Money Saved Equals Money Won
Money saved is money won. When we sit down to play poker, we come out swinging with good hands, so we can stack the chips.
It makes us happy. After all, when we drag a pot and display our primacy at the holy game of poker, it’s visible evidence of skill, knowledge, cunning, and luck. What’s more, our opponents can see it too, and breathes there a poker player alive who is not justifiably proud of a terrific bluff, or an ability to convince an opponent to bet into the stone cold nuts?
Dragging a big pot is a moment every poker player loves. But that’s only half the battle, because money saved by not calling a bet with a weak hand spends just as well as an extra bet garnered through an impressive display of offensive poker skills.
We love offense. Maybe it’s inherent in the American character. Quarterbacks who make the big plays earn a lot more money than the cornerbacks and safeties who prevent big plays. We prefer home-run hitters and big RBI guys who can’t field a lick to gold-glove shortstops with anemic .243 batting averages earned by beating out bunts and punching singles into the opposite field with only a little more regularity than a good-hitting pitcher.
How Does Groupon Make Money?
(TechCrunch) — Groupon takes the old Entertainment Coupon Books
that your mom used to buy and brings it to the social web. Groupon sells a “Deal of the Day” in each of it’s now 52 supported cities offering significant savings for local restaurants, service providers, activities and memberships, and takes a commission. The trick is that the deal is only “triggered” once enough people buy in. This creates the incentive to share the deal with friends and family, until “the deal is on.” It’s great for local businesses because they can set the parameters for the offer and they know a minimum for how many offers they will have sold in advance. By combining the social web and virality with hard-to-replicate deals, Groupon has created a network-effects business for commerce that makes its model highly attractive (hence, every week seems to bring newcopycats).
http://www.atlantapost.com/2010/05/how-does-groupon-make-money/
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) – The agreement between EU
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) – The agreement between EU and IMF representatives to provide Greece with a EUR 110,000 billion bailout package has failed to support the Euro, and the common currency has dropped from 1.3350 area to 1.3205 session low, to pick up to 1.3250 at European session opening.
On the upside, the Euro could find resistance at 1.3265/80 area (Apr 28/29 highs), and above here, 1.3340 (Apr 30 high) and 1.3360 (session high). On the downside, support levels lie at 1.3205 (session low), and below here, 1.3180 (Apr 30 low) and 1.3150/60 (intra-day support).
EUR/GBP recovery from 0.8625 low on Friday was capped at 0.8725, and the pair’s retreat extended on Monday to session low at 0.8665. Next support levels are 0.8650/55 and 0.825/30. Resistance levels are 0.8725/35 and 0.8750.
WORLD FOREX: Euro Slides Vs Dollar, Yen On Bailout Fears
SINGAPORE (MarketWatch) — The euro fell against the U.S. dollar and yen Monday in Asian trade amid worries that a EUR110 billion bailout package for Greece, announced over the weekend, may still find hurdles later this week.
The euro, which rose on the bailout news early in the Asian session, fell to levels close to $1.3200 and last traded at $1.3224 at 0450 GMT, down from $1.3313 late Friday in New York trade.
“The source of euro weakness, we think, is concern that the bailout package will not receive approval from individual European parliaments,” analysts of Barclays Capital said in a research note. “The International Monetary Fund can begin dispensing funds without the approval of the European Union’s individual parliaments. But this does not prevent the uncertainty over the final bailout amount, which is weighing on the euro.”
A possible split between countries in favor of the bailout like France, and those against like Germany, may also be a euro negative, BarCap said, ahead of a key vote on the bailout by Germany’s parliament May 7–just before an important regional election there May 9.
Even if the euro manages a relief rally later this week on the bailout news, its mid-term picture remains clouded by concerns that other fiscally weakened euro-zone members, including Portugal and Spain, may also need financial support in coming months or years, other analysts said.
The euro also fell against the Japanese yen, and last traded at Y124.27 from Y124.69 late Friday, but remained above key support levels of around Y123 and Y121.
The pair may head higher soon as the yen is likely to be the least preferred major currency over the next few weeks due to Japan’s long-term commitment to a low rate policy, Thomas Harr, a forex strategist with Standard Chartered, said.
Against the dollar, the yen traded at Y93.94 from Y93.81. Japan’s markets will remain closed through Wednesday due to the Golden Week. Many international markets, including the U.K., are closed Monday for May Day.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar stuck to recent ranges and last traded at $0.9238 from $0.9244, shrugging off some early weakness after China Sunday ordered banks to set aside more of their deposits on reserve for the third time this year, a move that seeks to contain inflation and surging property prices.
Tony Morris, a strategist at ANZ said the Aussie dollar was supported by growing bets on a rate hike Tuesday, when Australia’s central bank will meet to review policy.
The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 82.216 from 81.866.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/world-forex-euro-slides-vs-dollar-yen-on-bailout-fears-2010-05-03
FOREX: Ringgit Traded Lower Against US Dollar In Early Session
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) — The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in early trading Monday as most market players sold off their ringgit positions to cover short positions on the greenback, dealers said.
At 9.30am, the local currency was traded at 3.2105/2145 compared with 3.1820/1850 on Friday.
They said the greenback, under persistent pressure, received a little boost as the European Monetary Union was expected to announce a bailout for Greece.
The ringgit was mostly lower against other major currencies.
It weakened against the Singapore dollar to 2.3358/3393 from 2.3306/3345 on Friday and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.4114/4171 from 3.3700/3750 Friday.
The local currency also dwindled against the euro to 4.2475/2544 from 4.2362/2408 last week and declined against the British pound to 4.8973/9047 from 4.8898/8960 on Friday.
