are rare circumstances when wrong prices are given.

Stop Order Execution
Volatile market conditions can result in prices gapping, which may prevent the execution of stop orders (sell stop, buy stop, stop loss) at the price you initially requested. However, our dealers strive to execute all stop orders at the price, or failing that, at the best attainable rate the market allows.

Lot Types
Sigma Forex has generated an ultimate account type that allow you to trade Standard, Mini and Micro lot in the same account which is Sigma Account to make it more simple and easy for traders.

Multi Currency Denomination

Sigma offers the ability to set-up accounts denominated in the following currencies:

• United States dollar (USD)
• Euro (EUR)
• Great Britain pound (GBP)
• Australian dollar (AUD)
• Swiss Frank (CHF)

There is no minimum deposit for opening an account, in order to review the spreads, pip value & margin requirement choose the required pair, leverage & the lot type.

If you have any problem regarding Sigma Contract Specification click on the Live Chat button on the right hand side and our customer support staff will help you through the process.