Rick Lloyd is an FX market analyst for Reuters. The opinions expressed are his own

SINGAPORE, March 10 (Reuters) – With the U.S. dollar consolidation into its sixth week, the market is searching for the ultimate resolution of this range-trade and the next big move.

For dollar bulls, the inability of the euro EUR= to make any sizeable gains above $1.3700 on better news on Greek’s debt crisis has encouraged the view that the dollar is surely on a bull run.

Meanwhile, the dollar bears point to the triple bottom formed in the euro just below $1.3450 as a technical reason to expect the consolidation to end with a higher euro and lower dollar.

The problems besetting peripheral EU countries as well as Britain, do not seem likely to be resolved soon.

Because the deficit problem are structural they will take time to be resolved. Any progress seen thus far can only be described as the first step towards a possible resolution.

Simultaneously, economic data out of the United States has started to show some positive signs, although it is hard to call this as a robust recovery.

Last Friday’s U.S. employment data seems to point to bottoming unemployment and a gradual recovery in employment.

With the Fed beginning to discuss the first steps towards normalisation of monetary policy and Europe and Britain focused on domestic problems, it is hard to imagine that the euro will be able to manage a big recovery in the coming weeks and months.

Turning to the U.S. dollar index .DXY, the consolidation is evident in the fact that for the past five weeks, the index has closed within a 22 point range between 80.33 and 80.55. The rally in the index has also stalled just below the high seen on June 8 2009 at 81.47.

For the rally to resume, which seems the most likely outcome, a weekly close above this level will be needed.

Meanwhile, commodity currencies are likely to outperform euro and sterling GBP=, having broken recent highs and moved into territory not seen for 25 years in the case of Aussie against the pound AUDGBP=.

With the fundamental story in these countries completely different from Europe, this trend seems to have room left in it.

Despite a great deal of nervousness earlier in the year about moves by China in particular to rein in its booming economy, the Asian growth story is on track to keep commodity currencies in a relatively buoyant state.

Booming Chinese exports, up 45.7 percent year on year in February, support this view.

In conclusion, the way to play the rangebound market would appear to be buying commodity currencies on dips and selling euro and sterling on any rallies. If the breakout leads to a stronger dollar, as expected, that would be a good opportunity to add to the short euro and sterling positions. (Editing by Jan Dahinten)
[Reuters]

The music game genre is an almost contradictory game category; though these games test the dexterity of players and their ability to color match on the fly, they don’t teach gamers anything about playing a real musical instrument. The advent of the drum peripheral allows gamers to experience a fairly close simulation of what it’s like to play a drum set, but would-be guitarists are left out in the cold. Seven45 Studios hope to change that with the release of Power Gig – Rise of the Six String, which offers music game aficionados an actual working electric guitar (3/4ths the size of an actual guitar) to put to use in and out of the game.

Rise of the Six String plays similarly to Guitar Hero and Rock Band, only with one noticeable twist in the game mechanics department — the guitar peripheral picks up individual string fingerings, and can register two fingerings at once (i.e., a simple power chord). On the easiest difficulty setting the game doesn’t call on gamers to switch strings — it will register a correct note as long as the colored fret matches up with the strum — but on harder difficulties a colored note in a song will display a number relating to a particular string. To put it simply, Rise of the Six String multiplies the number of available finger placements in other music games by six. The team is only ready at the moment to show off the guitar peripheral for the game, but they promise that drum and microphone peripherals will be coming to the game as well.

The interface in Rise of the Six String looks similar to Rock Band, sending notes streaming downward with colored cues relating to the first five frets on the guitar. Turning on the Chord mode during gameplay adds a number to certain notes, which relates to the string number (numbered 1 through 6 from bottom to top) and requires the player to additionally hold down the string directly below it and two frets over — for non-guitarists, this fingering is a simplistic power chord. It’s not clear from my initial demo of the game whether or not Seven45 plan to incorporate a mode where players will have to hit all strings individually and on different frets, say, for a heavy metal riff or a finger-picking segment of a song, but being a guitarist myself I would welcome that with open arms.

As I mentioned earlier, the guitar peripheral is a real guitar. The strings must stay muted to prevent reverberation during gameplay by a plastic bar near the strumming area on the guitar (I suppose it messes with the electronics that pick up the string fingerings), but the bar can be clicked into the guitar, allowing the strings to fully resonate. The guitar has a working pickup and cable input, and works with any guitar amplifier. Hearing the guitar in action I didn’t pick up any discernable differences between it and any other electric guitar, and though a price hasn’t been announced I’m guessing Rise of the Six String w/ the guitar peripheral will be fairly cheaper than buying a low-to-midlevel guitar for an aspiring guitarist.

It’s great to see a company taking the initiative and attempting to bridge the clear gap between music games and learning to play real musical instruments. With any luck Rise of the Six String will entice would-be guitarists to give the game a try and play a music game that has the opportunity to truly teach gamers how to play. Power Gig – Rise of the Six String is currently slated for a Fall 2010 release.
[GamePro.com]

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Nationalized U.K. mortgage bank Northern Rock said Wednesday that its 2009 net loss narrowed to 309.1 million pounds ($462 million) from 1.38 billion pounds a year earlier, helped by higher net interest income and tight cost controls. The group said impairment losses rose to 1.04 billion pounds from 894.4 million pounds. The company, which was split in two at the start of 2010, said it will pay bonuses totalling 14.9 million pounds for the year, including 1.5 million in respect of the U.K.’s one-time bonus tax, which is a 50% charge payable by the bank on individual bonuses over 25,000 pounds. CEO Gary Hoffman has waived his entitlement to a bonus and the bank said it’s working on a new incentive scheme for Hoffman that will only pay out when the bank returns to profitability or to private ownership. The group said loan loss impairment charges are expected to remain high in 2010, but below the level recorded in 2009.

[MarketWatch]

LOS ANGELES — If the “American Idol” judges hold sway over viewers, contestants Katie Stevens, Paige Miles and Katelyn Epperly should be nervous about making it into the top 12.

The three received uniformly negative comments from the Fox TV show’s judging panel after performing Tuesday night, while the other five female singers all hit high notes. Simon Cowell called soulful Crystal Bowersox the contestant to beat.

The eight male semifinalists will perform Wednesday, with the top six vote-getters from the men’s and women’s groups to be announced Thursday.

[The Associated Press]

There were yellow roses, champagne toasts and tiered cakes.

There were tuxedos, lace dresses and Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major.

This Washington watershed moment was bursting with pride and happiness. Yet it was also tinged with memories of political struggles and legal battles.

On Tuesday, Washington issued marriage licenses for the first time to same-sex couples, some of whom married in ceremonies across the city – from a D.C. Superior Court chamber to a Unitarian church in Northwest.

Washington follows five states that allow same-sex couples to marry. It has issued 42 such licenses and received 12 signed certificates indicating that at least 12 couples were married Tuesday.

Last month, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced that the state will recognize same-sex marriages from out of state until the General Assembly or courts decide otherwise.

About 150 couples from D.C., Maryland and Virginia filed applications to marry last Wednesday, the first day it was possible under the new law. Like all engaged couples in the district, they had to abide by the city’s waiting period before getting hitched Tuesday.

As the couples exchanged wedding bands, their vows underscored the significance of the day, a high point in a more than 30-year effort by gay-rights activists.

“Marriage is a gift, but until this day in the District of Columbia, this gift has been denied,” the Rev. Dwayne Johnson of the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington said as he declared Darlene Garner and Lorilyn “Candy” Holmes of Laurel “legally married” during one of three ceremonies at the downtown headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign. “Today, your love for each other knows no limits. It is free.”

Democratic Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who signed the legalization measure in December, invoked his parents’ interracial marriage as he congratulated the newlyweds at a news conference. The weddings, he said, “were a great step forward for equality and for our city that has always been a standard-bearer for treating people equally and justly.”

The couples were also joined by Frank Kameny, one of the founders of the gay-rights movement, who was fired from his federal job in 1957 for being gay. He hailed the event as a “major victory” but cautioned the crowd not to lose sight of the work ahead in other states and with the federal government, which is prevented by the Defense of Marriage Act from recognizing same-sex marriages.

For the couples married Tuesday, the implications were personal and practical. For Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway of Northwest Washington, it means their twin 15-month-old daughters will be part of a “family that is just like every other family in the District,” Stanley said. For Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend of Southeast, it means being able to say they are “married,” a universally understood institution, unlike “partners,” which they said left it to others to interpret the meaning of their relationship.

At D.C. Superior Court, couples with certificates in hand raced out of the marriage bureau to become the official firsts to tie the knot under the new law. Judge Brook Hedge performed a private ceremony for Jeremy Moon and his fiance, Bryan Legaspi, who wore matching tuxedos. The couple, together for nearly seven years, quickly filed their license and then planned to return to work at the Executive Office Building.

While Moon and Legaspi were being married in a civil ceremony, James Betz and Robert Hawthorne were being married outside the courthouse by the Rev. Bonnie J. Berger, a former chaplain at George Washington University Hospital, where the couple formerly worked.

Public protest of the marriages was muted. U.S. security marshals, who were stationed throughout the courthouse, escorted one woman out of the building after she began yelling that “God won’t recognize” same-sex marriages. The woman had been standing in line with the same-sex couples who were waiting for their licenses.

Opponents of the law, including Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, have tried unsuccessfully to block the measure from taking effect by seeking a public vote on same-sex marriage.

According to a recent Washington Post poll, a majority of D.C. residents support same-sex marriage. Nearly six in 10 said they think the issue should be put on a citywide ballot. The poll also showed a divide in opinion along racial lines. While more than eight in 10 whites support legal gay marriage, 51 percent of blacks said it should be illegal, including 44 percent who say they oppose it strongly.

Jackson said he believes there is a “huge concern in the African-American community” that same-sex marriage might “accelerate the disintegration of the definition of traditional marriages, which we have been the victim of losing in great number.”

Even as the newlyweds celebrated, there were politics at work in the selection of the couples hosted by the Human Rights Campaign in front of dozens of TV cameras and reporters. The three couples – two female and one male – were African-American. Event organizers said they were trying to counter the misperception conveyed by opponents of same-sex marriage that the “fight for marriage equality is really for rich, Caucasian men,” said Peter D. Rosenstein of the Campaign for All D.C. Families.
[Baltimore Sun]

WASHINGTON — As Toyota sought to contain the fallout from a California sudden-acceleration case caught on camera, its dealers accused General Motors of offering predatory incentives using federal money.

The Japanese automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dispatched investigators to San Diego to analyze the 2008 Toyota Prius belonging to James Sikes, 61. Sikes called the California Highway Patrol on Monday evening reporting that his Prius was accelerating out of his control, hitting speeds of up to 94 m.p.h.
“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny,” Sikes said at a news conference. “It jumped and it just stuck there.”
An officer pulled alongside the Prius, and over a loudspeaker told Sikes to pull the emergency brake and press the regular brake hard. Sikes was able to slow the car and shut it off after 20 minutes.
The incident happened a few miles from the site of the Santee crash last August that spurred Toyota to recall 5.6 million vehicles for mechanical defects that could lead to sudden acceleration — including Sikes’ Prius, which was covered by the floor-mat recall.
But Sikes said he had taken his Prius to his Toyota dealer and was told it wasn’t covered. Toyota said in a statement that the repairs for the Prius had not yet been sent to dealers. The automaker had told owners to remove the driver’s-side floor mats until the repairs could be made, but Sikes had left the floor mat in his vehicle.

Toyota reiterated Tuesday that the Prius was under recall. It had said last year that it could take months for all of the recalled vehicles to be fixed.
In another sign of the pressure facing Toyota, its national dealer panel accused GM of using “taxpayer dollars to fund … a nationwide predatory advertising campaign.” Shortly after Toyota began its recalls last month, GM began incentives for Toyota owners that now include zero-percent financing and up to $1,000 cash back.
“It is outrageous that GM is using our taxpayer dollars against us, making me and other Toyota dealers pay to undermine our own businesses,” said Paul Atkinson, president of Toyota’s U.S. dealer council.
GM’s move was matched by other automakers. Last week, Toyota launched an incentive campaign of its own after a 9% drop in February sales.
“We understand why Toyota dealers would be frustrated, but they know better,” said GM spokesman Kerry Christopher. “Incentives have always been a part of the auto business.”
Contact JUSTIN HYDE: 202-906-8204.
The Associated Press contributed.
[Detroit Free Press]

The Pakistan Cricket Board has issued indefinite bans to former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan.

Its inquiry into events during the tour of Australia found the pair had been involved in “infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team”.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik each face one-year bans and big fines.

Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal also face heavy fines while their conduct will be strictly monitored during a six-month probationary period.

On Wednesday, the PCB implemented the recommendations of an inquiry committee formed to evaluate Pakistan’s dismal performance against Australia during the winter.

Pakistan must now try to defend their ICC World Twenty20 crown in the Caribbean next month with severely depleted resources, before facing what could be a chastening tour of England.

But the PCB was unrepentant, saying: “This will go a long way to arrest the continuing decline of Pakistan cricket and improve the state of cricket in Pakistan.”

The inquiry detailed its sanctions against the seven players in an e-mail issued from its Lahore offices.

It said: “After careful and detailed analysis of the events, the personal accounts of the team management and players and examination of record, videos and statistics, the unanimous recommendations of the committee were as follows:

• Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan – keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team should not be part of national team in any format.

• For the shameful act of Shahid Afridi, which has brought the game and country into disrepute, he be fined Rs3m (£23,800). A warning be issued to him by the chairman of the PCB and he be put on probation for six months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored.

• Kamran Akmal be fined Rs3m (£23,800). A warning be issued to him by the chairman of the PCB and he be put on probation for six months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored.

• Umar Akmal be fined Rs2m (£15,000). A warning be issued to him by the chairman of the PCB and he be put on probation for six months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored.

• Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik be fined Rs2m (£15,000). They should not be part of a national team in any format for a period of one year.

The PCB clarified the terms of the bans. Taffazul Rizvi, the board’s legal advisor, told Cricinfo: “They will not be part of any Pakistan team in any format from here on… They can play domestic cricket or county cricket here and abroad.”

Younus stepped down from the captaincy twice last year with reports of player unrest about his style of leadership liberally strewn across the media.

Yousuf, the third-highest run scorer in Pakistan Test history, led a winless tour to Australia before falling out publicly with Twenty20 skipper Malik. The PCB has not expanded upon the cases of indiscipline that have led to the bans on Malik and Rana Naved.

However, the cases of the Akmal brothers and Shahid Afridi are more clear-cut.

The Akmals were fined for their behaviour after the Sydney Test. Wicketkeeper Kamran, insisted publicly he would be selected in the run-up to the third Test after being dropped from the side. Younger brother Umar was alleged to have feigned an injury to not play the Test in protest, though he did eventually play.

Afridi was punished for the ball-biting incident in the Perth one-day international, when he was captain of the side. He had already been punished by the ICC, who immediately gave him a two-match ban.

Attention will inevitably switch to how the players will respond, with legal action likely to be around the corner.
[BBC News]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Dahntay Jones scored 25 points, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 107-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night that snapped a four-game losing streak.

Brandon Rush had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Troy Murphy added 19 points for the Pacers (21-43), who won for just the second time in nine games. Indiana played without leading scorer Danny Granger, suspended one game by the NBA for his part in an altercation in Phoenix on Saturday.

Jrue Holiday scored 21 points and Samuel Dalembert added 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the 76ers (23-40). Philadelphia has dropped six of eight since Allen Iverson left the team for personal reasons.

The 76ers, who trailed by 12 in the third quarter, cut the deficit to 94-88 on Dalembert’s jumper with 4 minutes left in the game. Indiana answered with T.J. Ford’s layup and Rush’s 3-pointer to regain a double-digit lead.

The first half included eight lead changes and seven ties, and neither team led by more than eight points. The 76ers took their biggest advantage, 40-32, on Rodney Carney’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter, but Indiana fought back to take a 54-52 lead into the break.

Despite shooting 31 percent from the field in the third quarter, the Pacers extended their lead to 74-62 on Jones’ layup. Philadelphia shot 35 percent in the period and missed all five of its 3-point attempts.

NOTES: Granger, who averages 23.1 points, was penalized for fighting with Phoenix’s Channing Frye. Pacers G Earl Watson and C Roy Hibbert were fined by the league for their roles in the incident.
[New York Times]

If there’s one thing gamers love executives for, its because they have a hard timing keeping quiet. Today at a conference hosted by Credit Suisse, Philippe Daumain, Viacom CEO and President, announced that Harmonix is indeed working on Rock Band 3 and that the game will launch this year, probably around the holidays. Later, Harmonix took to their Facebook page to confirm Daumain’s remarks. So let the excitement and speculation begin. No other details regarding functionality or features of the game were released.

Hard to be really enthused about this announcement since we all knew it was coming at some point. What is nice to know is that we should be playing the next entry in the series before 2010 is over. Couple that with last week’s release of the Rock Band Network and the boys at Harmonix are putting everyone at Activision to shame right now. Plus, even if I’m not totally amped about Rock Band 3, at the very least, it helps me get over the anguish of hearing that Lady Gaga is coming to Rock Band next week.

We’ll have more news on Rock Band 3 as soon as anything becomes available, but until then, why not check out our previous feature on how Harmonix can make Rock Band 3 awesome? And let us know in the comments what you want to see in Rock Band 3.
[Terminal Gamer]

When it came to a choice between Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, Farrah lost.

That’s what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says about why they had to leave Farrah off — and put singer Michael on — their homage to dead celebrities during the Oscars Sunday night (March 7).

When asked why Michael Jackson was included when he and Farrah Fawcett died on the same day, Academy memorial committee head Bruce Davis explained to Associated Press that Jackson had appeared in a popular theatrical film recently. Is he talking about “This is It,” the film of his rehearsals for his last concert?

“Think of all the blogging we would have gotten if we had left him out!” he said.

Fawcett’s family issued a statement saying they were “deeply saddened” and “bereft with this exclusion of such an international icon who inspired so many for so many reasons.”

Bruce Davis, who heads the committee that decides who’s in and who’s out admitted to AP that they were “kind of figuring that probably the Farrah Fawcett and Gene Barry omissions would be the ones we’d get the most comments on.”

Fawcett and Barry were omitted because Davis and his colleagues thought that actors were better known for their “remarkable television work” and should be honored at the Emmy Awards in September 2010.

The Dish Rag would love to know why they ran two photos of Ron Silver during their memorial – Broadway dimmed its lights for the well-known and well-loved stage and screen actor after his death — but not one of Farrah. Hmmm?
[Zap2it.com]