Bearing in mind Italy's high level of debt (EUR 1.9T) combined with near-zero growth rate, investors believe it could potentially become the next victim of sovereign debt crisis despite a rather low budget deficit. Meanwhile, European flagman Germany has reached EUR 15.3B trade balance in September amid forecast of 12.9B.
USD
Job openings - the number of available positions on the job market - rose to a 3-year record level in September by gaining 225K and reaching 3.35M. Analysts believe this indicator signals that more companies are preparing for improving economic conditions.
GBP
UK manufacturing production gained 0.2% in September - in line with expert projections, National Statistics reported today. On the other hand industrial production stagnated (0.0% growth) on the same month. FTSE has gained 65.59 points or 1.9% since opening, and is currently fluctuating around 5576.51 points.
JPY
Japanese endoscope and camera producer Olympus admitted today it had hidden security investment losses for more than 20 years from now after the company was forced to justify EUR 1.3B of doubtful payments. Firm's shares have dropped by more than 70% since October 14 when CEO M. Woodford left Olympus.
CHF
Thomas Jordan, Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, claimed on a speech today Swiss fiscal and monetary policies should be oriented towards economic stability. Jordan believes, this approach is likely to mitigate risks arising from downturn of global economy. Official SNB's EUR/CHF rate climbed to 1.2413 today with 10-year Swiss Confederation yields standing at 0.93%.