Asian shares, euro fall on jitters over France
TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro fell further as doubts deepened about Europe's ability to stop its sovereign debt crisis from spinning out of control, with the region's biggest nations split over the European Central Bank's bond buying role.
"European leaders have failed to clear up doubts about the effectiveness of the region's bailout fund, as it has yet to collect funds, aggravating investor jitters," said Yuji Saito, director of the foreign exchange division at Credit Agricole Bank in Tokyo.
Greece Turns to Budget After Winning Confidence Vote (Bloomberg)
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos turns his attention today to finalizing next year’s budget, tackling a key demand set for the country to receive international financing a day after he won a confidence vote. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will present the 2012 spending plan to the new cabinet for approval before it’s submitted to parliament for discussion by lawmakers, which he said could be this week. Demonstrators at the same time will gather in Athens to commemorate a student uprising today. “The policy of fiscal consolidation is necessary after the mistakes of the past several years to create the foundations for a new type of sustainable development,” Papademos told parliament yesterday. “The road is long and requires persistent effort and implies large adjustment costs.”
Europe Stocks Decline Before Bond Auctions (Bloomberg)
European stocks fell, sending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index lower for a third day this week, before France and Spain sell bonds amid surging borrowing costs. U.S. index futures rose while Asian shares were little changed. ASML Holding NV dropped after Applied Materials Inc., the world’s largest producer of semiconductor-making equipment, forecast earnings that missed analyst estimates. SABMiller Plc (SAB) fell after reporting earnings. Royal Ahold NV climbed after reporting a 15 percent rise in third-quarter profit. The Stoxx 600 declined 0.4 percent at 236.14 at 8:00 a.m. in London as Spanish 10-year bond yields rose to a euro-ara record and the French five-year yield jumped to a six-month high. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December climbed 0.5 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
FOREX-Euro hits 5-week low as contagion fears intensify
SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The euro hit five-week lows versus both the dollar and the yen on Thursday as bond market turmoil spread across Europe, sparking calls for the European Central Bank to intervene more forcefully in markets.
Investors were also nervously watching to see how German financial markets will react after rating agency Moody's Investor Service cut ratings of 12 German public-sector banks, believing they are likely to receive less federal government support if needed.
Fed economist sees long recovery slog
St. LOUIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. economic recovery will likely be a long slog over several years and there is not a whole lot the Federal Reserve can do to speed the process, according to a top economist at the central bank.
"Something's happened in U.S. labor markets that we can't overcome," St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Research Director Christopher Waller told Reuters in an interview. "No matter what we do, recovery is going to be slow."
CFTC official seeks more protection of customer accts
WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. futures regulator on Wednesday pushed for immediate action to bolster protection of customer funds in order to restore confidence in the futures brokerage industry in the wake of the collapse of MF Global.
Scott O'Malia, a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, backed a requirement that intermediaries like MF Global should hire a third party, such as an independent reviewer, to make sure customers funds are kept separate from the firm's own money.
Tight supplies take centre stage in grain markets
GENEVA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Tight supplies remain a central concern for grain and oilseed markets as demand expands, leaving markets vulnerable to any supply shocks, Bruce Tozer of Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank said in an interview on Wednesday.
"I think the market is generally nervous about tightness. Demand now is growing at such a rate there is very little slippage on the supply side," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Global Grain 2011 conference.
French analyst sees EU 2012 soft wheat crop up 5 pct
GENEVA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The European Union's soft wheat harvest is expected to rise nearly five percent in 2012 to 135.8 million tonnes, against 129.5 million this year, French analyst Strategie Grains said on Wednesday in its first estimate for next year's crop.
The increase was mainly due to a jump in the EU's average yield to 5.8 tonnes per hectare, up from 5.6 tonnes this year, Strategie Grains' head analyst Andree Defois told Reuters on the sidelines of the Global Grain conference in Geneva.
Grain prices may not pick up before 2012-analyst
GENEVA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - World grain prices should move sideways until the end of the year as investors prove wary of economic uncertainty but they could pick up early in 2012 when fundamentals return to the spotlight, U.S. analyst AgResource said on Wednesday.
"Grain prices may not have a lot of downside risks but until we get comfort in the economic landscape of the world it may not have a lot of upside potential," AgResource Director Dan Basse told Reuters on the sidelines of the Global Grain conference in Geneva.
Corn, wheat drop for 2nd day on poor demand, EU worries
SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat and corn slid for a second straight session, weighed down by slowing demand for U.S. grains and concerns over Europe's debt crisis spinning out of control.
"It was expected that a one-day rally would not be sustained because there are no demand fundamentals supporting corn and wheat," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore, referring to a rally on Tuesday.
Colombian farmers fret over 2012 coffee harvest
SAN ISIDRO, Colombia, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Jose Ramon Collazos, a rotund 56-year-old Colombian coffee grower, is tired of the rains inundating his farm in the hills of Huila, the Andean country's second largest bean producing province.
Collazos has watched his harvest fall up to 40 percent in the last three years due to downpours triggered by the La Nina weather phenomenon and damage from a fungus -- two of the key reasons why Colombia has missed its coffee output targets for three years running.
Brazil cocoa arrivals nudge up as harvest kicks in
BRASILIA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Cocoa deliveries to warehouses in Brazil's main producing states rose slightly in the last week as the main crop harvest gathered pace, data from Bahia Commercial Association showed.
Cocoa arrivals in the No. 1 cocoa producing state Bahia totaled 52,138 60-kg bags, up from 48,582 bags in the prior week. Deliveries from other producing states, whose production is staggered with that of Bahia, began to rise as harvesting got under way.
UK wheat output seen rising 3 pct in 2011/12
LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The U.K.'s 2011 wheat harvest is estimated at 15.4 million tonnes, in line with October's provisional estimates and up 3 percent on the year, the farm ministry reported on Wednesday.
Stocks at the start of the 2011/12 season were seen at 1.54 million tonnes, down 490,000 tonnes from a year earlier.
Colombia bets on genetics to up coffee output-group
BOGOTA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Colombia is betting on genetic research to adapt coffee crops to climate change and has invented eight varietals resistant to roya to boost production, the head of Colombia's National Coffee Research Center said.
Colombia, the world's top producer of high-quality Arabica beans, is increasingly relying on genetics to recover coffee output to historical levels of 11 million bags after three years of lower-than-expected production, experts said.
India delays sugar meet likely until Nov 21-sources
NEW DELHI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - India has put off a meeting of a panel of ministers to decide on allowing more sugar exports, possibly to Nov. 21, two government sources said on Wednesday.
Industry and analysts now say India could decide to allow up to one million tonnes of exports in a first tranche but hold off further quantities until early 2012 due to output delays.
Brent heads to below $111 on Europe's debt worries
SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Brent crude slipped, heading to below $111, on concerns about demand growth, as France and Germany clash over the role the European Central Bank should adopt to rein in the region's sovereign debt crisis.
"We are beginning to see a decoupling between the United States and Europe because of the recent series of positive economic data," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Astmax Co Ltd in Tokyo.
US proposes to double auto fuel economy by 2025
WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Obama administration proposed on Wednesday doubling auto fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, a White House energy priority that has come under scrutiny in Congress.
The plan grew out of an uneasy agreement between the administration, automakers and environmental groups to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports and cut tailpipe emissions.
India's Oct iron ore exports down by a third-trade
Nov 16 (Reuters) - Indian iron ore exporters shipped about 33 percent less of the steel-making ingredient in October as a fall in global prices made high costs unviable, although they are seen benefiting from this month's price reversal and a weaker rupee.
Iron ore exports from India, the world's third biggest exporter of the raw material, fell to 4.55 million tonnes in October from 6.87 million tonnes a year ago, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries said in a statement.
London copper down on euro zone spat over ECB's role
SHANGHAI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - London copper fell after France and Germany clashed over the European Central Bank's (ECB) role in handling the euro zone debt crisis, stirring doubt about the region's ability to solve its problems.
"Trading has been directionless over the past few days as investors wrestle with mixed news in the media. The euro zone continues to worry and China is still wrestling with tight credit, while the U.S. economy seems to be stablising," said Great Wall Futures analyst Li Rong.
Copper market in surplus in Jan-Sep 2011 -WBMS
LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The global copper market had a surplus of 236,800 tonnes in January to September compared with a surplus of 18,200 tonnes in the whole of last year, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) said on Wednesday.
World refined production for January to September rose to 14.63 million tonnes, up 1.85 percent compared with the same months last year.
Silver price should rise -Coeur CEO
Nov 16 (Reuters) - The prices of silver and gold should continue rising as economic uncertainty persists, according to the chief executive of Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp , the biggest U.S. silver miner.
"As long as we see things like the EU (Euro zone currency turmoil) and as long as we run the kind of deficits here -- neither of which we see being cleaned up in the short term -- those two things will continue to be positive backdrops for gold and silver," Mitchell Krebs told Reuters in an interview.
Gold edges down on euro zone contagion fear
SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Spot gold edged lower, tracking losses in riskier assets, as the markets remain jittery over the euro zone debt crisis while the bloc's political wrangling continues.
"The U.S. dollar is strong and there does not seem to be a good solution for Europe," said a Hong Kong-based dealer. "The technical picture looks weak and gold is probably not going to break above $1,800 soon."
METALS-London copper down on euro zone spat over ECB's role
SHANGHAI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - London copper fell on Thursday after France and Germany clashed over the European Central Bank's (ECB) role in handling the euro zone debt crisis, stirring doubt about the region's ability to solve its problems.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6 percent to $7,683.25 a tonne by 0356 GMT, after rising 0.6 percent previously.
PRECIOUS-Gold edges down on euro zone contagion fear
SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Spot gold edged lower on Thursday, tracking losses in riskier assets, as the markets remain jittery over the euro zone debt crisis while the bloc's political wrangling continues.
France and Germany clashed over whether the European Central Bank should intervene more forcefully to halt the euro zone's accelerating crisis, while the bond market turmoil is spreading across Europe, making investors grow increasingly nervous.
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