Strengthens Despite Interest

Fundamental Analysis EUR Unemployment in Spain approached a new record of 5.64 million in March while the jobless rate topped 24.4%, reported the national statistics office. Analysts expect the Spain's officials to confirm that the country is falling into recession. Meanwhile, retail sales in the country declined by 3.7% in March on an annual basis. USD US consumer spending surged in March, adding to the previous gains as incomes increased. Household purchases that account about 70% of the US economy surged by 0.3%, following a 0.9% increase in February. Experts projected consumer spending to rise by 0.4%. Meanwhile, incomes eased up 0.4%, indicating the largest increase in the last three months. GBP UK home value accelerated in April, the second straight month, Hometrack Ltd said on ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Spain's credit rating was lowered by Standard & Poor's for a second time in 2012 on enduring worries the nation will have to apply additional fiscal backing to lenders as the economy shrinks. S&P cut its long term grade for Spain from A to BBB+ adding a negative outlook. Country's short term rating was lowered from A-1 to A-2, S&P agency reported on Thursday. USD Crude oil price declined from almost 4-week high in New York trade after S&P ratings agency cut Spain's sovereign credit rating, boosting concerns that further recession in Europe may halt demand for crude. Oil to be delivered in June lost USD 0.61, reaching USD 103.94 a barrel. June Brent oil gave up USD 0.49 and traded at USD 119.43 a barrel. GBP Today the Great Britain Pound extended its gains ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Deutsche Bank, the German biggest lender posted a 33% drop in its first quarter profit, citing debt crisis as a negative force that curbed trading. Net income declined to EUR 1.38 billion (USD 1.82 billion) compared to EUR 2.06 billion in the same period last year. Economists questioned by Bloomberg expected the profit to decrease less to EUR 1.56 billion. Deutsche Bank shares have added 16% this year. USD Crude oil fluctuated close to a one-week record high as Fed claimed they expect the economic growth to advance, encouraging the speculation that fuel demand will increase. Moreover Iran announced it may stop its nuclear expansion. June crude traded at USD 104.07 a barrel after climbing USD 0.57 yesterday. Brent oil to be delivered in June traded at USD 119 a ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The debt crisis is far from over still and I think Spain will be worse before it gets better" - Henrik Drusebjerg, a senior equity strategist at Nordea Bank AB The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro zone swung a deficit of €1.3 billion in February from a surplus of €3.7 billion in January, said the European Central Bank on Wednesday. USD "We got used to companies beating estimates by a pretty good margin" - Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial Corp. U.S. stocks fell after Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. disappointed market participants with their quarterly results. GBP "… the monetary policy committee is likely to remain on hold on the stock of asset purchases at its May meeting" - Mauro Giorgio Marrano, an ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR German DAX index fell on Wednesday after Spain reported its proportion of non-performing loans versus total lending rallied to 7.91% January, the highest figure since 1994 raising doubts about nation's ability prevent debt turmoil. USD The IMF expects the overall economic growth to accelerate this year as the Euro Zone started to show signs of recovery after severe debt crisis. Moreover, US economic performance also improved. The IMF predicted the global economy to grow by 3.5% in 2012 as compared to the previous expectation for a 3.3% expansion. GBP Despite unexpected drop in nation's unemployment, Brtish FTSE 100 index traded modestly lower on Wednesday weighed down by banking stocks as Adam Posen, policy maker at the Bank of England ended his support for ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Euro Area officials are going to Washington this week in order to demand larger war chest from overseas partners to prevent debt crisis as Spanish government struggles with surging borrowing costs. US though insists Europe can tackle crisis by its own financial firewall while Euro Zone representatives claim they already have done enough and deserve global help. USD Temasek Holdings is preparing to buy a part of Goldman Sachs Group's stake of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Goldman Sachs is going to sell 3.55 billion of ICBC shares valued at USD 2.5 billion or about 4% of total amount traded in Hong Kong. ICBC shares lost 0.8% in Hong Kong on the news. Temasek has been raising holdings in China Construction Bank and Bank of China. GBP UK managed ...

(Reuters) - Gold fell on Tuesday, on track to snap a three-day winning streak, amid selling prompted by lower crude oil and U.S. equity markets and a spate of positive U.S. economic data that eroded hopes of more U.S. monetary easing. Spot gold narrowed its losses by 1:18 p.m. EDT/5:18 p.m. GMT to $1,652.21 an ounce from $1,660.40 late Monday, having slid by nearly 3 percent so far this month. The COMEX April gold contract was down $20.1, or 1.2 percent at $1,647.1 per ounce. The yellow metal, which has been following riskier assets such as stocks, also fell after a disappointing U.S. housing starts report. "Money managers are reallocating capital into risk assets they had been shying away from, while liquidating some of their gold holdings (as) the economic picture painted in the ...

The Swiss franc advanced against majors after the SNB decided to hold interest rate unchanged at zero and maintained the ceiling of franc at 1.20 per euro as the economy shows progress and deflation threats recede. The SNB said it expects a “moderate” pace near to 1% in 2012, while it forecasts CPI to record -0.6% this year, before prices rebound to 0.3% next year, and then rise further to 0.6% in 2014. The Swiss economy has been showing signs of strengthening, according to the most recent data despite the franc's appreciation. However, the SNB said if the franc did not weaken further risks could emerge, where the banks' assessment for the franc reveals that the Alpine currency is still high. The EUR/CHF pair is currently trading around 1.2100 after felling to a low of 1.2083 and a high ...

The SEK was up after the Riksbank lowered interest rates to 1.75% from 2.00%. There are two explanations for this counterintuitive move in the SEK. Firstly, the Swedish central bank delivered on the expected 25 bp of monetary policy easing while refraining from a larger policy change. Secondly, risk sentiment improved following a strong Ifo survey and a successful Spanish bond auction. Economic News SEK - SEK Strengthens Despite Interest Rate Cut The SEK was up after the Riksbank lowered interest rates to 1.75% from 2.00%. There are two explanations for this counterintuitive move in the SEK. Firstly, the Swedish central bank delivered on the expected 25 bp of monetary policy easing while refraining from a larger policy change. Secondly, risk sentiment improved following a strong Ifo ...