The euro has rallied against the dollar and yen, on the back of news by Ireland's finance ministry that national lender Anglo Irish Bank is to be split.

The republic's decision – an attempt to wind down the bank's assets – is affecting Forex spreads as investors trade between the three currencies.

According to Reuters, the euro's rise cancelled out recent losses caused by fears over sovereign debt.

John McCarthy, director of foreign exchange trading at ING Capital Markets in New York, said: "Just the [Irish] announcement brought a little relief rally."

However, he warned that many investors intend to offload their euros and seek safety while prices are higher.

"People are looking to sell the euros in substantial rallies as issues such as sovereign debt in the euro zone have not gone away."

This week, the euro currency fell to an all-time low against the Swiss franc as a result of continued investor uncertainty over levels of public debt in the eurozone.

CFD trading platforms in Europe may soon face new regulations so that listed Irish companies can see who is investing in them.

Currently CFDs are not covered by the disclosure rules that govern ordinary share trading.

But according to the Irish Independent, the Irish Stock Exchange is in talks with the European Union (EU) about making CFD trading more transparent as the investment option increases in popularity.

The newspaper cited a stock exchange document addressed to the EU that stated: "As CFDs generally fall outside the scope of regulatory framework governing disclosure, the lack of disclosure of CFD positions means that listed companies are unable to determine who has significant economic exposure to their shares."

CFDs, or contracts-for-difference, allow for traders to buy and sell stakes based on how they think the asset will perform in the future.

Usually, the buyer agrees to pay the difference between the current share price and the share price at some pre-agreed point in the future.

This week, it emerged that online CFD trading has soared in popularity among investors in Australia this year.

Traders and investors sending money abroad may be interested to see the yen trading at a 15-year high against the dollar today (September 8th).

The day's trading started off with the dollar at 83.34 yen, as investors seek protection in the currency.

However, Reuters warned that this latest development is likely to test the resolve of the Japanese authorities, which have been carefully monitoring currency fluctuations in recent months due to fears the yen will become too strong against the dollar.

Kenneth Broux, market strategist at Lloyds Banking Group, explained to the provider: "The market is ignoring the official rhetoric in Japan. I think dollar/yen has more room to push lower from here, but I do think the Japanese will eventually have to intervene."

This comes at a tumultuous time in online Forex trading, with the Swiss franc also achieving an all-time high against the euro as a result of continued worries over Europe's sovereign debt levels.

Such sentiment has left many experts expecting to see gold spot prices reach new highs as investors look to protect themselves by placing money in safe-haven commodities.

Trading platforms specialising in CFD accounts are becoming more popular in Australia, new figures from the Australian Securities Exchange Group (ASX) suggest.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that ASX saw a nine per cent increase in the value of all CFD trades during August, with 16.3 million contracts bought and sold for a total of AU$371.6 million (£220.5 million).

As the newspaper notes, CFDs, or contracts-for-difference, consist of leveraged bets on future changes in the market price of a particular asset, and appeal particularly to "self-directed investors" trading online.

ASX, which operates Australia's only listed market for CFDs, said there was a 22 per cent in the number of traders in Australia in the year to June, 2010.

However, these 39,000 traders accounted for just six per cent of the online trading market, which comprised 650,000 people at the same point in time.

Earlier this month, online brokers were encouraged to look at emerging markets in South Africa and Asia for new investment opportunities, as these economies remained shielded from the worst effects of the global economic downturn, Bloomberg reports.

The spot price of gold could reach a new high this week, despite some investor resistance and slow trading.

That Is according to analysts, who believe that the yellow metal will be boosted to a new record price by the resilience it has shown in recovering after the publication of positive jobs data in the US.

Traditionally, gold is used as a hedge against economic uncertainty and fears of inflation and is a popular commodity in CFD trading.

Bloomberg reports that gold prices in London are fluctuating over worries that some of the leading European banks hold too much government debt, increasing the appeal of the precious metal as a "protection of wealth".

These fears prompted the euro to fall against the dollar. Gold, seen by investors as a safe-haven alternative to paper currencies, is currently 1.3 per cent below a record.

Analyst UBS AG told the news provider that these latest developments suggest Europe's debt problems could once more become a major deciding factor in the performance of gold prices.

Oil prices fell to just  under $74 (£48) a barrel in Asia on Tuesday, as a result of investor conjecture over the strength of the US economy and demand for crude.

According to the Associated Press (AP), electronic trading for October oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 83 cents to £73.77 a barrel at late afternoon in Singapore, something that was impacted by the closure of markets in the US on Monday for Labor Day.

Views of the US economy, which will subsequently affect CFD trading on oil and other commodities, are likely to be influenced by Friday's report on the US jobs market.

Although the 67,000 new private sector jobs created in the country in August exceeded expectations, many analysts point out that the situation could still be much better.

The Schork Group was quoted by the AP as saying: "The latest release is better than expected but, we believe, still not very good."

Oil has been trading slowly throughout the summer as it remains unclear how much demand will be affected by global economic slowdown in the second half of the year.

Last week, prices of crude dropped as low as $72.87 per barrel on the Nymex due to doubts over the ongoing economic recovery.

Online Forex trading saw the US dollar fall on Monday (September 6th) after the currency failed to capitalise on positive jobs data, with some analysts predicting that it is close to hitting a 15-year low against the yen.

Reuters reports that data on US payrolls published at the end of last week went some way towards easing anxiety among traders over the chances of a double-dip recession.

Although demand for growth-linked currencies increased as a result, the dollar continued to look vulnerable against the yen and also reached a three-week low against the Euro, which climbed.

Gareth Berry, a currency strategist at financial services company UBS, told the news provider: "We are seeing some relief from fears about a double-dip recession in the US helping risk sentiment and the euro.

"But whether this sentiment can be sustained or not is difficult to say."

On Friday (September 3rd), Forex specialists indicated that the yen will soon begin to drop against the dollar because of ongoing efforts by the Bank of Japan to dampen its appreciation, which have so far have limited effect.

The yen is expected to weaken on foreign exchange trading markets over the remaining four months of the year, with experts claiming it will lose ground steadily against the dollar.

Currently standing at a 15-year high against the US currency, Forex specialists forecast the Asian money will drop against the dollar, but note the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) efforts to dampen its rapid appreciation have not been as successful as it was hoped.

Reuters reports Forex spreads will show the Japanese currency rising at a much slower rate than previously thought.

However, the predictions are still the strongest seen since January 2008, indicating the yen may not retreat too much before the end of 2010.

Last week measures to restrict its rise appeared to be working and confidence returned to the Japanese market, but it seems they have not been effective enough, as it continues to outpace rival currencies.  

Currency trading may be touched by China's vast foreign currency reserves, as one national bank executive has warned they are at risk of depreciation due to swings in monetary value.

Hu Xiaolian, a deputy-governor of the People's Bank of China and former director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, is one of the first officials to admit having such a large amount of foreign currency might cause problems in the future.

She observed: "Once a reserve currency's value becomes unstable, there will be quite large depreciation risks for assets."

Forex accounts might wobble if the country decides to release some of its stockpile – which many experts estimate to consist of around two-thirds US dollars, 26 per cent euros, five per cent sterling and three per cent yen.

Selling off large amounts of dollars might cause currency traders to devalue the money, leading to big losses for the Asian tiger, which has around $2.45 trillion (£1.59 trillion) in its coffers.  

Stock brokers in Asia have traded cautiously during today's (September 1st) session, as they anticipate the release of US job market data due this afternoon.

The MSCI Asian stock index outside Japan added just 0.3 per cent, with CFD brokers reluctant to make big moves before potentially downbeat figures from the jobs market, Reuters reports.

Describing the mood as "sombre", it revealed the Nikkei 225 performed better, adding 0.6 per cent to its value and continuing appreciation from earlier in the week, when successful moves to curb the rise of the yen brought a measure of confidence to traders.

However, the Japanese trading platform is still down 13 per cent on the year, which may be dampening stock broker appetite for risk-taking strategies.

Daisuke Karakama, market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank, remarked: "Market players have been building up positions for some time to brace for a weak US recovery. Any upside surprise in the payrolls data could move the market." 

Bullish or Bearish how healthy is the US

Bullish economic data throughout the week pushes for positive Payrolls numbers

Currency buying and selling platforms have seen a one-fifth expansion of business in the past three years, a new report has revealed.

Reuters reports the Bank for International Settlements found increased demand for Forex trading was driven by a number of factors, including the expansion of hedge funds and other non-bank financial institutions.

Online Forex exchanges may also have benefited, as conventional spot transactions – widely used to give an up-to-date image of currency trading – leapt 48 per cent over the period in question.

Alan Bozian, chief executive officer of FX settlement system CLS Bank told the publication: "Forex remains a very fertile environment and the number of participants and the number of types of participants has grown."

This could mean Forex trading in middle-eastern financial markets has also improved, as commodity trading in the area expands and creates demand for business and leisure travel.

Experts say the next week might prove good for the dollar, as speculators seek safe investments due to caution ahead of key US financial data releases.  

Stock brokers might have welcomed yesterday's (September 1st) news Malaysian petroleum company PETRONAS is to purchase assets from BP.

The energy group, which operates globally and deals in oil and gas, has agreed to buy interests in ethylene and polyethylene located in Kertih on the east coast of Malaysia.

Wholly government owned, the firm paid BP $363 million (£235.85 million) in cash at the close of the markets yesterday, which included a balance sheet adjustment and the repayment of a $53 million shareholder loan.

But CFD brokers may have responded negatively, with PETRONAS shares falling to a little over 376 pence each, indicating speculators are not convinced of the profitability of the news.

However the firm rallied later in the day, to break a high point of more than 390 pence, before closing the share trading session around 388 pence.

Sue Rataj, president of BP's global petrochemicals business, called the interests "attractive", but stated PETRONAS is their natural owner.   

Stock brokers might find emerging markets – such as those in South Africa and Asia – are an attractive option for future investment, as the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is valued at 14.1 times reported profits and 1.9 times net assets.

Bloomberg reports the global economic downturn was felt less keenly in developing nations, which are now trading at the highest valuations relative to advanced-country shares in more than two years.

Some online brokers may have noted the stocks were outperforming those of countries such as Japan and the US, suggesting individual speculators and those working on behalf on investors could find such indices increasingly tempting.

Philip Poole, the London-based global head of macro and investment strategy at HSBC Global, observed: "The fundamentals have changed," adding: "There is a case for a re-rating of emerging markets relative to the developed world."

The FIFA World Cup recently drew attention to South Africa, which enjoyed a significant publicity and revenue boost on the back of global interest in the tournament.