Euro has continued its positive rally as economy provides support.  The refinancing rate has been kept stable at 0.75% and this decision has been taken unanimously by the members of European Central Bank (ECB).  The currency rose 1.2% in the last trading session and closed at $1.32 against the US Dollar.

The above picture shows the movement of the currency in the past week. It has been gaining strength and there’s a peak rise in the last 3-4 trading sessions. There has been a reduction in the expectation of the rate cuts in the future as well; this gave a boost to the confidence in the currency. The currency also gained from the news that Spain and Italy posted successful numbers in sale of bonds in their auction held this week.

Spain’s 10 year government bond received higher demand and it sold at a lower yield cost compared to the previous year. The yield cost or the borrowing cost was down at 5.65% lower than the previous year rate of 6.65% and also below the average rate of 5.95% in 2012. This rate is the lowest since March 2012. In a similar auction held, Italy sold its bond at a rate that is lowest in the past three years. The next auction in Italy is due today.  the decreased borrowing cost of bonds also signifies that there is a growth path ahead for the  European economy

However the currency is to pass a serious issue ahead today or early next week when German chancellor Angela Merkel, Ireland’s Enda Kenny and other leaders of the European People’s party are set to meet in Cyprus to decide on the stimulus package of $ 15 billion that it has demanded. The chancellor and other leaders have rejected the amount but Cyprus has told that it had enough cash to run till March this year. if EU decides on the package, there would be questions on the percentage to be contributed by each countries towards this; which might have an effect on the country’s currency.

Yen is said to gain against Euro for the first time in the year as prime minister Abe, announced $ 116 billion stimulus package approved by the cabinet for reviving the country from recession, it is said to allocate funds to build infrastructure and uplift the manufacturing sector in the country. This would increase the currency value against the US Dollar and Euro. It is currently trading at ¥ 88.91 against Dollar and ¥ 118.01 against Euro.

On the other hand Great Britain’s pound rose 0.6% against the dollar and stood at $1.61 close during the last trading session. This was after the Bank of England kept the interest rates on hold and announced that no further monetary easing plans are expected in the coming months.

ECB president, Mario Draghi, is confident that 2013, will be a positive year for Europe and will be set in the growth path, wherein the currency is believed to offset it losses faced in the previous year.

By Sinjhuja Srinivasan

Cobalt Capital regularly deals with members of the press and has highly regarded views on all areas of the mortgage market. We are always happy to meet with journalists to give our take on the issues of the day, and can be contacted at any time for comment, including out of hours. On a regular basis, we also produce informative newsletters and market/product reviews, along with a swift reaction to the Monetary Policy Committee’s monthly interest rate meetings.

One area that we are particularly keen to help out in is case studies: we are constantly dealing with a wide number of fascinating properties and mortgage scenarios, and are pleased to share them with the local, national and trade press. If you’re looking for a particular kind of case study, we will do our best to find one in the quickest time possible.

For comment on any mortgage-related matter, or for help with case studies, call either Julian Ingall or Andrew Montlake, of Cobalt, or our PR representative, Dominic Hiatt, on the numbers provided below. Alternatively, to view our latest press releases, click on the appropriate links, right.

What our clients say about us…

“Some people say rugby’s a technical game, but it’s nothing compared to the complexity of the mortgage market. Thankfully, Cobalt Capital know mortgages inside out, and are excellent at explaining, in simple terms, the nuts and bolts of the various products and the reasons for their recommendations. I found this really helped with such a  significant financial commitment and is something that would  certainly be helpful to my teammates in the pack.” Kyran Bracken, Saracens Rugby

“I thoroughly enjoyed dealing with Cobalt Capital from start to finish. The broker I dealt with was highly experienced and arranged my mortgage quickly and without any fuss. I was given regular updates throughout, which provided real peace of mind. Cobalt offer a very  bespoke service and one that I would confidently recommend to anyone   else. The company’s knowledge of the mortgage market is unsurpassed.” Brian Marcel

“For me, one of the biggest challenges with mortgages is the sheer time needed to put everything into place. Thankfully, Cobalt took control of the process and did it all for me”

“Just to say I am hugely impressed with the speed of the mortgage offer. Fantastic stuff. Thanks again”

“Cobalt’s mortgage consultants were thorough and efficient”

“Many thanks for all your assistance in our recent remortgage. It has been a pleasure dealing with you”

“I was really impressed with the speed of the mortgage offer and the exceptional level of service. With Cobalt, arranging a mortgage doesn’t have to be a pain”

“Thank you. I would never have used this kind of service, but am glad that I did. I will certainly recommend you”

What our lenders say about us…

“Cobalt’s experience and professional approach to both mortgage administration and customer service is clearly evident in the business submitted to us. We look forward to working together in the future”

“Applications from Cobalt are a pleasure to process. Their mortgage packaging is second to none”

“Cobalt is truly a 5-star intermediary. The portfolio of clients introduced to us has been of exceptional quality, fully justifying their preferential status as one of our top introducers. The business can only go from strength to strength”

“An A1 introducer”

What our introducers say about us…

“Cobalt’s mortgage consultants combine wide-ranging experience with a relaxed but proactive style of delivery and back-up. In short, they’re a company you feel you can trust to give the best possible mortgage choices within the shortest timescales”

“Cobalt delivered a responsive, high value-added service to my clients, so much so that I remortgaged my own debt through them”

“Cobalt Capital are true professionals offering exceptionally high levels of customer service — they always perform well!”

“A mortgage broker who simply finds the cheapest lending rate but takes weeks to produce a mortgage offer is of no use to us or our clients. Cobalt’s personalised service and relationship with lenders brings the speed and focus to the financing element that we seek”

Carrying out a credit check is a necessary step in the vast majority of mortgage applications, as lenders want to know that you will meet your repayments and be a reliable borrower before they make an offer. The companies Cobalt Capital uses to provide such references and ‘credit scores’, as well as to protect against financial crime, are shown below. Click on the links to learn more about them and the systems they use.

Investing and trading both involve the Stock Market, but they are very different from each other.

Trading

Traders are people who are actively on the Stock Market. They usually have a short term strategy that revolves around getting profits quickly. One of the most commonly heard names is day trader. Those who take part in Day trading buy into stocks at a low point and sell the stock shortly thereafter. They try to ride the growth of the stock and then sell as it starts to lose value.

Most day traders sell all of their stocks before the closing of the market. Day traders have a variety of sub-categories, which each have their own strategy for making money in the market. Scalpers are a common type of day trader. Their main strategy is to make many trades each day and try to make a small profit on each one. The strategy allows them to minimize their losses and is less risky than some other strategies. Another type of day trader is the momentum trader. They make money in the market by buying into a stock that is rapidly increasing in value and then selling as soon as the increase begins to slow down.

Qualities of Trading

• Risky
• Active
• Short Term

Trading is much riskier than Investing is because it’s impossible to know exactly how a stock is going to behave. It also involves spending a large amount of time actively watching the Stock Market for potential stocks. You may need to do a large amount of research depending on the type of trader you are. Most traders have short term strategies that involve them not having any stocks after the market closes for the day.

Investing

When someone invests in a stock they are looking for growth over a period of time. Generally, investing is done in equities because they have historically been the best performing stocks to invest in for long term growth. Usually, When someone wants to be an investor they will buy into a few different stocks. The stocks that a person invests in is called their portfolio. The benefit of investing in a number of stocks over a single stock is that there is less risk involved. If one of the stocks performs badly all of the investment isn’t lost. As with trading, there are different types of strategies for designing a portfolio. There are index tracker portfolios, which try to mimic the movements of the Dow Jones. There are also high dividend portfolios that consist of stocks with higher than normal returns. Most portfolio strategies will focus on either maximizing their long term capital growth or their income.

Qualities of Investing

• Passive
• Long Term
• Safer

Investing is much more passive than day trading. Once someone establishes their portfolio they leave it alone until they are ready to cash it in. Investing is much longer term than trading. Depending on the investor, it can be years until the stocks are sold. It is generally thought that investing is safer than trading because of what you’re investing in.