Dour Economic Data

Wall Street stocks ignored dour U.S. economic data to keep February's rally alive on Tuesday, while the euro remained firm in anticipation of an injection of cheap cash from the European Central Bank. Oil prices edged lower for a second day after Monday's correction, which snapped a week-long rally. U.S. Treasuries rallied as the government reported that new orders for durable goods fell in January by the most in three years, suggesting the U.S. economy started the year on a weaker-than-thought footing. The S&P 500 .SPX index hovered at the 1,370-point level it has been tracking over the past fortnight, ignoring the durable goods data and a separate report showing a decline in home prices in December. "The way that this market has been rallying ... (traders) don't care, and that's the ...

(Reuters) - Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said on Thursday U.S. economic conditions were improving and repeated his view that further easing from the U.S. central bank was not needed. "The tone is a lot better. It's not brilliant; we don't have enough new hiring taking place, (but we're) definitely moving in the right direction," Fisher told CNBC television. "Given the improvement in the data that we've seen, things are getting better, not worse. I don't see any need personally for QE3 here," he said, referring to the possibility of a third round of central bond buying, or quantitative easing. The Fed has held overnight interest rates near zero since December 2008 and has bought $2.3 trillion in government and mortgage-related bonds. After the central bank's last ...

The euro leaped to its highest level against the dollar in 10 weeks and to its strongest since November versus the yen on Thursday as better-than-expected German data offset a dour economic forecast from the European Commission. The single currency retreated from highs after the EU's executive said the euro zone economy is heading into its second recession in just three years and the wider European Union will stagnate, warning that the currency area has yet to break its vicious cycle of debt. Optimistic news about Germany, however, ultimately had investors favoring the euro. "We're clearly in a bit of a risk-on mode following the strong German data and that should remain the main driver of activity," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. ...

(Reuters) - The euro rallied across the board on Tuesday, hitting an eight-week high against the dollar on optimism that Greece is about to agree on a bailout deal that will enable it to avoid a messy default. A Greek official's statement suggested that the Greek government has completed negotiations with lenders on its 130 billion-euro rescue package, although agreeing to the painful austerity measures that come with the bailout could be a challenge. Greek political leaders had balked at the austerity plan required to receive the rescue funds. But a firm deal appears to be in the works even though Greek political leaders postponed a meeting on a bailout package until Wednesday. For Greece, failure to secure the 130 billion euro ($170 billion) rescue would mean it faces a messy debt ...

(Reuters) - Consumer sentiment picked up more steam in early January, rising to the highest in eight months as Americans grew more optimistic about job prospects, a survey released on Friday showed. Separate data earlier in the day showed the trade deficit widened in November to its largest in five months, suggesting imports weighed on economic growth a bit more than expected during the fourth quarter. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary January reading on its overall index of consumer sentiment rose to 74.0 from 69.9 in December for the fifth month of gains and the highest level since May 2011. The report topped expectations of 71.5 and was in contrast to December's weaker-than-expected retail sales reported on Thursday. "This shows even though the retail sales ...

(Reuters) - Stock index futures rose Tuesday, indicating equities will rebound from declines in the prior session as a drop in Spain's borrowing costs and unexpectedly positive data from Germany eased euro zone debt worries. Short-term financing costs for struggling Spain more than halved as banks lapped up debt at an auction, with much of the purchasing power said to have come from cut-rate loans from the European Central Bank. U.S. banks, plagued by concerns about exposure to the euro zone crisis, dragged U.S. stocks lower Monday, with losses accelerating late in the session. Bank of America Corp's (BAC.N) stock price fell below $5 for the first time in nearly three years. Bank of America shares were up 2.3 percent to $5.10 and Citigroup Inc (C.N) added 1.9 percent to $25.30 in ...

The Weekly Bottom Line : 18/11/2011 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States U.S. equity markets tumbled this week as pessimism mounted over the ability of policymakers in Europe to rein in the sovereign debt-crisis and over the Supercommittee in the U.S. to deliver on a plan to reduce deficits due by November 23. Despite the dour week on the market, economic data was actually quite good. Retail sales rose by 0.5% in October, beating expectations. Meanwhile, consumer prices fell 0.1% in the month as gasoline prices pulled back. The recent upturn in economic momentum will come to little if policymakers in both Europe and the United States cannot act decisively to restore confidence to financial markets. Canada Crude oil price topped US$100 per barrel this week, due in large ...

Japan kept markets on guard for currency intervention and central bank monetary easing as the finance minister vowed to stem the yen's rise and the prime minister voiced concern over economic recovery on Wednesday . The yen held broadly steady against the dollar as recent repeated jawboning by Japanese authorities kept markets wary of intervention to weaken the currency, while a deal to raise the U.S. debt limit eased pressure on the U.S. currency. The pause in the yen was tentative, given lingering worries that the United States faces a ratings downgrade and that Europe's debt crisis will spread further. These concerns could push the yen higher again, forcing Japan to sell its currency for the third time in about a year. "I don't think currency markets are reflecting economic ...

The Swiss franc hit record highs and the Australian dollar fell on Wednesday as investors scrambled for a safe haven on renewed tensions in the euro zone debt market and worries about a global slowdown. The yen held steady against the U.S. dollar, with investors wary of intervention to weaken the yen after recent jawboning from Japanese authorities. Even Moody's affirmation of the United States' prized triple-A credit rating failed to calm jittery markets. Moody's announcement followed congressional approval of a deficit-cutting plan. Instead, markets focused on Tuesday's announcement of more weak U.S. data, following a batch of dour manufacturing surveys on Monday. Latest figures showed U.S. consumer spending dropped in June for the first time in nearly two years and incomes barely ...