Administration Data Released

The Weekly Bottom Line HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States - U.S. job creation may have weakened in the last few months, but the grounds for sustaining stronger employment growth are more fertile now than have been since the economic recovery began. Europe's labor market, by contrast, is likely to deteriorate further before it gets better. - Europe's (nonfinancial) corporate sector is highly leveraged. As balance sheet adjustments are made, Europe risks further decreases in investment, higher layoffs, and lower economic growth. These effects are compounded by deleveraging in the public sector. - U.S. corporations, by contrast, are more profitable and liquid than they have ever been. At some point some of these funds will be unleashed towards new investment, creating a positive ...

The Week Ahead Highlights When will volatility pick up Digesting payrolls Will there be more QE for the UK? Data Watch When will volatility pick up? Volatility in US Treasuries is at its lowest level since 2007, so too is volatility in the FX options market for short-term EURUSD products and the Vix has fallen sharply since peaking in autumn 2011. Yet Europe's sovereign stresses remain as strong as ever, Spain and Italy are struggling to sell their sovereign debt to anyone bar their domestic banking sectors and election risks are enormous as Greece and France go to the polls on Sunday. So why is volatility so low? The answer lies with central banks and fairly tight FX ranges. When central banks come in and pledge that interest rates will remain extremely low until 2014, ...

(Reuters) - The number of rigs drilling for natural gas in the United States fell this week to the lowest level in 10 years as historically low prices continued to force producers to slow dry gas operations. The gas-directed rig count has dropped in 14 of the last 16 weeks, sliding 18 this week to 613, matching the number of rigs drilling for dry gas back in April 2002, data from Houston-based oil services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday. The count climbed last week for only the third time this year. One of the mildest winters on record sharply cut gas demand and built up a huge surplus inventory that has steadily pressured gas prices this year. Front-month gas futures hit a 10-year low of $1.902 per mmBtu late last week, a level that crimped producer profits and made most dry gas ...

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK at 0800 GMT (EDT +0400) WORLD USDJPY consolidated overnight with FOMC and BoJ policy meetings drawing closer. Our analysts are not concerned about yesterday’s higher-than-expected initial jobless claims data. Instead, they point to distortions associated with Easter holidays and the cross over to a new quarter, which led to volatility and an upside bias. Economic data elsewhere also disappointed: existing home sales fell to an annual rate of 4.48 mn and April Philly Fed manufacturing index down to 8.5. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan remains under intense political pressure to ease again. Economy Minister Furukawa urged the BoJ to take steps to achieve its 1% price goal for the second day in a row. He explicitly pointed to the option of buying JGBs with longer maturities, a ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $120 on Thursday as a weaker dollar helped recoup losses made earlier in the day, while comments from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank eased worries about growth in oil demand. The Fed said the economy expanded modestly in January through mid-February as hiring picked up a bit across several districts. Across the Atlantic, comments by a European Central Bank official on keeping a bond-buying program as an option to help Spain eased worries about the region's fiscal woes. Brent crude rose 31 cents to $120.49 a barrel by 4:23 a.m. EDT (0623 GMT), after touching a low of $119.93 earlier in the session. Oil rose 37 cents to $103.07, adding to $1.68 gains in the previous session. The dollar .DXY weakened 0.25 percent against a basket ...

U.S. crude oil futures fell on Tuesday for a second straight day, as data showed Chinese imports of major commodities fell in March, added to worries about oil demand. China's crude oil imports, in particular, eased last month to 5.55 million barrels per day, from 5.95 million bpd in February, according to preliminary customs data. Despite the fall, the oil imports were still the third highest ever for China. On Monday, crude futures fell due to weaker U.S. jobs growth for March and as Iran prepared for talks with world powers on Saturday over its disputed nuclear program, which allayed some fears of an immediate disruption in Iran oil supplies. The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said the arrival of a second aircraft carrier last week to an area including the Middle East Gulf was part of a " ...

Fundamental News Today’s highlights: FOMC Member Fisher Speaks (U.S, 16:30 GMT) Sentix Investor Confidence (EUR, 8:30 GMT) CB Leading Index (MoM) (GB, 09:00 GMT) Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke called for new steps to curb “shadow banking” operating beyond standard oversight while saying the economy has far to go before fully recovering from the credit crisis. “The heavy human and economic costs of the crisis underscore the importance of taking all necessary steps to avoid a repeat of the events of the past few years,” Bernanke said yesterday in a speech in Stone Mountain, Georgia, according to an article published by Bloomberg, Tuesday. The Bank of Japan refrained from expanding monetary easing to counter deflation, resisting pressure from lawmakers who five days ...

(Reuters) - Oil fell more than 1 percent o n Wednesday to test key technical support levels, dragged down by U.S. government data showing crude stockpiles in the world's top consumer jumped to a nine-month high last week. A rebound in imports following fog-related delays in key Texas oil shipping channels in March pushed crude inventories up more than 16 million barrels in the two weeks to March 30, the biggest two-week increase since March 2001, data from the Energy Information Administration showed. "The report is solidly bearish with the decisive factor being the crude oil build and rise in imports," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. The gains sent stockpiles to the highest since June 2011 and helped counter concerns about how EU and U.S. sanctions ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude extended losses toward $124 a barrel on Wednesday after the U.S. central bank dashed hopes of further economic stimulus, while news that Saudi Arabia is likely to keep output high in the event of a strategic stocks release also weighed. Industry data showing a larger-than-expected rise in crude inventories in the United States, the world's top consumer of oil, also pressured prices although losses were capped by further disruption in exports from the North Sea. Front-month Brent crude fell 32 cents to $124.54 a barrel by 0243 GMT (10.43 p.m. EDT), after touching a low of $124.42 earlier. Brent settled down 57 cents at $124.86 on Tuesday. U.S. crude futures lost 29 cents to $103.72, after dropping by more than $1 in the previous session. "The Fed comments had an ...