PROVEN RESULTS

The dollar is inching closer and closer to being worth the same as one euro. The last time that happened was 13 years ago.

So will the dollar really close on the euro anytime soon?

And if so, what does that mean for consumers, businesses and investors?

This year, the dollar has surged against the euro and most other global currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar versus the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, is up nearly 10% so far in 2015.

The main reason? Economic conditions in the United States are better than Europe and Japan. The value of a nation's currency typically rises and falls along with its economy.

As a result, the Federal Reserve is likely to soon hike interest rates, even as the European Central Bank and many other global central banks have been cutting rates. The dollar picked up even more steam Friday after a solid United States jobs report boosted the chances that the Fed may raise rates next month.

The euro is currently worth about $1.07, while this time a year ago, for each euro you got around $1.24. The drop in the value of the euro has been stunning. And it doesn't look like it's over just yet.

So if it the Dollar will keep gaining momentum, who will win and who will lose?

The strong dollar makes the price of imported goods cheaper in the United States, and gives advantage to Americans traveling abroad. The dollar has more purchasing power.

But the strong dollar is not good news for large corporations with a big international presence. For example, look at online travel agency Priceline, on Monday Shares tumbled nearly 10% after the company issued an earnings outlook that was below forecasts.

During a conference call with analysts, Priceline CEO Darren Huston said its domestic travel business has been strong and that Chinese travelers are still taking many trips to the U.S. But added that "generally almost everyone else is going a little less to the U.S. because of the currency effect."

The strong dollar has also hurt Coca-Cola (KO), IBM (IBM, Tech30), Caterpillar (CAT) and Procter & Gamble (PG) this year. That's something the Fed is going to have to watch closely before it decides to raise rates.

While many economists and Wall Street strategists now think a rate hike is all but certain at the Fed's next meeting in December, investors shouldn't ignore the role the dollar may play in the decision.

To put it in simple words: the strong dollar is hurting Corporate America. An eventual rate hike should boost the dollar further, especially if the ECB, the People's Bank of China and others continue to cut rates.

So when coming to conclusion, a strong dollar is good and bad at the same time, it depends who you’re asking. One can just hope he’s on the winning side of things when it comes to the rise of the Dollar.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

Investigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are "90 percent sure" the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb.

The Airbus A321 crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Sharm al-Sheikh tourist resort eight days ago, killing all 224 passengers and crew.

Islamic State militants fighting Egyptian security forces in Sinai said they brought it down. "The indications and analysis so far of the sound on the black box indicate it was a bomb," said the Egyptian investigation team member, who asked not to be named due to sensitivities. "We are 90 percent sure it was a bomb."

His comments reflect a much greater degree of certainty about the cause of the crash than the investigation committee has so far declared in public.

A Lead investigator said on Saturday that the plane appeared to have broken up in mid-air while it was being flown on auto-pilot, and that a noise had been heard in the last second of the cockpit recording. But he said it was too soon to draw conclusions about why the plane crashed.

Confirmation that militants brought down the airliner could have a devastating impact on Egypt's lucrative tourist industry, which has suffered from years of political turmoil and was hit last week when Russia, Turkey and several European countries suspended flights to Sharm al-Sheikh and other destinations.

It could also mark a new strategy by the hardline Islamic State group which holds large parts of Syria and Iraq. Asked to explain the remaining 10 percent margin of doubt, the investigator declined to elaborate, but cited other possibilities on Saturday including a fuel explosion, metal fatigue in the plane or lithium batteries overheating.

He said debris was scattered over a 13-km (8-mile) area "which is consistent with an in-flight break-up".

"What happened in Sharm al-Sheikh last week, and to a lesser extent with the ... (Germanwings) aircraft, are game changers for our industry," Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark said, referring to the crash of a Germanwings airliner in the French Alps in March, believed crashed deliberately by its co-pilot.

Clark said he had ordered a security review but was not suspending any flights as a result of the disaster. Emirates does not operate regular flights to Sharm al-Sheikh.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also said the incident could lead to changes in flight security.

"If this turns out to be a device planted by an ISIL operative or by somebody inspired by ISIL, then clearly we will have to look again at the level of security we expect to see in airports in areas where ISIL is active," Hammond told the BBC.

Islamic State militants fighting security forces in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula have said they brought down the aircraft as revenge for Russian air strikes against Islamist fighters in Syria. They said they would eventually tell the world how they carried out the attack.

If the group was responsible, it would have carried out one of the highest profile killings since al Qaeda flew passenger planes into New York's World Trade Center in September 2001.

In St Petersburg, where the flight was headed on Oct. 31, the bell of St Isaac's Cathedral rang 224 times and a service was held in memory of the victims.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

In a new report released on Sunday, the World Bank has warned that more than 100 million people could be pushed back into poverty within 15 years due to rising temperatures and extreme weather.

The World Bank also said climate change was already preventing people escaping poverty but the situation could get much worse.

"This report sends a clear message that ending poverty will not be possible unless we take strong action to reduce the threat of climate change on poor people and dramatically reduce harmful emissions," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

Crop failures due to drought, big rises in food prices after "extreme weather events," and a higher incidence of disease following heat waves and floods would hurt the poorest the hardest, the World Bank said in a statement.

The report found people in Africa and South Asia were especially vulnerable.

Stephane Hallegate, an economist who led the team preparing report, said that the future for these 100 million people is not yet determined.

"We have a window of opportunity to achieve our poverty objectives in the face of climate change, provided we make wise policy choices now," he said.

That would mean tackling the cause of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as taking steps to reduce the impact on the poor such as improved social safety nets and healthcare, building better flood defenses and developing climate-resistant crops, the report said.

The report comes roughly a month before top officials from around the world will attend the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris.

Previously, Nature Climate Change published studies indicating climate change could make parts of the Middle East too hot for human beings to survive.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

This is how our Signals look just minutes after the crucial U.S jobs report. As you can see in the picture below, 9/10 of our Signals were correct by the time the announcement was out.

The report was huge for the U.S economy, Here are the big numbers:

- US economy added 271,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate dropped to 5%. That unemployment rate is now at the lowest level since April 2008, and economists consider a 5% rate to indicate full employment.

Average hourly earnings grew 0.4% month-on-month, better than forecast. The report had been expected to lift the pace of jobs growth from the unexpected slump we saw over the last two months.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook: