Confounded Some Market

S&P cuts Spain; BOJ increases JGB facility by net ¥10T, reduces fixed-rate ops by ¥5T Economic Data (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR CURRENT ACCOUNT: $3.0B V $557M PRIOR; GOODS BALANCE: $3.00B V $1.31B PRIOR (UK) UK APR GFK CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SURVEY: -31 V -30E (JP) JAPAN APR MARKIT/JMMA MANUFACTURING PMI: 50.7 V 51.1 PRIOR (JP) JAPAN MAR JOBLESS RATE: 4.5% V 4.5%E; JOB-TO-APPLICANT RATIO: 0.76 V 0.76E PRIOR (JP) JAPAN MAR NATIONAL CPI Y/Y: 0.5% V 0.4%E; NATIONAL CORE Y/Y 0.2% V 0.1%E (6-month high); APR TOKYO CPI Y/Y: -0.3% V -0.1%E; TOKYO CORE Y/Y: -0.5% V -0.3%E (5-month low) (JP) JAPAN MAR OVERALL HOUSEHOLD SPENDING Y/Y: 3.4% V 4.1%E (2-year high) (JP) JAPAN MAR PRELIMINARY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 1.0% V 2.3%E; (JP) JAPAN MAR RETAIL TRADE M/M: -1.2% V -0.5%E ; Y/Y: 10.3% V 10.0%E (multi-year ...

(Reuters) - The euro was underpinned on Tuesday by hopes a way would be found to push through a second bailout deal for Greece, though fresh signs of exposure to Europe's economic troubles among leading banks rekindled investor unease, sending shares lower. U.S. stock index futures pointed to the unresolved Greek deal weighing on Wall Street at the open, ahead of Senate testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that may grab the spotlight at 1500 GMT (10 a.m. EST) after last week's strong jobs data. Greece's prime minister and leaders of its main political parties are set to resume talks later Tuesday on new austerity measures demanded by the EU in return for another bailout. The deal needs to be approved by February 15 if the money is to be available in time to meet a March ...

(Reuters) - The euro retreated from a three-week peak against the dollar in Asia on Tuesday and looked vulnerable to extending its pullback after talks to reduce Greece's debt burden suffered a setback. The single currency shed some 30 pips on news that euro zone finance ministers had sent back for further negotiations a debt restructuring offer from private Greek bondholders to achieve a lower average coupon on new Greek bonds. The euro dipped to $1.3005 from $1.3034 late in New York, before steadying at $1.3014. On Monday, it jumped more than 1 percent to around $1.3050 as hopes of an eventual Greek deal drove a wave of short covering. Further dousing market optimism, Germany denied a report that it was ready to boost the combined firepower of the euro zone's rescue funds to 750 ...

(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a 3-1/2 year low last week and factory activity in New York state scaled a seven-month high in December, more evidence of a pick-up in economic activity. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the lowest level since May 2008, and confounded economist' expectations for a rise to 390,000. In a separate report, the New York Federal Reserve said its "Empire State" general business conditions index rose to 9.53 - the highest since May - from 0.61 in December. The index was boosted by a strong rebound in new orders and an improvement in hiring. "It all speaks to further stabilization and a very positive ...

(Reuters) - Gold inched up on Friday helped by a weaker dollar and buying after the prior session's falls but was still on track for its largest weekly loss since September as euro zone debt contagion worries spooked investors. Silver also rose slightly after falling almost 6 percent in the previous session amid a broad retreat in both precious and industrial metals, triggered by a flurry of stop-loss selling. European debt contagion fears and rising money market stress were making investors nervous even though Italian and Spanish government debt yields fell as the European Central Bank (ECB) bought bonds in the secondary market, but held close to unsustainable levels. Spot gold edged up 0.17 percent to $1,724.2 an ounce by 1424 GMT, from $1,721.19 late in New York on Thursday. In the ...

Gold fell almost 2 percent on Thursday as worries about a disordered bankruptcy in Greece and a deepening debt crisis in Italy weighed on market sentiment and pushed investors to liquidate commodity assets, including precious metals. The euro briefly extended gains versus the U.S. dollar after data showed new claims for unemployment benefits declined for a second straight week in the Unites States, and as easing Italian bond yields prompted investors to take on a little more risk. The dollar however, trimmed losses shortly after, pushing gold to a session low of $1,739.7 an ounce. A stronger U.S. currency makes dollar-priced commodities such as precious metals costlier for holders of other units. Spot gold traded at $1,743.59 an ounce by 1511 GMT, down 1.44 percent from $1,769.54 late ...

(Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly grew in August and fewer Americans filed new claims for jobless aid last week, defying a slump in confidence that threatened to push the economy back into recession. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Thursday its index of national factory activity ticked down to 50.6 from 50.9 in July. The modest slowdown confounded economists' expectations for a fall to 48.5. Any reading below 50 indicates a contraction in the nation's factory sector. A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to 409,000, showing little sign of a pick-up in layoffs in the wake of declining business and consumer confidence. "We've gotten a few better reads from data, and my general sense is ...

The Week Ahead Highlights * EU competitiveness pact may disappoint * Fallout from Japanese earthquake * Spain gets a wakeup call * Central banks expected to maintain policy rates * A mixed picture in China, but further tightening is still needed * Key data and events to watch next week EU competitiveness pact may disappoint Without the final details in hand as of late Friday afternoon, we can't be sure of the ultimate reaction, but price moves ahead of the release of the EU pact suggest markets are going to be underwhelmed. The draft of the pact suggested that no concrete rules will be established and that individual governments will operate on a 'best efforts' basis to rein in debts and deficits and stimulate growth. The only enforcement mechanism will be ...

(Reuters) - U.S. jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October last week while food and energy costs lifted producer prices in December, pointing to headwinds for an economy that has shown fresh vigor. However, a surge in exports to their highest level in two years helped narrow the U.S. trade deficit in November, an encouraging sign for fourth-quarter economic growth. Despite a string of recent data that had signaled a pickup in the economy's momentum, the figures on Thursday showed the job market continues to struggle. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 445,000 from 410,000 in the prior week, a Labor Department report showed. It was the biggest one-week jump in about six months and confounded analyst forecasts for a ...