Getting Fresh News

Stocks fell on Thursday, with the S&P on track for a fifth straight day of declines as weak economic data spooked investors already concerned about the ongoing situation in Europe. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq fell as much as 1 percent, with the Nasdaq's losses wider as large-cap tech shares fell. A gauge of future U.S. economic activity fell in April for the first time in seven months and the Philadelphia Fed business conditions index hit its lowest since September, compounding worries about a struggling economic recovery. Spain's El Mundo newspaper reported that customers at troubled Spanish lender Bankia had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros over the past week, though the Spanish government denied the report. Bankia shares (BKIA.MC) fell 14 percent after sliding as much as 30 ...

(Reuters) - Copper prices extended losses to fresh two-week lows on Wednesday as worries about the impact of political turmoil in Greece and the euro zone debt crisis sapped demand for risky assets and raised fears about the demand outlook for metals. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell to $8,040 a metric ton (1.1023 tons) at 05:22 a.m. EDT (0922 GMT), down 0.7 percent from Tuesday's close of $8,095. It earlier hit its lowest level since April 24 at $8,035 a tonne. In Greece, radical leftist Alexis Tsipras meets the leaders of mainstream parties on Wednesday, with little chance of clinching a deal on a coalition government after he set tearing up an EU/IMF bailout deal as a condition. The political uncertainty pushed the euro close to a recent three-month low ...

Fresh RRR cut chatter coming from China officials; Shirakawa commits to powerful easing if needed for Japan Economic Data (JP) JAPAN MAR MERCHANDISE TRADE BALANCE TOTAL: -¥82.6B V -¥223BE; ADJ MERCHANDISE TRADE BALANCE: -¥621B V -¥446BE (multi-year low) (BR) BRAZIL CENTRAL BANK (COPOM) CUTS SELIC TARGET RATE BY 75BPS TO 9.00%; AS EXPECTED (2nd consecutive 75BPS cut) (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q1 CONSUMER PRICES (CPI) Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.5%E (3-quarter high); Y/Y: 1.6% V 1.6%E (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR DEPARTMENT STORE SALES Y/Y: 1.6% V 2.9% PRIOR; DISCOUNT STORE SALES Y/Y: +3.2% V -6.4% PRIOR (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR RBA FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS (A$): 944.0M V 372M PRIOR (AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: -1 V 1 PRIOR (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR ANZ NZ JOB ADS M/M: -1.0% V 4.6% PRIOR (JP) Japan investors ...

(Reuters) - The euro fell broadly on Monday, dropping to a two-month low against the dollar and the safe-haven yen and reaching a 1-1/2 year trough against the British pound, as Spain rekindled worries about the fragile state of the euro zone economy. As Spanish 10-year government bond yields rose above 6 percent for the first time this year and the cost of insuring its debt hit a record high, sentiment was cautious across financial markets. That weighed on growth-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar while keeping the yen near a seven-week high against the U.S. dollar. News over the weekend that China had doubled the yuan's daily trading band against the dollar to one percent has so far had limited impact on major currencies. Spain's failure to convince investors that it can ...

(Reuters) - Global stocks dropped more than 1 percent and the euro fell to a 3-week low against the dollar on Wednesday a day after U.S. central bank meeting minutes dented hopes for more economic stimulus and a Spanish debt auction drew weak results. Gold prices hit their lowest since early January, while U.S. bonds rallied as losses in the stock market enhanced the bid for safe-haven U.S. government debt. Comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that the euro zone's economic outlook is subject to downside risks related to the debt crisis and commodity prices further weighed on the euro, as well as gold. Draghi's comments came in a news conference after the ECB announced it was holding interest rates at record lows, as widely expected. The Federal Reserve's minutes ...

Risk aversion is dominating markets right now, but that isn’t keeping the yen from heading lower today. Instead of getting a boost as a safe haven currency, the Japanese yen remains lower against other majors this morning. It’s been an interesting day so far for the yen, as traders try to find their places. Right now, risk aversion is high as lack of fresh and positive data leads investors to take profits and consider what might be next. Also contributing to the atmosphere of risk aversion is the fact that there are worries about Chinese demand. With time for reflection on the state of the Chinese economy, many Forex traders and investors are concerned that demand for commodities could weaken. This is also sending equities lower and boosting demand for the US dollar. Normally, this state ...

The dollar rallied and Treasury yields soared on Wednesday, boosted by a brighter economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and news that most U.S. banks passed stress tests. Stocks in Europe climbed to a near-eight-month peak, and the dollar notched a fresh 11-month high against the yen. Yields on U.S. Treasuries hit their highest level since October and German 10-year bond yields spiked to a three-week high as demand for safe-haven government debt waned. "Equities are getting the message that they are cheap relative to bonds, which is the other side of bonds getting the message that they are extremely expensive," said Alan Ruskin, head of G10 currency strategy at Deutsche Bank in New York. But U.S. equities were mixed after a five-session rally took indices to multi-year highs in the ...

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday provided few clues on the prospects for further monetary easing, offering just a slight upgrade to its economic outlook while restating concerns about the high level of unemployment. The central bank said it expects "moderate" growth over coming quarters with the unemployment rate declining gradually; in January, it said it expected "modest" growth. It also said a recent spike in energy costs would likely push up inflation, but only temporarily. Over a longer stretch, the Fed said inflation would likely run at or below the its 2 percent target. "Labor market conditions have improved further; the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains elevated," the central bank said in a statement after a one-day meeting. U.S. stocks held ...

Forex News and Events: In yesterday's ECB meeting, the ECB president did not even mention the subject of rate cuts but did highlight inflationary pressures. Suggesting to us and the market that rates will stay at 1.00% for the rest of the year. The 2012 inflation midpoint forecast was increased to 2.4% y/y from 2.0% y/y previously, higher than the central banks mid target of 2.0%. The 2012 growth forecast was revised lower to -0.1% y/y from +0.3% y/y previously. Risk appetite held firm for most of the Asian session until the much anticipated results of the bond swap offer were announced. Reuters reported that Greece announced that 85.8% of bondholders (€172bn tendered in swap ) have accepted the offer. "I wish to express my appreciation to all of our creditors who have supported our ...