Foreign Exchange News

By Christopher Swann in New YorkPublished: June 9 2006 15:42 | Last updated: June 9 2006 15:42The US trade deficit widened less sharply than expected in April, adding to tentative hopes that the long deterioration in America’s trade position may be slowing. // The gap between imports and exports increased from $61.9bn to $63.4bn - less than the $65bn forecast by economists. Many economists bel ...

The euro fell sharply on Thursday as the European Central Bank disappointed those traders expecting a punchy half-point rate rise and hinted that a July rate hike was out of the question. // The ECB did raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent, but this was at the lower end of expectations given that the market had been pricing in a 20 per cent chance of a 50-point move. The bearish euro mood was heightened in the ensuing press conference when Jean-Claude Trichet, president of  ...

HONG KONG (Dow Jones) -- A bad week on Asian stock markets got even worse Thursday morning as benchmarks around the region followed Wall Street ever deeper into the red, with Japanese exporters such as Honda and Toyota leading the losers. The Nikkei was down as much as 2.16% to 14,770.50. It was the index's first dip below the psychologically important 15,000 level this year. On Wednesday, the  ...

Robert Lea, Evening Standard6 June 2006 Reader comments (1) THE extraordinary £15bn bid battle for BAA was thrown into confusion today after Spanish raider Ferrovial appeared to land the Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports operator only for the door to be left open for a Goldman Sachs counter-offer. BATTLEGROUND: Heathrow and the UK's other major airports may not after all end up in Spanish hands OTHER STORIES Water firms and Government slammed Market repor ...

Asian stocks headed lower on Tuesday after comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke expressing concern about inflation raised the likelihood of more rate hikes and sent Wall Street into a tailspin, with U.S. market-sensitive Japanese exporters leading the regional decline. The Nikkei 225 index finished the day down 1.81% to 15,384.86, its lowest close since Jan. 23. Tokyo's broader-based Topix ind ...

Sally Hamilton, Mail on Sunday6 June 2006 WE use an average of nearly 55,000 litres of tap water a year for drinking and washing - enough to fill a private swimming pool. If we had to use bottled mineral water at roughly 36p a litre instead, that would cost us each £19,800 a year. WASHED AWAY: With southern regions facing a drought and water bills rising a meter could cut costs but not for all WANT TO KNOW MORE? SPECIAL REPORT: Drained of £26bn by water firms  ...

Daily currency trading volumes could climb to more than $3,000bn a day by 2010 – half as much again as current levels – according to a study to be released on Tuesday. // ClientKnowledge, a UK research consultancy, believes the foreign exchange market will continue its current rapid pace of growth “for the foreseeable future” as a result of the ongoing development of the biggest emerging market economies and the rise in world trade, together with the growing army of traders seeking short-term  ...

| Peru markets welcome García poll winBy Hal Weitzman in LimaPublished: June 5 2006 19:25 | Last updated: June 5 2006 19:25Peruvian financial markets reacted positively on Monday to the election of Alan García as Peru’s next president, with stocks and the currency reaching historic highs. // But the exuberance in the markets contrasted with criticism from the government of Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan leader, who had openly backed Ollanta Humala, Mr García’s radical nationalist rival. With ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Advantage, Schultz. The veteran gold bug called the recent gold break. Now he's getting cautiously cheerful again. Long term: Hello, $3000? Harry Schultz of the International Harry Schultz Letter has been publishing so long, since the early 1960s, that I regularly get email from readers insisting that he must be dead. He denies this. Dead or alive, Schultz is soaring ri ...

Helen Loveless, Mail on Sunday4 June 2006 THOUSANDS of customers with Lombard Direct have had savings rates slashed without warning as the company concentrates on its loans business. QUIT: Ex-Lombard saver Terry Cave WANT TO KNOW MORE? SWITCH: Find an account with a better rate OTHER STORIES Banks in pledge to cut charges Power failure shuts down Abbey New on the market Make your money travel further Better deals for savers - at last USEFUL SAVINGS LINK ...