Gbp/usd Parity On October

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Once we hit the 6.5 per cent mark , the alarm bells will go off loudly in Brussels and more rhetoric will be coming from the European Central Bank" - Adrian Miller, a global markets strategist at GMP The rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Spain’s credit rating by two notches to BBB-plus with a negative outlook from A, citing expectations the government finances will deteriorate. USD "While the economy continued to grow in the first quarter, the expansion remains modest in pace and subpar from a historical perspective" - Jim Baird, chief investment strategist at Plante Moran Financial Advisors The U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than forecast in the first quarter as businesses cut on investment. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.2 per cent ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR " is a crucial step forward toward the adoption of the second program" - Olli Rehn, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Germany and the European Commission welcomed Greek approval of additional austerity measures required to secure a 130 billion euro bailout from international lenders. USD "It’s a continuation of the bull market and we’re encouraged by what we are seeing in Europe" - Laszlo Birinyi, president of Birinyi Associates Inc. U.S. stocks rose on Monday after Greek lawmakers turned austerity plan into law to secure rescue funds from the International Monetary Fund and Europe. GBP "Growth is starting again because we’ve got tentative signs of optimism" - John Cridland, CBI Director-General The Confederation of British Industry said the nation ...

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR Germany and the European Commission welcomed Greek approval of the austerity steps demanded for a financial lifeline, suggesting euro finance chiefs will pull Greece back from the brink when they meet in two days. USD US customer confidence fell more than predicted in early February as improving employment data did not manage to offset worries about steady wages. GBP After a sharp decline on Friday, British FTSE 100 index rebounded on Monday, climbing 1%, helped by financial and resource shares as investors digested news about parliamentary approval of Greece austerity plan. CHF Swiss producer and import prices fell in January as appreciating Switzerland's currency and weaker demand from Euro Zone drove costs down, said Swiss Federal Statistics ...

Citing a failure of the Congressional super committee to address the US deficit Fitch moved to change its outlook on US government debt to negative from stable. Economic News USD - Fitch Warns on US Credit Rating Yesterday Fitch warned on the US credit rating. Citing a failure of the Congressional super committee to address the US deficit Fitch moved to change its outlook on US government debt to negative from stable. Technically this means there is a chance of a ratings downgrade within the next two years. This puts Fitch on the same level with Moody's and one level above S&P who downgraded the US credit rating in August, igniting a storm in the financial markets. The move by S&P to lower the AAA rating of the US fueled sharp declines in equity markets and a rush to safe haven ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Today's financial problems reflect public budget policies of past years" - Ignazio Visco, Governor at the Bank of Italy Italian borrowing costs rose to record highs since the creation of the European Monetary Union with investors demanding up to 7.814 per cent for 2-year government bonds during an auction on Friday. USD "Businesses are very cautious so they’re not hiring and they’re not distributing their profits to consumers" - Michelle Meyer, a senior U.S. economist at Bank of America Corp. U.S. consumer spending may decline in upcoming months amid worse than expected income gains and only modest improvement in employment, show the data published by the Commerce Department. GBP "We don’t see any significant improvement or a change in conditions coming soon" ...

Talk of a Greek exit from the EMU may have gone overboard. The new Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has promised to carry out all of Greece's obligations to receive European bailout funds. This may help to restore fragile investor confidence in the EUR. Economic News EUR - Greek Exit from EMU Not Likely The present coalition in Greece has confirmed its intention to implement the most recent EUR 130 Bn European bailout for the country. This will be done prior to new elections. This is the type of promise investors need to help add stability to the EUR. From all the market events that have occurred over the past week, two important developments have occurred; Greece could default on its bonds and the indebted country could theoretically leave the EMU. However, with the new ...

The Week Ahead Highlights * Dollar weaker on diverging policy expectations while safe havens surge * Pricing in that the Bank of England won't bite the bullet * Flip-flopping Trichet may flip back to hawkish camp * Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi! * Higher commodity prices here to stay? * Key data and events to watch next week US Dollar weaker on diverging policy expectations while safe havens surge The past week saw a decline in the greenback as expectations that the Fed will lag other major central banks in lifting interest rates mounted and as commodities surged amid continued turmoil in the Middle East. Tensions in Libya drove commodities higher led by rising oil prices and saw significant flows into the CHF, JPY, and gold as investors sought safety. CHF ...

Crude futures hit a two-year high Thursday, reaching above $91 a barrel as several economic data releases from the U.S offered a brighter economic outlook for the world's largest oil consumer. Economic News USD - Dollar Lower in Light, Volatile Trading The U.S. dollar fell versus most of its counterparts as data released from the U.S. signaled that the American economic recovery is strengthening, raising demand for higher yielding currencies. Weekly U.S. jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 420,000 last week, a larger drop than expected. Core Durable Goods Orders rose in December while New Home sales showed some recovery in November, despite coming out lower than expected. The greenback weakened 1% against the New Zealand dollar to 74.72 U.S. cents from 74.02 cents yesterday. The U.S. ...

Plumes of black smoke from the Korean Peninsula have stolen the limelight from the EU sovereign crisis and caused pundits to declare a migration of safe-haven flows. News from Korea is still very hazy but a S. Korean defense ministry spokesman told the AFP that “a North Korean artillery unit staged an illegal firing provocation at 1434 PM (0534 GMT) and South Korean troops fired back immediately in self-defense.” At this stage it would be pointless to attempt to predict the direction of events, although news that S. Korean air force Jets were dispatched after the shelling seems to temporarily skew the story. However, the erosion in risk appetite clearly began yesterday as the market was unconvinced that the Irish bailout was close to ending contagion in Europe. And with Tokyo closed of ...