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Business confidence in Europe`s largest economy unexpectedly improved in May, as German executives and manufacturers see brighter prospects for the second quarter of this year after national output grew, but a markedly slow rate.
The IFo Institute published its monthly surveys of Germany business confidence, capping a busy day for Europe`s largest economy. Earlier today, the Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey and German Gross domestic Product final estimate were out. The Ifo surveys were the best!
German business confidence rose in May following three months of declines. The Ifo Business Climate Index was at 105.7, up from 104.4 in April, beating analysts` average forecast of a no change.
The euro jumped against the dollar on the good news, hitting a session high of $1.2986 as of 11:29 GMT+ ...
Asian Market Update
Japan stocks rebound from overnight collapse as yen-sellers resurface
Economic Data
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR TRADE BALANCE (NZ$): 157M V 515ME (3-month low); EXPORTS: 3.95B V 4.06BE; IMPORTS: 3.80B V 3.60BE
(PH) PHILIPPINES MAR TRADE BALANCE: -$593M V -$967M PRIOR; TOTAL IMPORTS: $4.9B V $4.7B PRIOR; TOTAL IMPORTS: -8.4% V -5.8% Y/Y
Markets Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)
Nikkei225 +2.9%
S&P/ASX -1.3%
Kospi +0.1%
Shanghai Composite +0.3%
Hang Seng flat
Jun S&P500 +0.2% at 1,653
Jun gold +0.1% at $1,393/oz
Jul crude oil flat at $94.25/brl
Observations/Insights
Outsized losses in Tokyo equities are being corrected in the final session of the week as traders swooped in to put a floor under the free-fall in the yen pairs overnight. Yen selling has returned amid the ...
Gann's pyramid table of the 05/24/2013
Gann's pyramid table of the 05/23/2013
More informations about Gann's pyramid table: Click Here
U.S. stock futures signaled a lower open in Wall Street Thursday, preparing to follow the rest of global stocks lower, as investor sentiment was hurt by worse-than-expected Chinese data and the latest minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.901% to 15182 points. The S&P 500 futures slipped 1.093% to 1637.50 points. The NASDAQ 100 futures were 1.041% lower at 2969.75 points. As of 06:24 New York Time
This comes as European markets were declining in morning trading, and Asian markets all ended the day with sharp losses. Japan`s benchmark Nikkei index plunged by 7.3%, while Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index fell by 2.5% and the Shanghai index declined by 1.2%.
Investors have been spooked by worse-than-expected Chinese ...
First-tier economic fundamentals from Europe take center stage on Thursday, as traders look for fresh updates about the state of the euro-area manufacturing and services sectors.
Market participants are welcoming one heavy doze of news today, as France, Germany and the euro area prepare to fresh up the run way with the latest PMI data; expected to hover around the same level, and of course confirming the stubborn setbacks of the 17-nation euro bloc.
- France Manufacturing PMI (MAY P) estimate at 44.8 vs. 44.4, Services PMI (MAY P) estimate at 44.5 vs. 44.3
- Germany Manufacturing PMI (MAY A) estimate at 48.5 vs. 48.1, Services PMI (MAY A) estimate at 50.0 vs. 49.6
- Euro-Zone Composite PMI (MAY A) estimate at 47.2 vs. 46.9
The euro and stocks have been under hectic pressure ...
Gann's pyramid table of the 05/23/2013
Gann's pyramid table of the 05/22/2013
More informations about Gann's pyramid table: Click Here
St Louis Fed President, James Bullard, a supposed hawk, has been bullying the 'single' currency bears into temporary submission ahead of today's FOMC meeting minutes or at least he should be held responsible for getting the ball rolling. Yesterday, he suggested that the most appropriate policy for the Fed is to continue the current QE3 policy. Dovish comments from the voting hawk has put the 'mighty' dollar under pressure when the market least expected it when he mentioned adjusting the pace of purchases in view of incoming data on economic performance, employment and inflation.
The only thing that Mr. Bullard purposely refused to acknowledge yesterday was when the Fed might be tapering off its purchases. Bullard went on to say that like Japan, Europe risks an "extended period of low ...
- There were no major surprises in connection with today's Bank of Japan (BoJ) meeting and the market impact should be neutral. The expansion of the monetary base (now the main policy instrument) was maintained at JPY60- 70trn. In addition BoJ as expected upgraded its view of the economy and now believes that the economy has started to recover.
- Interestingly enough there was no mention of bond yields in the statement, suggesting that BoJ does not regard the recent increase in government bond yields a major problem. Rightly so in our view, as the increase in bond yields has been more than offset by higher inflation expectations. However, inflation expectations remain substantially below the 2% targeted by BoJ and hence the increase in bond yields cannot so far justify a scaling down of ...
Title:
GBP Gets A Pounding
GBP Gets A Pounding
It's been a rough morning for GBP, with economic data thwarting early attempts at a GBP recovery. BOE minutes, retail sales and public sector data all weighed on the pound, pushing it below 1.5100 – a key support level. Data details:
- BOE minutes were as expected: 6-3 vote to keep QE on hold. This reinforces he view that the BOE is practically in limbo until Mark Carney takes the helm in July.
- Retail sales ex auto fuel fell 1.4% in April; the main downward pressure came from a decline in food sales, which fell 3.8% from a year earlier.
- Cold weather was blamed for poor sales, particularly bbq food and garden furniture.
- Online retail sales were strong, and now make up a tenth of all sales.
- Public sector finances for April: this was important ...