QUANTITATIVE EASING

Japan's economy will emerge from a lull toward spring and is certain to pull out of deflation over time, a Bank of Japan policymaker said, offering an upbeat take on the outlook on budding signs of a recovery.

Whatever your finance advisor, economics professor, banker or coin dealer might tell you, no single asset class - bought today - can promise to hold or grow its value, year after year, until precisely the day when you need to sell it and spend.

Quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve and other central banks cannot address fundamental economic problems but may lead to excessive global liquidity and competitive currency depreciation, China's central bank said on Sunday.

Quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve and other central banks cannot address fundamental economic problems but may lead to excessive global liquidity and competitive currency depreciation, China's central bank said on Sunday.

The biggest question regarding the highly controversial program of QE2 remains this: did it work? Of course it worked, answered David Tepper, the billionaire hedge fund manager of Appaloosa Management.

If one had to pick the next 'AAA' country to lose their golden ratings, the U.S. would be a pretty good choice.

The equity markets of mature economies will outperform those of the emerging markets this year, said Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom, and Doom report.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve, which meets next week, is unlikely to curtail its plan to buy $600 billion of Treasury securities by June despite the stronger tone of the incoming economic data, research firm Capital Economics said in a note on Wednesday.

History shows the U.S. can force China to revalue the yuan.

Foreigners increased purchases of U.S. securities in November, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday, though it was private investors rather than central banks who did the bulk of the buying.

Gold priced in US dollars rose for a second day on Tuesday. Reflecting the improved consumer appetite for gold in Asia, premiums for gold bars rose on Monday to hit another two-year high as jewelers from China rushed to buy ahead of the Lunar New Year, while purchases from the electronics sector helped stir up physical trading in Japan, dealers said.

Jim Rogers, the famous commodity bull, currently favors rice over gold as an investment.

The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record low 0.5 percent as expected on Thursday, judging that longer-term downward pressure on prices will quell a looming spike in inflation.

Investors are likely to pour more funds into Egypt in 2011 as a strengthening economy and attractive yields outweigh a fragile social backdrop and uncertainty ahead of a presidential election.

Gold prices rose in Europe on Wednesday, as a retreat in the dollar, rising oil prices and caution ahead of a sale of Portuguese bonds later in the day all boosted interest in the precious metal.

The extra fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts approved in December could produce a 4 percent growth rate for the U.S. economy in the first half of 2011, but there are lingering risks that could lead to a cold shower in 2012, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega has accused the United States of engaging in currency manipulation, and said his country would raise this issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO), adding that the U.S. and Chinese policies are fomenting a trade war.

Statistics released by the People’s Bank of China on Tuesday showed the Chinese forex kitty is bursting at seams with an 18.6 percent growth in 2010 which made it zoom to a record $2.85 trillion.

A top Federal Reserve official said he would set the bar very high for the central bank to stop short in its planned $600 billion in bond purchases, but that the Fed may need to begin considering a reversal of policy by year end.

Data showed on Monday the Chinese trade surplus narrowed in December, easing the conflict between Beijing and Washington over rising U.S. trade deficit even as Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled to meet President Obama in the White House on January 19.

Investors head into this week on the defensive as the potential for U.S. equity gains could be limited even if earnings begin on a strong note.