As Opposition From Various

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's two nominees to the Federal Reserve appear likely to fall victim to a long-running political feud, which would leave the central bank short-handed as it struggles with tough regulatory and monetary policy questions. Republican Senator David Vitter has demanded that the Senate hold a debate before any vote on the nominees, which would require Democratic leaders to muster a super majority to move forward - a hurdle that may be too high to clear. As a result, the Senate may end up abandoning the nominees, Harvard economist Jeremy Stein and investment banker Jerome Powell, and leave a decision on filling out the normally seven-member Fed board until after this year's presidential election. "I refuse to provide Chairman Bernanke with two more rubber ...

Major European PMI Manufacturing data disappoints; Weak German jobs data blamed on Easter holiday Economic Data (EU) ECB: €606M borrowed in overnight loan facility v €619M prior; €789.3B parked in deposit facility v €794.0B prior (Monday) (IN) India Apr Markit Manufacturing PMI: 54.9 v 54.7 prior (DE) Germany Mar ILO Employment (Seasonally Adj): 41.459 v 41.406M prior; Unemployment Rate: 5.6% v 5.6% prior (SE) Sweden Apr Swedbank PMI Survey: 50.2 v 50.5e (PL) Poland Apr Manufacturing PMI: 49.2 v 49.5e (HU) Hungary Mar Producer Prices M/M: +0.2% v -1.3% prior; Y/Y: 6.4% v 6.7%e (NO) Norway Apr PMI: 53.7 v 57.0e (TR) Turkey Apr Manufacturing PMI: 52.3 v 49.6 prior (ES) Spain Apr Manufacturing PMI: 43.5 v 43.6e (three-year low) (TH) Thailand Central Bank leaves Benchmark Interest Rate ...

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK at 0800 GMT (EDT +0400) USD The euro suffered overnight as fears over the situation in Greece have resurfaced. While the market is hoping for a clinching of a debt swap deal today with private sector creditors, securing cross-party support for further austerity measures and securing further funding from the troika is proving far more difficult. According to political leaders in Athens, the main parties have until noon today (local time) to respond to the troika’s demands, and so far there appears some distance between where the national unity government lies and the IMF’s targets. Talks continued late into the evening on Sunday and will resume today between the troika and the local authorities. Reports suggest that the main point of contention lies in private sector ...

(Reuters) - The euro rose from a seven-week low on Monday on hopes of progress on the sovereign debt crisis but gains could prove fleeting if crucial upcoming events cast doubt on the likelihood of decisive action. Hefty debt supply this week from Italy and Spain, a euro zone finance ministers meeting starting on Tuesday, a European Central Bank announcement on December 8 and a European Union summit on December 9 should prove pivotal for the euro and risk-correlated currencies. Earlier reports about IMF funding for Italy, denied by the IMF, initially encouraged investors to unwind bearish positions in the common currency. Euro momentum, however, was mostly sustained on news of German and French plans to fast-track new rules to tighten euro zone budgetary discipline. Officials said ...

NEW YORK (Reuters)- For the small club of companies who trade the food, fuels and metals that keep the world running, the last decade has been sensational. Driven by the rise of Brazil, China, India and other fast-growing economies, the global commodities boom has turbocharged profits at the world's biggest trading houses. They form an exclusive group, whose loosely regulated members are often based in such tax havens as Switzerland. Together, they are worth over a trillion dollars in annual revenue and control more than half the world's freely traded commodities. The top five piled up $629 billion in revenues last year, just below the global top five financial companies and more than the combined sales of leading players in tech or telecoms. Many amass speculative positions worth ...

Forex News and Events: Overall risk appetite remains the dominate theme as European policy makers seem to move closer to a comprehensive solution to the current Debt crisis. Yesterday the European Commission laid out a proposal that simultaneously addressed multiple stress points including new EU governance, bank recapitalization, stability and economic growth strategies and potential usage for the EFSF. In another forceful speech, EC President Barroso stressed the need for a "coordinated approach" to raising bank capital ratios--a plan that would lessen the contagion aspect of the European debt crisis. However, we would stress that while the official comments sound very encourage, there is a noticeable lack of details forthcoming. A fact that the markets have been more than happy to ...

(Reuters) - The U.S. futures regulator has yielded on several contentious parts of a plan to crack down on commodity speculation, marking a modest victory for banks and traders who have lobbied to limit increased market oversight. A draft of the final rule by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, reviewed by Reuters late on Wednesday, maintains that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law requires position limits -- caps on the number of contracts a single trader can hold -- to prevent excessive speculation in oil, grain, silver and other commodity markets. But the CFTC modified areas of the plan that were a major concern for big banks like Morgan Stanley and firms like Shell, including whether or not different arms of a single company must count separately managed positions as one, ...

Attention comrades, workers and tax slaves! Tonight is the night! Get your tickets! Turn your televisions up and sit your buts down! From the people who harass your small business…from the folks who regulate your entrepreneurial spirit into submission…from the clerks who mandate outsourcing, expropriate your profits and who cannot “create” one job without first destroying two, comes… The Presidential Speech on Job Creation! The papers were abuzz with excitement this morning. Journalists rushed to put ink to paper, careful to do so before they had time to think. “Wall Street Mixed Ahead of Obama Speech,” announced one headline. “Wall Street Falls Ahead of Obama Speech,” countered another. “DJIA Wobbles Ahead of Obama’s Jobs Speech,” opined a third. What are we to make of all this, ...

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett has touched a national nerve. The 80-year-old "Oracle of Omaha," one of the world's three richest men, has taken to the pages of the New York Times to call for higher taxes -- yes, higher taxes -- for himself and his well-off peers. "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," he said. Buffett calling for a higher tax burden for the wealthy is nothing new; last November, in a lengthy sit-down interview with ABC News, he insisted that the wealthy "have it better than we've ever had it" and that they had an obligation to pay substantially more tax. However, the timing of his latest appeal made people take notice. Washington lawmakers are fighting about ...