Portfolio Performance : +5.15%

Headline News

1. US Paulson does not see evidence speculators driving oil price
2. Paulson says that oil price rise is mostly a result of supply and demand
3. Paulson says that there is room for improvement in the regulation of the energy futures market
4. Japan May Corporate Price Service Index higher by 0.6% YoY
5. Japan May Trade Surplus 365.61 billion Yen vs 395.55 Billion Yen from a year earlier
6. Financial Times says that Australian resources in demand as never before
7. Taiwan would talk with China on direct shipping and oil exploration in the second half of this year
8. China Q2 banking prosperity index falls to 68.3 percent versus 69.7 percent in Q1
9. South Korean authorities sold as much as $1 USD to boost the KRW, the intervention helped supported the WON, but the currency remains among the five Asian currencies that have fallen by 7 percent or more against the USD
10. Trichet sees inflation remaining high for longer than previously thought
11. Trichet says that ECB is in state of heightened alertness
12. Euro Zone industrial orders were higher by 11.7 percent year on year
13. UK July retail sales expectations fall to -7 percent versus +6 in June
14. Trichet says that commodity prices are driven more by demand than supply
15. The Thai government says that the economy is set to grow 5.6% this year
16. US Durable Goods unchanged in May (no surprises here)
17. Saudi arrests 700 Islamists preparing "oil attacks"
18. US May New Home Sales lower by 2.5 percent to 512 000 versus 515 000 expected
19. Spainish housing slowdown to end in second half of 2009

My expectation for the USD crosses

1. AUD : Positive
2. GBP : Negative
3. CAD : Neutral
4. JPY : Positive
5. CHF : Negative
6. EUR : Positive

Bottomline : I think the market is against the USD, but I am not going to place my bets just yet, I will wait for Bernanke to signal his decision later first