News that we can use.

Goldman Sachs earnings fall, trading faces difficulties
It is a piece of very bad news for Goldman in the last few days.Goldman posted disappointing earnings to a large extent because its highly profitable investment banking and trading divisions saw activities slow in the last quarter. The firm had to account for its settlement with the SEC, but that is a one time charge. The faltering in the growth of its core businesses could continue and will likely be compounded by restrictions that the new financial reform legislation puts on proprietary trading.

My Notes: Most U.S. investment banks have faced lower profits, this quarter. The same is the story with many Indian brokerages which have reported lower Q1 earnings. We may be going through a change in the methods of trading. We will look deeper into this issue.

New safe-haven currencies shine amid debt fears
The Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and Swedish crown are gaining in popularity as investors increasingly look for alternatives.

My Notes: Alternate investment vehicles will become increasingly significant in the portfolio of traders. For us, Agro commodities & Metals offer some alternatives to Nifty.

Six Reasons Why China Stocks Will Rise

Investment indicators for China itself were even more dramatic. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.9%, its biggest gain in a month. Chinese firms that consume resources from abroad also leapt on hopes that commodities would drop in price as the yuan rose. In New York, the China ADR Index jumped more than 2.5%
1 China Holds the Keys to Confidence
2 China Will Become a Big Spender
3 It Won’t be the U.S. Consumers to the Rescue This Time
4 Finding A Balance
5 Squelching Inflation
6 The Political Bonus

My Notes: Well, this is the optimistic forecast. But, it could well turn out to be accurate.

Summary
Brokerages are facing difficulties, this seems to be developing as a theme. For the markets, the Nifty is at 5418, certainly not a bearish number. We are at 24 month highs. There will be dips and corrections but we should not challenge the trend.S o far, the trend is up.