Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Euro Scores Another Record Vs Dollar
Yahoo! News | "The euro set a record high versus the dollar for the fifth session running on Wednesday and held just below last year's lifetime high against the yen as investors' long-standing grim views of the U.S. currency dominated markets.
Trading volumes were thin in the vacation period between Christmas and New Year and there was little news to hold investors' attention.
"The market has no interest in trying to buy dollars...There are also not too many people actively dealing now," said Paul Mackel, currency strategist at ABN AMRO in London.
By 3:50 a.m. EST the euro rose as high as $1.3646, gaining a quarter percent on the day. "
Thursday, December 23, 2004
OECD Countries Spend More on Research and Development, Face New Challenges
"OECD countries are taking more seriously the need to invest in research and development as a means to boost economic performance and remain competitive in the face of rapid growth in capabilities in countries such as China and Israel, according to the latest edition of the OECD's Science, Technology and Industry Outlook."
OECD Report
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Snow Sees Spending Slashed in '06 Budget
Yahoo! News | "The Bush administration will seek to slash government spending next year, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Sunday, but he was less specific than the president in predicting how quickly the deficit would fall.
Snow, who was asked by President Bush to stay during Bush's second term after heavy speculation he would be replaced, said the administration's budget proposal early next year would rely heavily on spending cuts.
'It will be a tight, disciplined budget with spending under disciplined controls,' he said in an interview on CNN's 'Late Edition' program. 'Everything is being looked at and put under the microscope.'
Snow declined to say what programs are being targeted or how soon Bush would meet his goal of cutting the deficit in half. "
Strong Euro to Be Major Burden for Europe
Yahoo! News |"After a year in which the U.S. dollar fell 5 percent against the euro, the sharply weaker currency isn't expected to rebound soon — and that means it will likely keep eating into European exports, growth and jobs through next year.
The euro peaked at US$1.3470 on Dec. 7, after reaching a series of new highs against the dollar. Some forecasts see it heading past US$1.40 in 2005 — unhappy news for exporters whose goods become more expensive against foreign competition, politicians who want to see more jobs and central bankers waiting for Europe's shaky recovery to take off.
While the current slide, which has brought the dollar some 9 percent lower since Sept. 1, appears to have taken a breather, traders and economists say it's not over yet. Concerns over the U.S. trade and budget deficits are thought to have been the main driving force behind the euro's rise, and financial markets have disregarded U.S. professions of a "strong dollar" policy.
"I think it's very dangerous to say it's stopped," said Lee Ferridge, proprietary trader at Rabobank in London. "
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Fed boosts short-term rates 1/4 point
Yahoo! News | "Federal Reserve policymakers raised interest rates Tuesday for the fifth time this year and suggested they will continue their gradual rate-increase campaign in 2005.
Expressing a somewhat upbeat assessment of the economy, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues unanimously voted to raise their target for short-term interest rates a quarter-percentage point to 2.25%. That's the highest rate in more than three years, but still low historically and at a level that should foster borrowing and boost the economy."
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Trade Gap Swells More Than Expected
Yahoo! News | "The U.S. trade deficit widened nearly 9 percent in October to a record $55.5 billion as sky-high oil prices helped propel imports into uncharted territory, the government said on Tuesday.
October's unexpectedly large shortfall pushed the deficit tally for the first ten months of the year to $500.5 billion, surpassing the record of $496.5 billion for all of 2003. "
Lamy Says France Proposed Him as WTO Chief
Yahoo! News | "France has formally proposed former European Union (news - web sites) Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy as a candidate to become the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Lamy said Monday. EU governments backed Frenchman Lamy as Europe's candidate last week for the post of WTO director-general, which former Thai deputy premier Supachai Panitchpakdi is due to leave at the end of August 2005. "
Friday, December 10, 2004
US Fed confidence in outlook grows
Yahoo! News | "US Federal Reserve officials are growing more confident about the economic outlook. The economy, which grew at a 3.9 per cent annualised rate in the third quarter and is expanding at a similar pace now, is seen as having shrugged off the oil-induced soft spot earlier in the year.
Inflation is not seen as an immediate threat. But for several months the Fed has said the federal funds rate must gradually rise to a neutral level to prevent inflation pressures from building.
The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to raise rates a quarter-point to 2.25 per cent its fifth rise running next Tuesday. Significant changes to its accompanying policy statement are unlikely.
The US economy is expected to grow about 4 per cent this year. Fed staff and most policymakers forecast growth at or above the economy's trend rate of about 3½ per cent next year. The recent decline in the oil price, if sustained, is a positive for growth next year. "
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Oil Prices Rise for Second Day in a Row
Yahoo! News |"Oil prices rose for the second day in a row on Thursday with an Arctic blast forecast to hit the United States next week seen ramping up demand for heating fuels."
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Oil Prices Sink to a Four-Month Low
Yahoo! News | " Oil prices sank to a four-month low below $41 for U.S. crude on Wednesday after leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia questioned the need for the cartel to curb supplies.
U.S. light crude fell 91 cents to $40.55 a barrel, its lowest since mid-July. Prices have fallen more than $9 a barrel, 18 percent, in seven trading sessions since last Monday.
London's Brent crude shed 87 cents to $37.40 a barrel.
Influential Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that as long as buyers required the oil, Riyadh would keep pumping in January at the high 9.5 million barrels a day (bpd) it has sustained since August. "
Dollar Rises 1 Percent Against Euro, Yen
Yahoo! News | "The dollar rose one percent against the euro and the yen on Wednesday as investors bought the U.S. currency back in the run-up to the year-end and eyed the impact of the dollar's weakness on other economies.
Worries about the United States' ability to fund its huge currrent account deficit have led to persistent weakness in the dollar, taking it to fresh record lows against the euro on Tuesday and five-year lows against the yen last week. "
Europe raises pressure on US to prop up dollar
Yahoo! News | "Europe stepped up verbal attacks on the United States over its yawning deficits but failed to arrest the euro's record-breaking, and economically damaging, rally against the dollar.
After the 12 euro nations late Monday issued a statement expressing concern at sharp volatility in currency rates, European Union finance ministers made clear that the onus lies with Washington to balance the world economy.
'We were quite unanimous behind saying that the euro group's message is addressed essentially to the American authorities,' Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said Tuesday as he arrived for the EU meeting.
'It's necessary to persuade our American colleagues to take measures against its budgetary and trade imbalances,' he said, addressing the huge US deficits that lie at the heart of the dollar's current weakness."
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Dollar Sinks to New Lifetime Low Vs. Euro
Yahoo! News |"The dollar sank to a new lifetime low against the euro on Tuesday after a warning by European officials on the euro's rise went unheeded by investors determined to dump the U.S. currency.
In a joint statement late on Monday, the European Central Bank and euro zone finance ministers gave their starkest warning to date that they were unhappy with the euro's strength.
But the dollar, under pressure from concerns about the massive U.S. current account deficit, touched an all-time low near $1.3468 and a 12-year low against sterling beyond $1.95 early in the European session. "
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Mobile phone sales still booming
BBC NEWS | "New handsets helped Samsung overtake Motorola as the world's second most popular mobile phone brand between July and September, research has found.
The market share of the world's biggest handset maker, Nokia, also recovered to 30.9% from 29.7% in the second quarter.
Nokia still sells more than double the amount of rivals, but its market share remains below levels of a year ago. "
Nigerian senators threaten Shell
BBC NEWS | "Nigeria's senate is to consider sanctions against a unit of Dutch and UK oil company Shell for failing to pay a $1.5bn pollution penalty.
The firm had been told to make the payment by 23 November for alleged environmental damage caused by oil spillage in the Niger Delta region. "
Oil prices plunge on supply rise
BBC NEWS | "Oil prices have fallen 7.4% after US data showed a larger-than-expected increase in crude inventories.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said US crude stocks were now 3.5% higher than a year ago, calming worries about a winter fuel shortage. "
Dollar Slides to Lows Versus Euro and Yen
Yahoo! News |"The dollar sank to a record low against the euro and fell to its lowest level since March 2000 versus the yen on Thursday as traders played down the chances of joint market intervention by European and Japanese authorities.
Japan's top currency policy official, Hiroshi Watanabe, said on Wednesday that "conditions are in place" for Japan and Europe to act jointly to support the dollar and that other countries hurt by the falling currency could join in for any intervention.
But many market players said such action was unlikely and continued selling the dollar. "
