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Dollar, Euro, Pound & Yen

00:25 Thursday 15 July, 2010

The UK economy will lose momentum in the second half of the year and that could drag on employment, Ken Wattret from BNP Paribas told CNBC Wednesday. Marc Ostwald from Monument Securities joined the discussion.

23:08 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Van Anantha Nageswaran, chief investment officer, Bank Julius Baer, believes the probability of a double-dip is higher in 2011 than 2010. He tells CNBC's Oriel Morrison & Bernard Lo that there are various headwinds ahead for the global economy.

23:05 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Sales at U.S. retailers fell in June for a second month, indicating the pace of economic recovery moderated heading into the second half of 2010.

Purchases decreased a more-than-projected 0.5 percent following a 1.1 percent May drop, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Excluding auto dealers, demand fell 0.1 percent, matching the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Target Corp. and Gap Inc. were among retailers whose sales trailed forecasts, signaling a lack of jobs and a loss of wealth are restraining spending, the biggest part of the economy. The financial turmoil caused by the European debt crisis and cooling inflation led the Federal Reserve last month to renew a pledge to hold interest rates near zero.

“The consumer soft patch is not as pronounced as we thought a month or two ago,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. “Consumers are still a bit concerned. A lot of the angst is because stocks went into negative territory.”

23:01 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

U.S. stock-index futures rose and technology shares rallied around the world after Intel Corp. and ASML Holding NV forecast increased sales. The cost of insuring Greek debt against default fell to a one-month low.

The MSCI World Index of stocks in 24 developed nations advanced 0.2 percent at 8:32 a.m. in New York. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 0.3 percent, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 Technology Index climbed 1.1 percent. Credit-default swaps on the Markit iTraxx Europe index of 125 investment-grade companies dropped 2 basis points to 113.5, according to Markit Group Ltd. Copper and aluminum gained for a second day.

Investor optimism increased after Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, predicted third-quarter sales will beat analysts’ estimates and ASML, Europe’s largest maker of semiconductor equipment, said full-year sales may be higher than its record 2007 level. Portugal sold more bonds today than indicated by the country’s debt agency, a day after Greece issued debt at a lower rate than it pays the European Union for emergency loans.

“The positive outlook for earnings is easing investors’ perception of risk,” said Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager in Tokyo at Shinkin Asset Management Co., which oversees about $6 billion. “Economic growth needs to become sustainable. We are looking for strong economic data from the U.S.”

17:06 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

With economic uncertainity ahead, Thomas Wrigglesworth, head of Asia Pacific metals & mining research, Citi, shares his strategy for investing in gold. He speaks to CNBC's Oriel Morrison & Adam Bakhtiar.

16:03 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

For Germany, bailing out its neighbors to save the euro is proving a price worth paying.

Rising share prices and foreign sales at Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Siemens AG show why it may be worth keeping the single currency even as some voters balk at the cost of rescuing Greece and demand a return to the deutsche mark. As exporters benefit from the lower labor costs and currency stability fostered by the euro’s 1999 introduction, unemployment has dropped close to an 18-year low and the DAX Index is the 16- nation bloc’s best performing major benchmark this year.

That’s reinforcing Germany’s status as a pillar of euro stability rather than a weak link as European policy makers scramble to stop the region lurching back into recession. While academics including Martin Feldstein say the Greek crisis could splinter the euro and investor George Soros urges Germany to do more to ease economic tensions in the region, the currency is rebounding. The euro has gained 6.6 percent against the dollar since hitting a four-year low on June 7.

13:47 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Given the uncertainty in the global economy, Adrian Foster, head of financial markets research, Asia Pacific at Rabobank, says investors should be taking low commitment trades in the forex market. He talks strategy, with CNBC'S Oriel Morrison.

11:17 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Richard Kang, CIO & director of research at Emerging Global Advisors, is not concerned about a potential dip in China's growth story, recommending clients to continue investing in Asia. He tells CNBC's Karen Tso, Sri Jegarajah & Martin Soong why.

11:13 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Japanese stocks pulled sharply higher in early Wednesday action, with techs gaining after earnings results from U.S. peer Intel Corp. exceeded estimates. In the early minutes, the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average was up 2.3% at 9,753.3, while the broader Topix gained 1.6% to 868.4.

11:06 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Singapore’s economy expanded at a 26 percent annual pace in the second quarter after a record surge the previous three months, spurring the nation’s currency and adding to evidence of Asia’s resilience to the European crisis.

Singapore’s growth for the first quarter was revised to 45.9 percent, the fastest since records began in 1975, the trade ministry said today. Gross domestic product will rise between 13 percent and 15 percent in 2010, compared with an earlier forecast of as much as 9 percent, the ministry said.

A year after Singapore exited its worst recession since independence in 1965, tourists are arriving in record numbers, companies have increased hiring and vessels are leaving the city’s ports carrying more cargo. The island’s strengthening economy has added to an Asian rebound that prompted central banks to raise interest rates in recent weeks, even amid concern that Europe’s fiscal woes will slow the global recovery.

08:55 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Debt investors are signaling renewed confidence in the global economy, snapping up new securities from companies at the fastest pace since March and driving corporate bonds to their longest rally in four months.

Relative yields on the more than 8,500 bonds in Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Broad Market Corporate Index fell for the fourth straight day, the longest stretch since the six days ended March 11. Increased demand allowed retailer Target Corp. to raise $1 billion in its first bond sale in more than two years, while Dutch chipmaker NXP BV, whose credit ratings are at the lowest end of the junk spectrum, increased its debt offering to $1 billion from $600 million.

Optimism that the economic recovery won’t be derailed by Europe’s fiscal crisis rose after Greece was able to sell bills at rates less than the European Union and International Monetary Fund offered in a bailout package. Speculation that earnings may exceed analyst forecasts is bolstering the ability of borrowers to meet debt payments.

08:52 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

The yen declined to the lowest level in more than three weeks versus the euro as signs of profit growth at U.S. companies boosted demand for riskier assets.

The euro traded near a two-month high versus the dollar as Intel Corp., the world’s biggest chipmaker, reported record second-quarter sales and topped analysts’ estimates with its forecast for this period.

“Robust profit reports reinforce risk sentiment, which was battered recently by concerns for a global recovery,” said Masahide Tanaka, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., a unit of Japan’s second-largest bank. “Revived risk sentiment will trigger a shift of allocation back into higher-yielding assets away from safer assets such as the yen.”

08:48 Wednesday 14 July, 2010

The Bank of Japan may refrain from easing monetary policy tomorrow, choosing to preserve its arsenal in case economic weakness in Europe or a further advance in the yen threatens the nation’s export-led recovery.

Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his board will keep the main interest rate at 0.1 percent and forgo fresh liquidity injections, according to all 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Shirakawa said last week that the economy is “likely to stay on a recovery trend” and domestic demand is poised to rise.

The BOJ chief may be forced to change his tack in coming months if the debt crisis in Europe intensifies and the yen extends its 20 percent rise against the euro this year. Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose party lost its upper-house majority this week, may step up pressure on the central bank as he seeks support from smaller parties wanting to end deflation.

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