Event at Wed - 5 December 2007

Time(GMT):	Currency:	Event:	Forecast:	Previous:
12:30am	AUD	GDP q/q	1.0%	0.9%
	Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total value of all goods and services produced by the economy. A rising trend has a positive effect on the nation's currency. GDP is the broadest measure of activity and the primary gauge of the economy's health. To foreign investors, a strong economy is viewed favorably because it spurs investment opportunities in the domestic stock and bond markets. More importantly, the central bank is more likely to raise interest rates in the face of a strong and growing economy. The combination of these effects can have a large impact on the demand for the nation's currency.
8:30am	EUR	ECB President Trichet Speaks
	European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet will speak at the Journalisten-Symposium organized by Konvent für Deutschland, in Berlin. As head of the central bank's governing body, which is responsible for setting the euro zone's short term interest rate, his speeches can sometimes cause market volatility as traders react to clues regarding future monetary policy.
Tentative	ALL	OPEC Press Conference	-1.9%	6.8%
	The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will hold a press conference in Abu Dhabito. OPEC nations contribute 40% of the world's oil, and their decisions can have a significant effect on oil prices.
1:15pm	USD	ADP Nonfarm Employment Change	50K	106K
	Measures the change in number of employed people during the previous month, excluding the farming industry. ADP, a leading provider of employment solutions for businesses, releases this indicator two days before the official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report. While the indicator has only been in existence since early 2007, it's shown some predictive value in regard to the BLS report.
1:30pm	USD	Nonfarm Productivity q/q (r)	5.7%	4.9%
	Measures the annualized quarterly growth in labor efficiency for producing goods and services outside the farming sector. A falling trend has a positive effect on the nation's currency because a decrease in efficiency is comparable to an increase in wages. When businesses pay more for labor, they are likely to pass the higher costs to the consumer, so traders view wage inflation as a leading indicator of consumer inflation.
3:00pm	USD	ISM Non-Manufacturing Index	55.0	55.8
	The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Index measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the services sector, with a reading above 50 indicating expansion. A rising trend has a positive effect on the nation's currency. To produce the index, purchasing managers are surveyed on a number of subjects including employment, production, new orders, supplier deliveries, and inventories. Traders watch these surveys closely because purchasing managers, by virtue of their jobs, have early access to data about their company’s performance, which can be a leading indicator of overall economic performance.
3:00pm	USD	Factory Orders m/m	0.1%	0.2%
	Measures the value of new purchase orders placed with domestic manufacturers for durable and non-durable goods. Factory Orders tend to have a low impact because it reports much of the same information contained in the Durable Goods Orders report released over a week earlier.
8:00pm	NZD	ISM Manufacturing Prices	8.25%	8.25%
	Eight times per year the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) meets to set the nation's short term interest rate (i.e., "official cash rate"). Shortly after the meeting they release a statement that contains the decided rate, a brief commentary of the economic conditions that effected their decision, and most importantly, clues regarding the outcome of future meetings. A rising trend in interest rates has a positive effect on the nation's currency. Short term rates are the paramount factor in currency valuation; traders look at most other indicators merely to predict how interest rates may change in the future. High interest rates attract foreigners looking for the best "risk-free" return on their money, which can dramatically increases demand for the nation's currency. The decision on where to set interest rates depends mostly on inflation. The primary objective of the central bank is to achieve price stability; when inflation rises above an annualized rate of approximately 2%, they will respond by raising interest rates in an attempt to bring prices down.
8:30pm	CAD	BOC Advisor Carney Speaks
	Bank of Canada (BOC) Advisor Mark Carney will testify before the Standing Committee on Finance regarding his appointment as the Bank's next Governor. Carney will replace David Dodge as BOC Governor on February 1, 2008, and this testimony will give traders a "first look" at his monetary stance.