Yen And A Slower Global

Global stocks slid and the euro fell to a four-month low on Monday as a political impasse in Greece heralded a potential exit for the country from the euro zone, while a move to prop up lending in China and poor European data pointed to slower world growth. Safe-haven currencies, including the dollar and the Japanese yen, rose and government debt gained as coalition talks in Greece on Sunday proved fruitless, increasing the chance of another election in mid-June. Expectations are for the euro to continue falling, driven by speculation over the implications of Greece's possible exit from the euro zone, said Eric Theoret, currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. "The probability of a euro exit (by Greece) has risen in the past few hours," said Thomas Costerg, an economist at Standard ...

The euro slid to a 3-1/2-month low in volatile trade on Friday as political uncertainty in Greece and hefty losses disclosed by U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase spurred risk aversion. The euro has dropped against the dollar in eight of 10 sessions for a cumulative 2.4 percent decline, hit by the turmoil in Greece. Inconclusive election results last Sunday threw the country into political disarray and raised the risk that it could exit the euro zone and the European Union. Greek Socialist party leader Evangelos Venizelos on Friday said he was unable to form a government, sending the country hurtling toward a new vote. "If the same thing happens in the second round and you do not get a government in Greece, we think that will weigh on the euro," said Tom Higgins, global macro strategist at ...

Asian stocks dropped as Greece is complicating the outlook for Europe even more, after Greece failed to form a government putting the nation's future in the euro zone at risk. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.4% at 13:04 in Tokyo. Europe remains the main market mover on Wednesday since the uncertainties over its outlook and the worries about the region's ability to introduce further austerity measures that could prevent the euro zone from falling deeper into recession are growing. First, it was Francois Hollande, France's new president, who criticized Germany`s heavy emphasis on austerity and called for policies that would revive economic growth. This could harden Angela Markel's efforts to fight the region's debt crisis, adding to worries over the global recovery. Second, there is ...

Asia is set to release more important data this week as the focus shifts to the Chinese consumer price index and the BOK rate decision, while the Australian economy will present its April unemployment report beside the Japanese current account. Starting with Japan, it will release its current account for March; the previous month Japan recorded a 117.8 billion yen surplus, and expectations are for the surplus to widen to 1449 billion yen, as yen has slowed the rally in March helping the nation’s exports rise 5.9% more than expected, supporting the economic growth by 2%. Moving to South Korea, the Bank of Korea will announce its rate decision this week, and the bank is expected to keep the rates at the highest levels of 3.25% as inflation pressures continue to weigh on policy markets ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The grim unemployment figures for March will likely encourage talk about a long overdue ‘growth pact’ for the euro zone" - Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Group Euro area unemployment rose to the highest level since 1997 in March and manufacturing contracted in April, adding to signs the economy is still far from out of the woods. USD "Employment growth is slowing" - David Sloan, an economist at 4Cast Inc. The number of Americans, who have found a job in the private sector fell to 119,000 in April from a revised 201,000 in March, the ADP Employer Services said on Wednesday. GBP " points to clear, decent construction expansion in April" - Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight U.K. construction sector expanded slower in April, compared ...

The Canadian dollar climbed against the euro today as declining manufacturing of the eurozone weakened the shared 17-nation currency. Canada’s currency erased losses versus the US dollar and was flat against the Japanese yen. It is not surprising that the Canadian currency gained against the euro, considering the shrinking eurozone manufacturing and the unexpected growth of German unemployment. Yet it is surprising to see the growth-related loonie to hold ground versus the safe currencies of the United States and Japan, considering the negative sentiment of Forex traders. The slower-than-expected growth of US employment worsened already sour mood of investors, but somehow the Canadian dollar was able to withstand the impact of the bad news. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney was ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR German jobless rate unexpectedly climbed first time in last six months as debt turmoil curbed economic growth. The number of unemployed people increased by 19 000, reaching 2.87 million, compared to an expected drop by 10 000 people. The adjusted unemployment rate was 6.8%. USD Mitt Romney announced that Yuan's 23% appreciation versus U.S. Dollar in last five years is not enough and branded world's second largest economy as currency manipulator. Romney promised in his campaigns to put more pressure on China as he claimed Obama hasn't done enough to boost stronger Yuan. Economists questioned by Bloomberg expected Yuan to climb versus greenback to CHY 6.15 by the end of 2012. GBP FTSE 100 index traded lower on Wednesday as record high unemployment level and ...

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) - Gold prices fell 1 percent on Monday, extending the previous session's losses, as concerns intensified over the outlook for Spain ahead of a bond auction this week, denting appetite for assets seen as higher risk and hurting the euro. Fears about Spain's ability to keep its finances under control sent the cost of insuring its debt against default to record highs, after data on Friday showed record borrowing by Spanish banks from the European Central Bank. Spot gold was down 0.7 percent at $1,647.81 an ounce at 1110 GMT, off an earlier low of $1,640.64. Gold futures for June delivery were down $11.20 an ounce at $1,649.00. Spot prices fell 1 percent on Friday as a stronger dollar and soft Chinese growth data prompted a wave of liquidation, pushing gold into soft territory ...