EUR/CHF Continues To Make Historic Lows On Euro Zone Tensions

FOREX-Euro helped by report China will buy Portugal's debt
Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:49am EST * Euro gets lift from report China will buy Portuguese Debt * ECB tender shows heavy reliance on cheap funding * Euro hovers near all-time low vs Swiss franc (Adds detail, updates prices) By Anirban Nag LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The euro gained against The Dollar and bounced from all-time lows against the Swiss franc on Wednesday, boosted by a news report that China was ready to buy significant amounts of Portuguese Sovereign Debt. The Jornal de Negocios daily rep...

Fed Extends Currency Swap Lines Over Eurobank Dollar Funding Concerns
The party line is everything is fine in bank land….even Eurobank land. But some recent developments suggest otherwise. The business news on Europe has pretty much daily updates on the unfolding and linked Sovereign Debt/ bank solvency crisis. The officialdom insists this looming problem can be resolved but most observers think it can’t be in the absence of a fiscal union, which is a political bridge too Far Right now. In a not-widely-noticed replay of pre-crisis conditions, the co...

US Fed extends dollar lifeline for central banks
The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday extended until August an emergency tool for other Central Banks to access US dollars, amid market jitters and high demand for the safe haven greenback. The deal, which had been due to expire in January, allows the Central Banks of Britain, Japan, Canada and Switzerland, as well as the European Central Bank, to exchange local currency for US dollars. The swap agreements were sealed in May, but as a Debt crisis and slow Economic Recovery continues to roil markets ...

Fed extends program to ease Europe debt crisis...
The Fed is Lending dollars to other Central Banks in exchange for their currencies. The Central Banks can lend those dollars out to banks in their home countries to ease financial turmoil. The Fed's "swap" program was set up in May as fears rose that Greece's Debt crisis could engulf other European countries. European Banks need dollars to lend to companies across the continent. European companies that have operations in the U.S. pay their employees in dollars and buy raw materials with the U.S....

Stocks poised for flat open
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a muted open Wednesday morning ahead of several economic reports, as investors pack up for the holidays and prepare for 2011. Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and NASDAQ (COMP) futures were nearly unchanged ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance. Email Print Comment On Tuesday, U.S. stocks rose modestly but managed to close at their highest levels in more t...

EURO GOVT-Bund yields at record lows, peripherals lag
Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:02am EDT * Bund yields at record lows as U.S. growth fears rise * ECB Weber's Liquidity comments boost Bunds, Euribor * U.S. Treasuries favoured over Bunds * Peripheral euro Debt spreads seen wider By George Matlock London, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Longer-dated German Government Bond yields marked record lows on Friday, chasing buoyant U.S. Treasury prices after an ECB rate-setter's comments on extending funding to banks fuelled concerns about the pace of the global recovery. Aft...

Euro up slightly against dollar
The euro is a little higher against The Dollar as investors keep their focus on U.S. economic data. The U.S. government said Wednesday Economic Growth during the July-September quarter grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate, below analysts' expectations for 2.8 percent. Economic figures have recently been mostly upbeat, however. The euro has been hurt by recent downgrade warnings for Portugal and Greece by major rating agencies amid the European Debt crisis. It has fallen more than 8 percent against ...

Fed throws euro banks a lifeline
Fed throws euro banks a lifeline Posted by Colin Barr December 21, 2010 4:19 pm For an outfit whose policies supposedly are plunging the world into unspeakable conflict, the Federal Reserve is doing an awful lot to avoid another meltdown. The Fed said Tuesday it would extend The Dollar swap lines it provides to Central Banks in Europe, Japan and Canada in a bid to avoid a cash crunch like the ones seen to such devastating effect in 2008. Your dollars, our problem? The swap lines, under which...

Japan's export growth accelerates
Exports grew by 9.1% compared with a year earlier, the finance ministry said, compared with 7.8% in October. However, analysts remain concerned about the strength of Japan's economy. Also on Wednesday, the government forecast Economic Growth of 1.5% next year, a sharp fall on the 3.1% it predicts for this year. It also forecast that consumer prices will stop falling - they have been on a downward spiral for 20 consecutive months. However, this would not mean the battle against Deflation is ...

U.S. markets edge higher
Published: Dec. 22, 2010 at 10:38 AM NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. markets rose marginally higher Wednesday morning, reflecting a one-notch uptick in the government's estimate of Third Quarter economic output. The Commerce Department said the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of The Economy's performance, rose 2.6 percent in the third quarter, an upward revision of the 2.5 percent estimate released a month ago. Consumer prices, however, rose less than previously estimated in the thi...

Japan's export growth sees boost in November
However, the November figure missed expectations for a 10.8 percent rise in a poll of Economists by Dow Jones Newswires. Analysts said the Japanese Economy remains locked in a trend of shrinking exports due to a stronger yen, which makes Japanese products more expensive in overseas markets, and expectations that overseas demand will weaken. "Japan's exports are slowing, a trend that remains the same," said Taro Saito, senior economist at NLI Research Institute. "The Economy continues to be press...

Fed extends USD swaps with major central banks
By Sakari Suoninen Frankfurt | Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:58am EST Frankfurt (Reuters) - The world's major Central Banks said on Tuesday they would extend emergency supplies of U.S. dollar funding to money markets, in a sign that authorities remain concerned about financial instability as governments grapple with Debt problems. The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank extended their U.S. dollar Liquidity providing operations with t...

Extended Fed Currency Swaps Not Sign of Fresh Concern
By Michael S. Derby The Federal Reserve ’s extension of it currency swap arrangements with other major Central Bank reflects continued unease around the state of European Financial Markets. That said, the decision to maintain the swap lines with the Bank of Canada , Bank of England , the European Central Bank , the Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank , should be viewed more as a protective action on the part of American officials. It is not, most Economists reckon, a sign that some new ...

China may try new ways to manage bank credit
Beijing | Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:58am EST Beijing (Reuters) - China's Central Bank is considering changing a key component of its Monetary Policy management by altering the way it manages bank credit, three sources close to the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Under the proposed changes, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) may judge how much a bank can lend by looking at its capital adequacy ratio, Liquidity conditions and provisions for bad loans. That means the PBOC may set different deposit reser...

Hungary's Central Bank Raises Interest Rates Again
LONDON -- Hungary's Central Bank on Monday increased the base rate by 25 basis points to 5.75%, effective from Tuesday. In contrast, most analysts expected no change to Interest Rates. In November, the Central Bank had raised rates by 25 basis points to 5.50%. The decision "will only add to rising tensions between the Central Bank and the government," said Neil Shearing, senior Emerging Market Economist at Capital Economics, in a note. "The bank justified last month's move on the grounds that th...

China's forex inflows slow in November but still high
The amount of foreign currency flowing into China slowed in November but was still the second highest monthly total in 2010, the government said on Monday, amid official efforts to contain Inflation. Beijing has expressed concern about the flood of overseas money into the world's second-largest economy which it fears is fuelling inflation and helping to push property prices out of the reach of most ordinary Chinese. The large flow of foreign currency -- partly driven by strong demand for Chinese...

Fed throws euro banks a lifeline
For an outfit whose policies supposedly are plunging the world into unspeakable conflict, the Federal Reserve is doing an awful lot to avoid another meltdown. The Fed said Tuesday it would extend The Dollar swap lines it provides to Central Banks in Europe, Japan and Canada in a bid to avoid a cash crunch like the ones seen to such devastating effect in 2008. Your dollars, our problem? The swap lines, under which the Fed provides foreign central Bankers with essentially unlimited stocks of doll...

Fed throws euro banks a lifeline
For an outfit whose policies supposedly are plunging the world into unspeakable conflict, the Federal Reserve is doing an awful lot to avoid another meltdown. The Fed said Tuesday it would extend The Dollar swap lines it provides to Central Banks in Europe, Japan and Canada in a bid to avoid a cash crunch like the ones seen to such devastating effect in 2008. Your dollars, our problem? The swap lines, under which the Fed provides foreign central Bankers with essentially unlimited stocks of doll...

Oil Spill Effects May Be Negligible
Ken Feinberg is a lawyer and not a scientist . It was surprising to hear him say that the long-term effects of the BP plc (NYSE: BP) Oil Spill may be very little over time. He told USA Today that “the Gulf is likely to fully recover from the April oil spill.” Feinberg says that he bases his assessment on talks with biologists and other experts on chemical spills and the environment. Many, if not most of the predictions, about the spill itself and its future impact have been wrong. Th...

3rd Quarter GDP Revised Up Very Slightly to 2.6%
The U.S. economy grew at a pace of 2.6% in the Third Quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' third and final revision. This boosts the number upward slightly from the second estimate of 2.5%. But really, the change is more one of rounding, as it technically only changed from 2.53% to 2.56%. Although the final number barely moved, some of its components varied from estimate to estimate. This shows that some parts of The Economy did a little better than we thought, while others did ...

HOW BIG is the Chinese property bubble? Property investment in China in 2009 was 10% of GDP, up fr
HOW BIG is the Chinese property bubble? “Property investment in China in 2009 was 10% of GDP, up from 8% in 2007. In Japan, at the peak of its bubble, it did not exceed 9%; in the U.S. it never exceeded 6%. . . . As usual, the identifcation of the bubble is not the hardest part, it’s the timing of the pop. Bubbles have a habit of going on a lot longer than most think they can and given the political pressure to keep it going and the financial resources available to the central planners...

Eastern promise?
Those were the words of the Polish Central Bank Governor, Marek Belka, earlier this month, echoing the private thoughts of leaders across Central and Eastern Europe. Many of them are thinking long and hard about the promise to join the euro that they made (or will make) when they signed up for the European Union (EU). They will certainly be watching the fates of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIIGS) with some trepidation. The PIIGS are now caught in a euro-trap. The boom years swell...

How Spain Can Avoid the Irish Error
In seeking solutions for the euro zone Debt crisis, the more manageable Irish and Spanish cases should be distinguished from the much less tractable Greek case of egregious Budget profligacy. Years of fiscal irresponsibility make it almost certain that Greece will default on its Sovereign Debt and exit from the euro zone, absent a massive fiscal transfer from the EU. Greece's public Debt (already approaching an unsustainable 150% of GDP and still rising) simply cannot be repaid. By providi...

Retail Sales Are Back, but the Jobs Aren't
In the past year, Unemployment hasn't declined much. It's only down to 9.8% in November, from 10.0% a year earlier. Yet, firm revenues have begun to recover, as GDP has grown consistently. This implies that firms are managing to increase their sales without hiring many more employees. Data today released on the retail sector, by the Census Bureau, shows this phenomenon pretty clearly. Today's report provides data for the major Retailers through the Third Quarter. Net sales and profits have both...

Mexican Banks Save Millions Using IBM Software
ARMONK, N.Y. and Mexico City, Dec. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Indeval, Mexico's central securities depository (CSD), is using IBM software to settle securities trades in seconds, reducing the risk of financial losses and shielding the country from fluctuating market conditions. Rapid trade settlement has reduced the amount of cash that banks must have on hand to cover trades by 52 percent and saved Mexican banks more than $240 million in interest in 18 months. ...