Basket Of Currencies Gaining

U.S. stocks trimmed gains and the euro retreated on Wednesday on speculation that the European Central Bank has stopped funding operations for some Greek banks, rekindling fears of messy financial woes for Greece. Euro zone central bank sources said the ECB had stopped refinancing operations with some Greek banks. The ECB, which refinances only solvent banks, declined to comment. It was unclear exactly how many banks were affected. One person familiar with the matter said four Greek banks' capital was so depleted they were operating with negative equity capital. Investors have been on tenterhooks over fears of a Greek exit from the euro zone and the financial losses that could cause the financial system. U.S. stocks pared early gains from encouraging U.S. economic data and the euro ...

The euro pared losses and bond prices slid on Wednesday after comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel bolstered hopes that Greece would remain in the euro zone, while U.S. stocks rose on encouraging U.S. economic data. U.S. industrial production posted its fastest growth in over a year in April and a rebound in groundbreaking for new U.S. homes last month suggested a recovery in U.S. housing was gaining some traction, bolstering U.S. investor sentiment that has been heavily hit by news about Greece. Industrial output grew 1.1 percent, the most since December 2010 and nearly twice the pace expected by analysts polled by Reuters. Housing starts increased 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units, while March's starts were revised upward. "Nice to see some ...

Investors sold European shares and the euro on Tuesday, unnerved by the political stalemate in Greece and the threat of a Franco-German split over policies to tackle the region's debt crisis. The uncertainty in Europe added to worries about global growth after weak American jobs data, sending industrial commodities like oil and copper lower. U.S. shares were also expected to open down on Wall Street. .N While markets were in a risk averse mood, activity was less volatile than on Monday when European shares initially fell sharply in reaction to the weekend's election results before firming after Spain said it was prepared to use public funds to help its troubled banks. Spain is the euro zone's fourth largest economy and investors have focused on its troubles because it would be expensive ...

Global shares jumped on Wednesday, lifted by better-than-expected earnings from tech heavyweight Apple Inc and signs of improved sentiment in troubled euro zone debt markets. The dollar eased to three-week lows against a range of currencies .DXY before a key statement on U.S. monetary policy later in the day by the Federal Reserve. Markets expect the U.S. central bank to restate its intention to keep benchmark interest rates near zero throughout 2014 and possibly hint at more easing at its latest meeting. U.S. equity markets rose, with the Nasdaq climbing more than 2.0 percent and the broad S&P 500 index gaining more than 1 percent. Apple (AAPL.O) rose 9 percent to $610.70 after reporting quarterly profit that almost doubled on strong iPhone sales. Apple's forecast-beating results ...

The euro hit a three-week high and global shares jumped on Wednesday, lifted by better-than-expected earnings from tech heavyweight Apple Inc, and signs of improved sentiment in the troubled debt markets of the euro zone. The dollar eased to three-week lows against a range of currencies .DXY before a key statement on U.S. monetary policy later in the day by the Federal Reserve. Markets expect the U.S. central bank to restate its intention to keep benchmark interest rates near zero throughout 2014 and possibly hint at more easing at its latest meeting. U.S. equity markets opened higher, with the Nasdaq climbing more than 2.0 percent and the broad S&P 500 index gaining more than 1 percent. Apple (AAPL.O) rose 10.1 percent to $617.12 after reporting quarterly profit that almost doubled on ...

(Reuters) - Global stocks traded near break-even and government debt prices rose on Thursday despite solid demand for Spanish bonds as investors remained skeptical about the country's fiscal outlook and softer-than-expected U.S. economic data damped sentiment. The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell only slightly last week, while factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region slowed sharply this month and U.S. home resales fell for a second month in March. Analysts said part of the data's weakness was payback after an abnormally warm U.S. winter. But there was little doubt the economy was losing some steam, leaving the door open for further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve, a bullish sign for bonds. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note ...

(Reuters) - The euro lost ground slightly and German government bond prices edged away from record highs on Tuesday as investors waited to see if concerns over Spain's budget deficit and banking sector push up borrowing costs at a debt sale. Spanish 10-year bond yields traded above the key six percent level for a second day with investors increasingly worried the country's economic worries will reignite the euro zone debt crisis. Madrid will auction 12- and 18-month Treasury bills, a key test of investor sentiment ahead of a more challenging sale on Thursday of two-year and 10-year bonds. Concerns over Spain have hit risk appetite across all major markets with shares around the world weaker, oil prices slipping and gold edging below a key level of $1,650 an ounce. The euro was down ...

Great Britain pound is showing weakness against the US dollar right now, but it is higher against the euro — and many think that the pound is likely to continue making gains against the the 17-nation currency in the near future. Sterling is struggling against the US dollar, along with other high beta currencies today. Risk appetite is hard to come by with the latest news out of China encouraging concerns about the global economic recovery. However, even though the pound is down against the greenback, it is gaining against the euro. Part of the risk aversion in the markets is that focus is once again including Spain, and what could be next for the embattle country. Bond yields have risen again, and talk of sovereign debt contagion is pressuring the euro. As a result, the UK pound is ...

The euro managed only short-lived gains against the dollar on Monday after a surprisingly positive German business sentiment survey, with investors worried about the problems of euro zone peripheral economies opting to sell into the currency's bounce. The dollar moved broadly higher, rising against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, as last week's drop in U.S. bond yields took a breather. U.S. bond yields have risen steadily for most of March as the world's largest economy showed signs of improvement, lending solid support to the dollar. In Europe, the German Ifo think tank's business climate index rose to 109.8, beating expectations of a steady reading of 109.6 and surprising many traders who were bracing for a soft number after last week's weak reading of flash purchasing managers' ...