Levels Are Still Unsustainable In The Long

(Reuters) - Global stocks eked out gains on Thursday while the euro fell as data suggested Europe's debt woes were spreading and worsening a global economic slowdown, adding to investor concerns about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone. In a volatile session, investors looking for bargains initially bought equities, oil and gold, which have been beaten down this week by worries a Greece exit would deepen the euro zone debt crisis. The appetite for growth-oriented assets faded as fears about the euro zone's drag on the world economy returned. Then for a second straight day, a wave of buying emerged shortly before Wall Street's close. "The market has pulled back far enough that people are trying to assess if we've priced the worst of what's known. But with the problems in Europe ...

The euro dropped against the dollar to a 3-1/2-month low on Wednesday, falling for the eighth straight session on concerns that political turmoil in Greece threatens its rescue deal and as fears rise about the risks posed by Spain's banks. Leftist leader Alexis Tsipras gave up his attempt to form a new government on Wednesday, pushing Greece closer to its second election in a few weeks, after voter rejection of an EU/IMF bailout plunged the country into crisis. Last Sunday's election, in which voters vented their rage against mainstream parties over debt-cutting measures imposed in exchange for the bailout, has caused deep political deadlock and brought European threats to eject Greece from the euro. The latest development increased the possibility that the Greek bailout deal remains ...

(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 ...

The Week Ahead Highlights Can the ECB save the day? Fed speak provides more transparency but not clarity Bank of Japan easing pressure mounts A very mixed UK recovery Bank of Canada to hold RBA minutes to provide more insight Norges Bank's battle with the Nokkie Market Moves Can the ECB save the day? At the end of last week market sentiment towards the Eurozone took a turn for the worse. Stocks closed down sharply and Spanish 10-year bond yields surged to 6% at one stage. The cost to insure Spanish debt against default reached a record high; while bond yields are a mere 70 basis points away from the euro-era record highs reached in November 2011. Problems have been simmering in Spain for some time, and there was no new news that triggered the sharp dip ...

(Reuters) - Gold eased for a second day in a row on Thursday, but was still set for its largest weekly gain in six weeks, thanks to the toll the re-emergence of the euro zone debt crisis has taken on investor risk appetite. This week has seen Spanish bond yields leap to nearly 6 percent, a level perceived to be unsustainable for Madrid to service its debt, after the government unveiled more austerity measures and the head of the central bank warned the country's commercial banks would need more capital if the economy deteriorates further. Equities have fallen to three-month lows, while holdings of gold in exchange-traded funds, often seen as a measure of longer-term investment appetite for bullion, held near record highs around 70.3 million ounces. Spot gold was down 0.1 percent on the ...

The dollar fell to its lowest in a month against a basket of currencies on Friday, extending falls made on expectations of more U.S. monetary stimulus and helping the euro hold its ground as the bloc agreed steps to prevent the debt crisis spreading. Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday on a temporary increase in the capacity of their bailout funds to prevent a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, although analysts said markets may judge it too small to be convincing. That left the euro still vulnerable to concerns about unsustainable debt levels in some euro zone countries. Some strategists said the euro could test the lower end of the range roughly between $1.30 to $1.35 that it has traded in since late January. Market players were also focused on Spain, where the ...

The dollar fell to its lowest in a month against a basket of currencies on Friday, extending falls made on expectations of more U.S. monetary stimulus and helping the euro hold its ground as the bloc agreed steps to prevent the debt crisis spreading. Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday on a temporary increase in the capacity of their bailout funds to prevent a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, but markets may judge it too small to be convincing. That left the euro still vulnerable to further selling pressure on concerns about unsustainable debt levels in some euro zone countries. Market players are focusing on Spain's budget, in which the government is expected to announce harsh austerity measures in a bid to get the country back on a sustainable fiscal path, ...

(Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday for the first time in four sessions, with Brent slipping towards $125 as weak Chinese exports raised fears about global demand and offset the support provided by a better outlook for the economy and Middle East supply concerns. Traders took profit on oil after last week's gains as China posted its largest trade deficit in at least a decade, fanning concerns that slowing exports from the world's second largest economy will lead to lower fuel demand. While the deficit raised questions over the global economy's appetite for its goods, China's crude imports and implied oil demand reached record levels in February. Brent crude fell 51 cents to $125.47 a barrel by 0732 GMT and U.S. crude was down 57 cents at $106.83. Brent's premium to U.S. crude was at $18.64 ...

In today’s Daily Reckoning, we’ll do something we can barely stand to do: we’re going to write one more time about Greece. If you can stand to read it, you may come to the same conclusion we reached. That conclusion is simple: what’s going on Europe has nothing to do with solving a debt crisis and everything to do with preserving a corrupt system based on limitless debt and growing government power. The sooner you understand that fact, the sooner you’ll be able to prepare for what happens next. There are two options for what happens next, and we’ll get to those shortly. First, though, doesn’t it strike you as strange that all of Europe can be brought to its knees by tiny little Greece? Greek GDP is just 2.4% of Europe’s GDP. In economic terms, Greece doesn’t matter. Its lack of growth or ...