Foreign Exchange News

NEW YORK (AFX) - Stocks fell Friday after the Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at the slowest pace in more than three years. While investors expected the reading on gross domestic product would show growth to be slowing, the report stirred concern that a cooling in the housing market would spill over into other parts of the economy. The GDP, the broadest measure of the econ ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Avon Products Inc. on Friday said its third-quarter profit plunged 47% as the beauty-products maker increased spending on advertising and its restructuring plan. New York-based Avon (AVP) said net income fell to $86.4 million, or 19 cents a share, from $163.8 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue at Avon, which is the largest direct seller  ...

LONDON (AFX) - The Swiss franc was dealt a blow after a key indicator of confidence in the country tumbled. The University of Zurich's Centre for Economic Research (KOF) said its economic barometer, a leading indicator for economic growth, fell to 2.00 points in October from a downwardly revised 2.19 in September, signalling that domestic GDP growth will start slowing down from early next year.  ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The yuan posted a fresh closing high of 7.8896 to the US dollar on the over-the-counter (OTC) market, compared with 7.8959 yesterday. On the exchange-traded market, the yuan ended at 7.8905, compared with Thursday's 7.8960. The currency traded between 7.8920-7.8879 on the exchange-traded market, and 7.8920 -7.8870 on the OTC market, according to a Shanghai -based dealer with ...

LONDON (AFX) - The euro was firm across the board as strong money supply data and hawkish commentary from European Central Bank officials suggested that a December interest rate hike is firmly on the cards. Euro zone M3 money supply accelerated well above expectations in September, rising by an annual 8.5 pct, up from the 8.2 pct growth rate recorded in August and well above analysts' expectation ...

(Updates with further details on monetary developments) FRANKFURT (AFX) - Euro zone M3 money supply grew 8.5 pct year-on-year in September, up from an 8.2 pct growth rate in August, the European Central Bank said. Economists polled by AFX News had forecast a slowdown in M3 growth in September to 8.0 pct. The three-month average of the annual growth rate of M3 over the July-September period stoo ...

SINGAPORE (XFN-ASIA) - The US dollar was firmer against the yen and euro in afternoon trading here, after an Asian session during which the market action was guided by the yen's movements, dealers said. At 3.23 pm here (0723 GMT), the dollar was at 118.57 yen, up from 118.50 yen in Sydney just over 3-1/2 hours earlier. The euro was at 1.2677 usd, down from 1.2702 usd in Sydney. The yen weakened  ...

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Euro zone M3 money supply grew 8.5 pct year-on-year in September, up from an 8.2 pct growth rate in August, the European Central Bank said. Economists polled by AFX News had forecast a slowdown in M3 growth in September to 8.0 pct. The three-month average of the annual growth rate of M3 over the July-September period stood at 8.2 pct, compared with a downwardly revised growth r ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The central bank has set the yuan central parity rate at a record 7.8871 to the dollar, according to the National Foreign Exchange Center. The rate, published on the official Chinamoney website, compares with the midpoint of 7.8940 set the previous trading day. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) started setting a daily central parity rate on Jan 4. On July 21, 2005, China fr ...

LONDON (AFX) - The dollar remained near three-week lows against the euro as the market continued to digest the statement yesterday from the US Federal Reserve, which dampened expectations of another increase soon in US interest rates. Though the Fed's decision to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25 pct for the third meeting in a row came was expected, a number of market participants were so ...