Gold 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 ...

(Reuters) - The U.S. services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in February, helped by a gain in new orders and as the housing market shows signs of stabilizing. The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 57.3 in February last month from 56.8 in January, in sharp contrast to economists' expectations for a drop to 56.1. It was the index's highest level since February 2011. The services sector accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York, highlighted the gain in the forward-looking new orders component. "At this level of ISM, this is not really changing our view that you're still looking at around a 2.0 percent year in terms of GDP ...

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 ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary : 02/12/2011 U.S. Review Moderate Improvement in Economic Data The November employment report showed a big drop in the unemployment rate. However, the overall pace of job growth remains constrained. Housing market data this week indicated that new home sales rose modestly in October, while home prices continued their downward trajectory. The latest read on manufacturing sentiment from the ISM-manufacturing survey indicated that output continued to expand at a moderate pace despite the ongoing European debt crisis. Data Supports Stronger Growth in Q4 This week's data continued to reinforce our view for stronger fourth-quarter economic growth. The housing market data showed sales and new home construction have bottomed, while the ISM- ...

The Weekly Bottom Line : 21/10/2011 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States European leaders are meeting in Brussels this weekend to try and come up with a plan to restore market confidence and secure the future of the common currency. But those hoping for a grand bargain are likely to be disappointed. The real challenge is deeper than European policymakers have publicly acknowledged: how do you restore confidence in a union of countries that, with few exceptions, are highly indebted and relatively uncompetitive? A successful solution must involve the reform of European institutions themselves, as well as an understanding among member states over the responsibilities they hold to themselves and to each other. The U.S. financial system, and the broader economy, will remain at ...

(Reuters) - Gold prices eased slightly on Tuesday, in line with a drop in commodity and equity markets after China's growth eased to its slowest in more than two years and Germany cautioned against expectations of a quick cure to the euro zone's debt crisis. China's annual economic growth slowed to 9.1 percent in the third quarter from 9.5 percent in the previous quarter as the pace of exports softened, driving down commodities and Asian share prices. It came after Germany's comment that a summit of EU leaders on Sunday would not produce a miracle cure for the euro zone's debt crisis, dampening market sentiment which was lifted in the past week on expectations of a breakthrough. A satisfying gameplan is likely to lift the sentiment in risk assets and benefit gold, which has moved in ...

EUR/USD The EUR/USD retreated on Thursday as the market started to lock on profits amid generally eased woes over the outlook for the euro area where investors returned to focus on the weak data and the fragile state of the global economy. Investors remain upbeat on the prospect for a resolution to the debt crisis and see leaders walking in the right path, especially after EC President Jose Barroso presented a broad plan to contain the crisis including economic governance, bank recapitalization, utilization of the EFSF, and helping Greece contain its crisis. The market though remain tensed as the plans to recapitalize banks is still not clear and with the end of the week on Friday the eyes will turn to the G20 finance chiefs meeting as they will surely discuss the development in Europe ...

(Reuters) - In early August, Philipp Hildebrand pulled out of an expedition to mark the bicentennial of the first ascent of the Jungfrau, one of the highest mountains in the Alps. As the bosses of some of Switzerland's leading companies climbed through hail to the summit, the country's top central banker took on the markets. He slashed interest rates to zero and flooded the banking system with cash, in what was to be another futile attempt to bring the Swiss franc down from recent peaks. Hildebrand has often cut a lone figure since taking over as head of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) at the start of 2010. The franc has been chased skyward by frightened investors seeking a haven in the euro crisis, gaining almost 40 percent against the euro since 2008 -- and Hildebrand has been criticized ...

American investors returned from their Labor Day holiday to face another laborious trading day on Wall Street. As your California editor pecks away at his keyboard this afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 200 points to within spitting distance of 11,000. For the first three trading days of September 2011, the Dow has tumbled more than 600 points — or about 5% — the worst three-day start for the month of September in the history of the US stock market. (Thanks to CNBC for this utterly meaningless statistic). As it happens, the Dow is also down about 5% for the year-to-date, and down about 5% from its record high of October 2007. “Down 5” is not exactly the new “up,” but it feels like it. Over in the Old World, the best-performing stock market in the European ...