TradingFloor.com highlights: Facebook is a less risky investment

EQUITIES: Facebook – a less risky investment after Q3 report

Peter Bo Kiaer, Strategist and Equity Analyst at Saxo:

“The earnings hiccup from Google made me nervous ahead of Facebook's report but my concerns were soon allayed. Facebook's revenues rose 32.3 percent over the last 12 months, which is very good. This stems partly from more users (28% growth) but also a 3.6% increase in Average Revenue per User (ARPU) - a relatively small number, but very important in terms of the value of Facebook. Okay, one quarter does not tell the whole story but up to now Facebook has been unable to persuade investors and analysts that it is capable of compensating for the loss of PC advertising revenue by mobile revenue. The Q3 earnings report may be an indication that the tide is turning. The actual lift in ARPU is a strong signal in my opinion, particularly considering Google messed up on this front.”

FOREX: Market induces whiplash ahead of FOMC meeting

John Hardy, Head of FX Strategy at Saxo:

“It felt yesterday like “something snapped” in terms of market sentiment, but a move like today’s, which comes ahead of a key risk event, are hardly a confidence booster for those looking for a further consolidation in risk. We won’t know if today’s melt-up in risk and melt-down in the USD is merely a mind-bending run on nervous risk shorts or a real reversal until we see tonight’s reaction and perhaps another day of follow-through, but suffice it to say that this market is whippy and dangerous at the moment. Certainly, if the USD manages to stay weak after the FOMC meeting and the EURUSD manages to pull back above 1.3000, we’ll have to count ourselves as thoroughly hood-winked by the last couple of days of market action as this would be a weak sign for the USD and a possible key reversal day."

MACRO: The King and I and the one up and two down of FX!

Neil Staines, Head of Trading at the ECU Group:

"Overnight Bank of England Governor Mervyn King warned that “advanced nations are condemning themselves to feeble recoveries by failing to get to grips with their crippled banking systems”. He also condemned the rising belief that the best way that the world's central banks can withdraw from their holdings of sovereign debt is to cancel the debt. He suggested that such a practice would be “dangerous” and that the easy money of recent years will not last forever; despite the suggestion that the BoE stands ready to inject more liquidity if needed."