Increasingly Tense Stand

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The euro zone is being buffeted by major headwinds." - Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight European manufacturing and services industries contracted in May. A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in manufacturing and services sectors declined to 45.9 from 46.7 in April, said the Markit Economics on Thursday. USD "It looks more and more like businesses are hesitating to invest in the face of worsening uncertainties in the and global economy." - Pierre Ellis, a senior economist at Decision Economics The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined slightly by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000 in the week ended May 19 from the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday. GBP " ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Gold extended previous gains in Asian session on Tuesday as concerns over Greek exit from the single currency union eased. At G8 summit leaders of eighth largest economies stated that they would do everything possible to retain Greece in the Euro Zone. COMEX gold June contract traded at 1,592.35 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, advancing by 0.23%. USD The US Senate has passed a bill aimed at tightening sanctions imposed on Iran to force the country to cease its nuclear program. The new sanctions imply investigation of role of Iran's Revolutionary Guard in oil exports as well as obliging the US companies to disclose any business activities with Iranian partners. The move came ahead of negotiations between Iran and six major ...

(Reuters) - Oil traded down near $114 a barrel on Monday as traders and investors worried that a failure to agree a deal with Greece for a second bailout would suppress demand in the euro zone, but renewed tensions with Iran kept a floor under prices. Greek coalition parties have yet to sign off an austerity package that will secure a second financing package from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund, raising fears of a disorderly default. Analysts said this was putting pressure on most risk assets. "If no lending tranches are given to Greece, it would mean bankruptcy in March," said Michael Poulsen, an oil analyst at Global Risk Management. Front-month Brent crude was down 61 cents to $113.97 a barrel by 1319 GMT, ending four straight days of gains. Brent rose 2.8 percent ...

(Reuters) - Oil slipped to around $114 a barrel on Monday as traders and investors worried that a failure to agree a deal with Greece for a second bailout would suppress demand in the euro zone, but renewed tensions with Iran kept a floor under prices. "There's still not much confidence over the euro zone economies, and that is limiting upside from strong U.S. data and the tensions in Iran," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager with Newedge Brokerage in Tokyo. Front-month Brent crude was down 43 cents to $114.15 a barrel by 3:48 a.m. ET, ending four straight days of gains. Brent rose 2.8 percent last week to settle near a three-month peak on Friday, after a positive U.S. jobs report fuelled hopes of stronger demand in the world's biggest economy. U.S. crude was down 77 ...

(Reuters) - Financial stocks led a solid recovery on European share markets Thursday in thin trade and bank-to-bank lending rates fell, as signs grew that the nearly half a trillion euros banks borrowed from the region's central bank will ease funding strains. U.S. stock index futures also pointed to a higher open on Wall Street with the final reading on third-quarter GDP expected to confirm a 2.0 percent annualized pace of growth. The European Central Bank, in its first-ever three-year tender, lent 523 banks a record 489 billion euros ($638 billion) at low interest rates on Wednesday, well above the 310 billion euro take-up forecast. The scale of the funding operation initially exacerbated concerns about the health of the financial system but was increasingly being seen has having ...

The euro was steady against the dollar on Thursday ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut by the European Central Bank with the focus on whether it would provide extra support to indebted euro zone countries. Investors shuffled positions ahead of a crucial EU leaders meeting on Thursday night and Friday, with doubts already creeping in about whether politicians can agree to a comprehensive fiscal plan that will address the euro zone's two-year-old debt crisis. The euro held flat at $1.3405, roughly in the middle of its tight $1.3332-3486 range from the past week. It got a slight lift early in the European session after Clearing houses LCH.Clearnet SA and Cassa Di Compensazione e Garanzia cut the margin requirements on Italian bonds. It had mover higher in the Asian session after ...

(Reuters) - The euro rose against the dollar for a third straight day on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes European policymakers are planning to boost a bailout fund, but gains could be fleeting given investors remain cautious. Talk of coordinated action to contain the euro zone debt crisis was accompanied by denials from policymakers that bailout cash would be increased. That frustrated investors eager for a lasting solution to the region's drama. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, for instance, said on Tuesday that raising the euro zone bailout fund is a "silly idea," and would mean some of the economies within the region could lose their AAA rating. When talk of leveraging the European Financial Stability Facility first became public last week credit rating agency Standard & Poor's ...

(Reuters) - Gold's rally will extend beyond $2,000 an ounce in the next year, but won't match the record-breaking 50 percent surge of the last 12 months, according to an annual survey of gold investors and analysts at the world's biggest bullion traders event. With no let up seen in the financial markets uncertainty that fanned the safe-haven investment spree, bullion is expected to rise to $2,019 an ounce by November 2012, according to an anonymous survey of delegates at the conclusion of the London Bullion Market Association's (LBMA) annual conference on Tuesday. That is about 12 percent above current levels. If history is any guide, the consensus view from the biggest gathering of gold market traders, experts and users may prove too conservative -- for the past three years, prices ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review Recession Fears Rise Again Today, markets received a gut-wrenching August payroll report, ratcheting up recession fears again. There were zero net nonfarm payroll jobs created in August with 58,000 fewer net jobs created during July and June. More troubling for people who still have jobs, average hourly earnings and weekly hours both contracted. Yet, the week started on a bright note, personal spending for July surprised on the upside, suggesting that economic growth was motoring ahead, when it was hit by the equity market declines and the shock to business and consumer confidence in August. Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty? Fears of recession increased on Friday as the BLS reported that August nonfarm payrolls did not ...