Address The Euro Zone's

The euro held above a four-month low on Tuesday after German economic growth beat expectations, although gains could prove fleeting as the political stalemate in Greece stokes fears that Athens may renege on bailout pledges and exit the currency bloc. European powerhouse Germany saw its economy expand in the first quarter at a robust clip of 0.5 percent, shaking off any fears of a recession. But a survey of German analyst and investor sentiment fell sharply in May, while GDP in France flatlined and Italy contracted sharply. Overall, much of the euro zone was still struggling with a slowdown, putting pressure on the European Central Bank to loosen monetary policy to support the economy. That is likely to see bears take a stronger grip of the euro. Also, concerns about slowing Chinese and ...

(Reuters) - Global stocks and the euro fell on Wednesday after data showed U.S. companies hired the fewest people in seven months in April and the euro zone's factory sector slipped further. The reports came a day after an index of U.S. factory activity posted its strongest growth rate in 10 months and sent the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close in four years. The S&P 500 and the Dow declined as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for April, while government debt prices advanced on safe-haven demand. U.S. companies added only 119,000 jobs last month, well short of expectations of 177,000, a worrisome sign of a labor market that has struggled to gain traction. "If fewer and fewer people are participating in this recovery it suggests ...

The Week Ahead Highlights US employment data in focus Bank of Japan underwhelms RBA likely to cut The SNB talks tough on the Swissie Is the UK economy really that weak? The Eurozone's growth pact US employment data in focus Earlier this week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held its 2-day policy meeting. The bank kept policy on hold and upgraded the economic assessment, however comments from Ben Bernanke - which did not provide any new insight in our view - kept Treasury yields low, equity markets supported, and the dollar soft with QE3 speculation back into focus. Fed projections showed upwards revision to real GDP growth with forecasts of 2.4%-2.9% for 2012 up from the prior 2.2%-2.7% estimate and the unemployment rate forecast was lowered to 7.8%-8% ...

Global stocks and the euro slumped on Monday as a Dutch political impasse and disappointing euro zone data revived fears the region's debt crisis could keep much of Europe mired in recession through the year. Shares of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, and its Mexican subsidiary Walmex sank on a report of bribery allegations. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tendered his government's resignation on Monday in a crisis over budget cuts, creating a political vacuum in a country that strongly backed an EU fiscal treaty and lectured Greece on getting its finances in order. The political turmoil in the Netherlands - traditionally one of the euro zone's most stable members - added to uncertainties after Socialist challenger Francois Hollande led President Nicolas Sarkozy in the first ...

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR Spain faced increasing borrowing costs during successful sale of bonds with two and ten-year maturity. The country's Treasury sold 1,116 billion Euros of two-year bonds at yield of 3.463% and 1,425 billion Euros in ten-year bonds with yield of 5.743%. Demand for Spain's debt was strong as bids surpassed demand 3.3 times. USD Stock index futures indicated a lower opening on today’s USA session on the EU concerns. Additionally, news from Wal-mart on a possible bribery case had negative influence on stock indices. GBP According to experts from zifx.com, following an extensive rally of GBP/USD, the currency pair is presently overgoing a bearish correction. While the initial support and resistance levels are situated at 1.6037 and 1.6154, respectively, ...

Global stocks and the euro slumped on Monday as disappointing euro zone private sector data and a Dutch budget crisis unnerved investors who scooped up perceived safe haven assets such as the dollar and U.S. Treasuries. With Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tendering his cabinet's resignation in an impasse over budget cuts and dismal PMI figures from the euro zone, economists worried that the region's economy will stay in recession until the second half of the year. The April PMI reports for the euro zone, Germany and France, which are a guide to future activity, pointed to a much faster rate of economic contraction across the debt-laden region than had been expected. U.S. stocks fell sharply soon after the opening, with the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI, the Standard & ...

The amount of money thrown at rescuing the world economy since the Great Recession began is truly staggering, probably more than $14 trillion, and the financial spigots are still open. Industrialized and emerging nations pledged another $430 billion to boost the International Monetary Fund's lending power this weekend, doubling the size of its crisis-fighting war chest in case Europe's problems worsen and engulf more countries. Three weeks earlier, European Union leaders set aside $1 trillion for Europe's bailout fund creating a firewall to prevent the euro zone's sovereign debt woes from spreading. Major central banks haven't finished pumping money into the global economy either. The Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Bank of Japan meets on Friday, and their bias ...

Global finance chiefs pressed Europe in weekend talks to quickly put in place the economic reforms needed to finally extinguish its debt crisis now that newly increased financial buffers have bought some precious time. A day after advanced and emerging countries agreed to double the firepower of the International Monetary Fund to help contain the crisis, the IMF's governing panel said on Saturday that the 17-nation euro area must cut government debt burdens further, push bold economic reforms and stabilize financial systems. Debt problems will resurface and growth will stumble unless these steps are taken, the head of the IMF's governing panel, Singapore's finance minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, warned. An uneasy calm returned to world financial markets after the Greek crisis subsided ...

(Reuters) - Gold prices slid below $1,630 an ounce on Monday as concerns that the euro zone debt crisis could ensnare higher-rated countries hurt the single currency, though moves were muted ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting. The metal is extending the 2 percent losses it has posted so far this month, in line with a drop in the euro. The currency has come under heavy pressure from growing fears over the ability of some euro zone countries, particularly Spain, to manage debt. Spot gold was down 0.7 percent at $1,629.69 an ounce at 7:53 a.m. EDT (1153 GMT), while gold futures for June delivery were down $11.80 an ounce at $1,630.90. "We are basically caught between two opposing factors," Credit Suisse analyst Tobias Merath said. "On the one hand, we have U.S. bond yields ...