Friday, April 8, 2011

20110408 0941 Global Market Related News.

DJIA chart reading : correction range bound upside biased.
 
Hang Seng chart reading : upside biased with possible pullback correction.
 
Europe stocks up on Portugal bailout, ECB ahead (Source: Reuters)
European shares rose on Monday on hopes that Portugal's decision to seek financial aid could put a brake on the region's debt crisis, while the euro fell ahead of an expected interest rate rise by European Central Bank Portugal's caretaker government requested European Union aid on Wednesday night at the urging of leading bankers who wanted a bailout to help the economy and safeguard the country's banking system. "We all knew Portugal was going that way, Spain looks like it is in a better position," said Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index.

BOJ Picks a Micro Response to Macro Challenge, Takenaka Says (Source: Bloomberg)
The Bank of Japan’s offer of credit to cash-strapped businesses falls short of what’s needed to bolster growth after last month’s record earthquake, according to the former minister who led a clean-up of the nation’s banks.

Trichet Leaves Door Open to More Interest-Rate Increases to Tame Inflation (Source: Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet left the door open for further interest-rate increases to tame inflation after raising borrowing costs for the first time in almost three years.

Consumer Comfort in U.S. Rises for Second Consecutive Week on Job Outlook (Source: Bloomberg)
Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose for a second consecutive week as an improving job market helped ease the burden of higher fuel costs.

Portugal Set to Start Talks on $107 Billion Bailout as Spain Threat Eases (Source: Bloomberg)
Portugal is set to start hammering out a bailout package that may total 75 billion euros ($107 billion) as it becomes the third euro-region country to seek European Union aid.

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fell 10,000 Last Week to 382,000 (Source: Bloomberg)
Fewer Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, indicating the labor market is recovering. Applications for jobless benefits fell 10,000 in the week ended April 2 to 382,000, the fewest since Feb. 26, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists projected claims would be little changed at 385,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls and those collecting extended payments decreased.

Consumer Credit in U.S. Rises More Than Forecast on Higher Student Loans (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. consumer borrowing rose for a fifth straight month in February on an increase in non-revolving credit as education loans expanded, the Federal Reserve reported today. Credit climbed $7.62 billion, the most since June 2008, to $2.42 trillion after increasing a revised $4.45 billion in January, the Fed said in Washington. The February figure exceeded the median economist forecast of a $4.7 billion increase in the measure of credit card debt and non-revolving loans, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

Treasury Two-Year Yield Below Decade Average Belies Fiscal-Crisis Concern (Source: Bloomberg)
As the political debate over budget cuts in Washington threatens to bring the government to a partial shutdown, bond markets are showing little concern about the nation’s fiscal health. Yields on two-year Treasury securities fell one basis point to 0.82 percent at 9:07 a.m. in New York, below the average yield of 2.59 percent in the last decade, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. Bond prices reflect expectations that lawmakers will resolve differences over the budget and avoid a crisis of confidence in U.S. assets, said John Lonski, chief economist at Moody’s Capital Markets Group.

ECB Raises Rates for First Time Since 2008 as Inflation Looms (Source: Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank will continue to monitor inflation risks “very closely” after raising interest rates today for the first time in almost three years. Monetary policy remains “accommodative,” Trichet said at a press conference in Frankfurt today after the ECB raised its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.25 percent. “It is essential that recent price developments do not give rise to broad-based inflationary pressures over the medium term.”

ECB Raises Key Interest Rate to 1.25% to Stem Faster Inflation (Source: Bloomberg)
The European Central Bank lifted interest rates for the first time in almost three years to quell inflation even as Portugal became the third nation to succumb to the region’s sovereign debt crisis. ECB policy makers meeting in Frankfurt today raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25 percent from a record low of 1 percent, as predicted by all 57 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. It also raised the marginal lending rate to 2 percent from 1.75 percent and increased the deposit rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent, maintaining 75 basis-point corridors either side of the benchmark.

Australia’s Swan Rejects Singapore Exchange Takeover of ASX (Source: Bloomberg)
Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan today officially rejected Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s bid for ASX Ltd., saying the deal was not in his nation’s interest and would have left the local bourse operator as a junior partner.

Japan’s Bonds Snap Two-Day Loss as Magnitude-7.1 Quake Weighs on Stocks (Source: Bloomberg)
Japan’s 10-year bonds snapped a two- day loss following the biggest aftershock since the day of the nation’s record earthquake on March 11, boosting the appeal of the relative safety of debt.

Most Japanese Stocks Retreat After Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Shakes Nation (Source: Bloomberg)
Most Japanese stocks retreated, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average headed for a weekly decline, after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit the country less than a month following the nation’s worst temblor on record.

China Sold Net 334.5 Billion Yen of Japanese Short-Term Debt in February (Source: Bloomberg)
China was a net seller of 334.5 billion yen of short-term Japanese debt in February, according the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo today. China bought a net 165.2 billion yen of long-term debt and sold 169.4 billion yen in securities overall in February, the data showed.

Yen Is Set for Weekly Loss Versus Euro, Pound Before German and U.K. Data (Source: Bloomberg)
The yen headed for a fourth weekly loss against the euro, the longest losing streak in 1 1/2 years, before a report that may show German exports rebounded. The yen is set for a second weekly decline versus the pound before a report forecast to show U.K. producer prices accelerated, sapping demand for the relative safety of Japan’s currency as it adds to evidence that the world’s economic recovery remains intact. The Dollar Index rose for the first time in three days yesterday after Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said the central bank could begin unwinding record stimulus by year-end.

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