On Friday morning in London the Yen was trading at JPY 96.73 per EUR which is fairly close to its record high JPY 96.43 recorded on June 1 2012. This week Japanese national currency gained 1.2% against its European counterpart. Though the Yen also rose against the US Dollar by 0.5% this week . In the morning the conversion rate was JPY 79.31 per USD.
DAX Index dropped on Thursday by 1.14% to 6,380.50. Fading easing hopes after FOMC minutes pushed down the Germany's blue chip index. Consumer goods sector dropped by 1.12%. Henkel, Adidas and Beiersdorf fell by 0.02%, 1.85% and 0.17%, respectively. Meanwhile, financial institutions plunged, with shares of Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank decreasing by 1.45% and 0.95%. Utility companies declined as well.
UK stocks fell on the Fed decision not to implement additional easing measures at the moment. Commodity-heavy UK index lost 1.31 % to trade at 5,590.30 at the time of writing. Mining companies led the decline, with Rio Tinto dropping after the company announced that its CEO, Guy Elliot, will retire next year. Other commodity producers also slumped. BHP Billiton
European leaders' decision on lowering borrowing costs allowed Italy to sell EUR 7.5 billion of Treasury bills. The previous rate, on June 13 2012, for 361-day bill was 3.972% while now it is 2.697%. Italian ten-year government bond yield declined by 0.04% to 5.7% on Thursday, July 12, in Rome. On Friday Italian government is going to sell EUR 5.25 billion of long-term debt, which
Hong Kong shares faced the worst day in a month on Thursday, being weighted down by sharp fall in banking and consumer sectors. Hang Seng Index dropped by 2% to trade at 19,025.1. China's banks extended previous losses as worries over exposure to bad loans added pressure on the Hang Seng Index. China Construction Bank and Industrial & Commercial Bank
The People's Bank of China reported today it extended CNY 919.8 billion home-currency loans. Money supply, M2, increased by 13.6%, though the central bank wants to achieve increase of 14% by the end of the year. However, foreign-exchange reserves, the largest in the world, dropped from USD 3.305 trillion in March to USD 3.24 trillion in June. Chinese economy's expansion slowed down from 8.1% in
PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis on housing market in the UK showed house prices might not recover until 2024. Housing market peak was in 2007 when average price for real property stayed at GBP 197 000. Though in June 2012 average house price was equal to GBP 162 417. PwC experts predict that by 2017 prices will recover in cash terms, while by 2020 real term prices will
South Korea's interest rates cut, Australia's rising unemployment and stagnating manufacturing in Europe has lead to a fall in oil prices. August-delivery crude oil lost USD 0.68 and and was trading at USD 85.13 a barrel on the Mercantile Exchange in New York. The the contracted gained USD 1.90 yesterday reaching the highest close (USD 85.81) for the last three days. Brent oil for August-delivery
Farm commodities except for corn rallied on Wednesday on crop-harming weather in the US, Brazil and India. Moreover, commodity group faced an increased volatility as investors were nervous, awaiting USDA report released during the US morning session on Wednesday. Wheat rose as dry and hot weather is likely to persist in the US. Moreover, wheat caught moment after USDA cut global
Nikkei 225 posted the largest decline in more than a month on Wednesday after BoJ refrained from additional easing measures. FOMC minutes also added pressure on the Japanese stocks. Fed did not announce extension of asset-purchasing policy despite faltering US economy. Meanwhile, high-tech equities remained weak after Tuesday's profit warnings from the US. Sharp and Panasonic tumbled 7% and 4.5%.
Energy commodities surged on Wednesday despite stronger US Dollar and continuous global growth concerns. EIA report release and hot weather forecasts in the US provided support for the commodity group. Crude oil soared after EIA reported that US crude oil inventories declined much more than expected last week. However, crude oil came under pressure as worries over supply disruptions from Norway
Dow Jones Industry Average ended US session with moderate loss of 0.38% on Wednesday after disappointing Fed minutes. Lack of additional stimulus for the US economy created notable pressure on the US equities. Only oil and gas sector went higher, advancing by 1.20% on soaring energy prices. EIA report indicated that a decline in US crude oil inventories was much
Industry metals, excluding aluminum, advanced on Wednesday despite stronger greenback and global demand concerns. Adding pressure on the commodity pack, Fed officials were indecisive in regards to the next round of QE. Aluminum was the only loser on continuous closures of mines amid low prices. United Co Rusal, world's largest aluminum producer, plans to halt about 70,000 MT of output at
US stocks declined for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday as Fed minutes indicated that US economy still faces a lot of downside risks, comprising possible budget crisis in Washington and persistent stagnation in the Eurozone. At the same time, the Fed was not ready to launch more measures to stimulate US economy. S&P 500 closed almost flat with minor
Precious metals were slightly higher on Wednesday despite disappointing FOMC minutes. Fed members were divided on launching more stimulating measures thus implementation of QE3 seems less likely in the next meeting in August. Gold climbed 0.59% despite inaction of the Fed. The yellow metal found some support on easing measures in the EU and China. Silver followed the gold's suit, rising by
As the crisis is hitting, the Euro is now around a two-year low versus the greenback, currently at 1.2234, and European shares slide down as well. At the same time the US Dollar gains in value across the board, as against a basket of its key counterparts it is now trading for 83.49, while before overnight trade the index was at a record high
The Central Bank of Brazil decreased the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 8%. Lower rate is supposed to bolster the economy and is a part of the overall looser monetary policy, to which the central bank started to adhere in August last year, when the interest rate was at 12.5%. However, the Brazilian currency has not been
The Bank of Korea decreased its interest rate for the first time since February 2009. Seven-day benchmark interest rate was cut by 0.25% to 3%. Moreover, bond prices jumped, leading to record low yield, therefore, bonds for June 2015 lost 0.23% and now have interest rate of 2.97%. The Won instantly fell against the US Dollar by 0.7% to KRW 1148.85 per USD. Governor Kim Choong
As last week, it was reported that the sales of Peugeot decreased by 13% and overall, the company is experiencing losses, it was decided to close down the most unprofitable plants in France. This means that around 8,000 workers will lose their jobs. However, the company added that they will help and support these workers in finding a new place
The Australian Bureau of Statistics posted new data regarding the labor force on Thursday, July 12. It says that 27 000 job places were cut in July. This action most likely will rise unemployment level from 5.1% to 5.2%. Full-time workers were the main target for eliminating. In June 2012 was the biggest cut of full-time employees since November 2011 amounting to 33 500 position.
Japan's ten-year government bond interest rate has recorded the lowest value since 2003 of 0.77% as the asset-purchase budget increased to 45 trillion Yen by the Bank of Japan. The five-year yields also decreased in value, reaching 0.175% going down by one basis point.
In June, this year, payrolls were decreased, thus increasing the unemployment rate to 5.2% in July. As reported by the Statistics Bureau in Sydney, the numbers by 27,000 jobless people as there is a lack of full time employees. Furthermore, the Australian Dollar weakened against the US Dollar to USD1.0193, with the interest rate of the one-year bonds going down
German DAX Index advanced 0.66% to trade at 6,438 on Wednesday despite mounting Eurozone's debt pressure after Italy's borrowing costs surged above 6%. Metro dropped 1.80% after Tuesday's rally while Deutsche Post retreated 1.12%. Meanwhile, Health care sector moved higher, with Fresenius and Fresenius Medical Care rising by 1.10% and 1.22%. Financials were mixed. Deutsche Bank increased by 0.04% whereas
UK stocks declined on lingering concerns over the Eurozone's economy. The German Constitutional Court delayed its decision regarding planned changes in bailout rules on Tuesday. Financial stocks extended losses, with Lloyds Banking, Barclays and HSBC tumbling by 1.68%, 1.20% and 0.34%, respectively. Commodity producers also declined. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton retreating 1.25% and 1.14%. Meanwhile, Glencore International soared 1.53%