Both Regions Traded

Spain's banking sector said to be calling on market regulator for renewed ban on short-selling Economic Data (EU) ECB: €809M borrowed in overnight loan facility €839M prior; €762.4B parked in deposit facility v €785.1B prior (JP) Japan Apr Nationwide Dept. Sales Y/Y: 1.3% v 14.1% prior; Tokyo Dept. Store Sales Y/Y: 6.7% v 26.7% prior (IN) India Apr CPI Y/Y: 10.4% v 9.4% prior (DE) Germany Apr Producer Prices M/M: 0.2% v 0.3%e; Y/Y: 2.4% v 2.5%e (HU) Hungary Mar Avg Gross Wages Y/Y: 2.7% v 6.5%e v 6.9% prior (RU) Russia Narrow Money Supply w/e May 14th (RUB): 6.93T v 6.88T prior (ES) Spain Central Bank (BOS): Mar Bad Loan Ratio at 8.37% v 8.16% prior; - Lending -3.1% y/ym, Deposits -4.2% y/y (IT) Italy Mar Industrial Orders M/M: 3.5% v 1.0%e; Y/Y: -14.3% v -13.2% prior (IT) Italy ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The debt crisis is far from over still and I think Spain will be worse before it gets better" - Henrik Drusebjerg, a senior equity strategist at Nordea Bank AB The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro zone swung a deficit of €1.3 billion in February from a surplus of €3.7 billion in January, said the European Central Bank on Wednesday. USD "We got used to companies beating estimates by a pretty good margin" - Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial Corp. U.S. stocks fell after Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. disappointed market participants with their quarterly results. GBP "… the monetary policy committee is likely to remain on hold on the stock of asset purchases at its May meeting" - Mauro Giorgio Marrano, an ...

Fundamental News Today’s highlights: · Trade Balance (CAD, 12:30 GMT) · Initial Jobless Claims + Trade Balance (U.S, 12:30 GMT) · ECB Monthly Report (EUR, 08:00 GMT) · Trade Balance (GB, 08:30 GMT) Prices of goods imported to the U.S. surged higher in March, driven by higher prices in both the fuel and non-fuel sectors. Import prices were up by 1.3 percent, according to Labor Department figures. In addition, the Federal Reserve said the economy grew in all 12 of its regions as manufacturing, hiring and retail sales showed signs of strength in the face of higher fuel prices. “The economy continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace from mid-February through late March,” the Fed said in its Beige Book business survey. Germany's auction failed to ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday and growth-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar were shunned after data showing shrinking factory activity in China and the euro zone heightened concerns about a slowdown in the global economy. Materials stocks such as miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) were prominent among the losers, but crude oil steadied after tumbling overnight and copper bounced off a 2-week low. Data on Thursday showed China's manufacturing sector activity shrank in March for a fifth successive month, while German and French manufacturing suffered a sharp decline that even the most pessimistic economists failed to predict. "Fears of a Chinese hard landing are on the rise; overdone we think," said Vincent Chaigneau, strategist at Societe Generale. "Concerns over Europe ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "There is at least still sufficient demand for goods ‘made in Germany’ to keep the industrial engine running in 2012" - Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Group German factory orders increased more than expected in December as demand from overseas helped the euro zone’s largest economy to weather the debt crisis. Orders rose 1.7 per cent, after declining 4.9 per cent in November, said the Economy Ministry on Monday. USD "You wonder when people are going to look beyond Greece to the real issue, which is Italy" - Jeffrey Sica, president and CIO of Sica Wealth Management U.S. stocks declined on Monday, snapping a three-day winning streak, after the meeting of euro zone ministers was postponed because of Greek reluctance to commit to reforms. GBP "If the UK ...

Morning Briefing : RBA surprisingly stays on hold; Aussie spikes What's new: Asia: Equity indices marginally negative in line with their US counterparts Australia: RBA surprises expectations for a 25bp rate cut - remains on hold FOREX: Aussie gathers support on RBA decision Greece: Still unable to forge any deal Forex rates in Asia and Indices: EURUSD: 1.3137– 1.3089. USDCHF: 0.9215 – 0.9184. GBPUSD: 1.5832 - 1.5793. EURJPY: 100.72 – 100.37. USDJPY: 76.78 – 76.51. DowJones: 12’845.13 -0.13% NASDAQ: 2'901.99 -0.13% S & P 500: 1'344.33 -0.04% Nikkei: 8’917.52 -0.13% Shanghai: 2'291.56 -1.7% Gold: $ 1'725.60 Crude Oil: $ 96.85 Comments: The RBA surprisingly left rates on hold leaving them at 4.25% although it seems that easing remains on the table as it deemed a rate cut not ...

The front in the battle of the oil benchmarks has seen wide shifts this year, but the draw of Brent's hedge appeal for producers and the promising returns of its curve for investors may be giving it an advantage for now over West Texas Intermediate. Trade volumes on the IntercontinentalExchange's Brent contract have eclipsed those of the CME Group's light sweet crude, or West Texas Intermediate (WTI), contract in four of the last seven session, a reversal seen only once before. Open interest in the two contracts has seen a similar swing. While the number of open contracts remains higher in WTI, the gap has narrowed from 775,000 in mid-August to just under 500,000 this week -- the narrowest this year. WTI's share has fallen to 61 percent from 66 percent a month ago. While the gains may ...

The euro felt pressure versus the US dollar this morning, with the pair's price reaching a one-month high near 1.4700 then entering a moderate decline. Soft data out of the American economy last week forced a reevaluation by many investors who went long on the USD following the European Central Bank's (ECB) cloudy rate statement from a month back. Today's rate statement, therefore, has gained in prominence in relative terms. Economic News USD - Traders Mixed on USD as Euro Zone Interest Rates Expected Today The US dollar experienced mixed results yesterday as traders began to shift in and out of the greenback following last week's non-farm employment data and this week's relatively positive sentiment. The results so far have been for the value of the USD to decline and then hold versus ...

(Reuters) - Britain's leading shares remained weak just before midday on Wednesday, weighed down by falls in commodity issues on fears the unrest in Libya could spread to other oil producers in the region and hit global growth. At 1155 GMT (6:55 a.m. EST), the FTSE 100 .FTSE index was 31.11 points, or 0.5 percent, lower at 5,965.65, extending its declines to more than 2 percent in a fourth straight session of losses. Energy issues were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100 index, with BP (BP.L) the worst off, down 1.1 percent. After strong gains in the past few weeks the sector was unsettled by the impact of unrest in Libya, which has cut oil supplies from the OPEC nation. A defiant Muammar Gaddafi said he was ready to die "a martyr" in Libya, vowing to crush a growing revolt which has seen ...