NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar climbed against the yen on Friday, as investor's appetite for risk returned, bolstered by optimism about a U.S. government program to subsidize mortgages for homeowners.
stocks, bonds & forex trading - source: uk.reuters.com

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

The news which came out late on Thursday rekindled the market's appetite for risk, lifting global shares and commodities such as oil. This also fueled a sell-off in the yen and briefly the dollar versus the euro.

"We are still hinging on risk appetite and we are keying off equities. That's why we're seeing some selling in the yen against the dollar and other crosses," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist, at TD Securities in Toronto.

"That story on mortgage subsidy gave equities a lift and there still some carry-over from that."

Markets welcomed the news that the Obama administration may unveil a broad plan to put a floor under the housing market. For the mortgage story, see [ID:nN12553515].

A rising wave of U.S. mortgage delinquencies has saddled the global banking system with big losses that have led banks to recoil from lending, choking economies around the world.

In early New York trading, the dollar rose 0.6 percent to 91.42 yen . The euro was also up against the yen, rising 0.5 percent to 117.37 .

The dollar and yen, which tend to fall with increased appetite for risk-taking, also lost ground to higher-yielding currencies ahead of the G7 meeting in Rome and a long weekend in the United States.

The euro fell 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.2842, erasing earlier gains, weighed down by data showing the euro zone economy in a deeper recession than expected. That boosted pressure for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates next month.

The euro zone economy contracted by 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter, the deepest on record. For story, click on[ID:nLD803529].

Sterling also rallied as investors squared market positions ahead of the weekend on concerns that Group of Seven finance chiefs may discuss the currency's recent weakness, analysts said. For story on G7 [ID:nLD18359].

But the pound came off its highs pressured by sharp falls in UK banking stocks after Lloyds Banking Group unveiled a hefty loss related to its HBOS subsidiary. Lloyds said HBOS lost about 8.5 billion pounds last year [ID:nLD820935], news which sent shares in Lloyds and other UK banks tumbling and pushed the UK's FTSE share index into the red.

Sterling last traded at $1.4406 , up 1.0 percent.

Attention now turns to the G7 meeting in Rome. Analysts said the bleak euro zone GDP figures had also raised concerns that G7 leaders may discuss the pound's recent weakness against the euro.

"There's a mixture of the poor GDP data and some short-covering ahead of G7 in the sense that the bad set of euro zone data might put the UK authorities under pressure at G7 to do something about the weaker pound," said Investec chief economist Philip Shaw.

(Additional reporting by Kylie Maclellan in London) (Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

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Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering company, and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc led 22.1 billion euros ($28.5 billion) of corporate bond sales in Europe this week.
stocks, bonds & forex trading - source: www.bloomberg.com

By Shelley Smith and Andrew Reierson


Sales held above the weekly average of 14.8 billion euros for the past year, though issuance was down from last week’s 28 billion euros, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Munich- based Siemens raised 4 billion euros yesterday in the biggest bond sale by a non-financial company this year, while Imperial Tobacco sold 1.5 billion euros of notes.

Companies are tapping investor demand for corporate debt. Investors are attracted to the bonds because investment-grade yields relative to government securities have tripled in the past 12 months, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. indexes. Borrowers sold 195 billion euros of bonds this year, more than double the amount in the year-earlier period, Bloomberg data show.

“The only buyer in town is the cash buyer, in for simple plain-vanilla product that has a decent rating, offers good returns and extremely low default risk,” Suki Mann, a credit strategist at Societe Generale SA in London, wrote in a note to investors.

The extra yield investors demand to hold high-grade company bonds rather than government debt widened 2 basis points to 4.09 percentage points this week, according to Merrill Lynch’s Investment-Grade Corporate Bond index. The index narrowed 19 basis points this year as demand for company debt increased.

Siemens Oversubscribed

Siemens issued 2 billion euros of 4.125 percent bonds due 2013 at a yield of 158 basis points more than the benchmark mid- swap rate, Bloomberg data show. The engineering company also raised 2 billion euros from eight-year notes priced at a spread of 200 basis points. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Orders for Siemens’s bonds reached 20 billion euros, Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser said today on a conference call. The demand allowed Siemens to cut the extra yield it offered buyers from an initial spread of 170 basis points on the four-year debt and 210 basis points on the eight-year notes, people involved in the deal said.

Imperial Tobacco, the maker of West and John Player Special cigarettes, sold 1.5 billion euros of seven-year notes on Feb. 10 at a spread of 510 basis points over the mid-swap rate. The Bristol, England-based company also raised 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) from 13-year bonds priced to yield 485 basis points more than similar-maturity U.K. government debt.

Other bond sales this week included companies increasing the size of existing issues.

Vodafone Plc, the world’s largest mobile-phone company, added 325 million pounds to its 4.625 percent bonds due September 2014. The Newbury, England-based company priced the bonds at 200 basis points over U.K. government debt.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the biggest luxury carmaker, added 500 million euros to its sale of 8.875 percent bonds due in 2013. The new notes were priced to yield 390 basis points more than the benchmark mid-swap rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shelley Smith in London at ssmith118@bloomberg.net

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Friday morning as investors showed caution ahead of House and Senate votes on the $789 billion economic stimulus package
stocks, bonds & forex trading - source: money.cnn.com
By CNNMoney.com staf

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 37 points, or 0.7% in the early going. The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index gave up 5 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 6 points, or 0.4%.

Todd Leone, head trader at Cowen & Co., said that investors appear to be "lightening up" and unloading their less desirable stocks before they head into a long weekend. U.S. markets are closed Monday for Presidents Day.

Asian Stocks finished with gains, as Tokyo's Nikkei index rose nearly 1%. European markets advanced in midday trading.

Oil prices rose 86 cents to $34.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar rose versus the yen and the euro but slipped against the British pound.

U.S. stocks ended virtually flat Thursday, with the Dow recovering from 245 points down, amid reports that the administration had come up with a plan to help prevent foreclosures.

In the plan, the White House is looking at subsidizing the mortgage payments of struggling borrowers before they default, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Both the House and Senate are scheduled to vote Friday on the $789 billion stimulus compromise. The measure is expected to pass and go on to President Obama for his signature.

The markets still haven't recovered from a brutal Tuesday, when a hazy presentation from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner contributing to a plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average of 382 points, or 4.6%.

"You don't stand up and tell people you're going to have this major policy announcement, and then postpone all the details," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics. "You don't tell someone they're going to have a birthday present and then leave an empty box on the table."

Brusca compared to the stock market's reaction to the Geithner presentation to a "horror film with a zombie with a stake in its heart." As to whether the "zombie" will come back to life, Brusca said that all eyes will be on the stimulus package.

Company news: Toyota (TM) announced some moves aimed at further trimming production and costs at its North American facilities. The moves include reducing work hours, eliminating pay raises and bonuses, and shutting plants on selected days in April.

Nissan Motor (NSANY) and Chrysler LLC said they have halted work on a product collaboration as they consider ways to improve projected financial returns on the 10-month-old deal. To top of page

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For much of the day the greenback was trading firm buoyed by continuous buying backed by the notion that the new U.S. financial stimulus package and the U.S. banking rescue plan would fall short of market expectations.
by Brewer Investment Group
stocks, bonds & forex trading - source: www.forextv.com

Throughout the day rumors had persisted that the government was planning some sort of mortgage bailout plan. Traders for the most part ignored the rumors, having been burned earlier this week by bidding up foreign markets in anticipation of a solid banking rescue plan. Treasury Secretary Geithner burned speculators by presenting a less than stellar performance in his bid to gain global support for his plan to save the banking industry.

Speculators remained comfortable in their long U.S. Dollar positions until it was reported late in the trading session that the U.S. did indeed have a banking rescue plan that was clear and specific. This news brought immediate optimism to the stock market and triggered a magnificent rally into the close. The new plan which reportedly specifically spells out that government money will subsidize mortgages fueled a decline that gave back much of today’s gains in the Dollar and had some currency pairs closing near their high for the day.

There is no doubt that traders will be digging tonight for more information on the U.S. government’s new proposal to help the ailing banking industry and homeowners. My guess is that given the dismal performance and low credibility of Geithner, President Obama will attempt to use his charm and charisma to convince the American people of the viability of the new plan. The question is: when will more details of this proposal become public? It is doubtful that it will be released tomorrow because if it fails again to generate acceptance, the stock market will plummet once again ahead of a long week-end. It probably will not be Monday either because it is a market holiday. My guess is that sometime Tuesday Obama will take the time to present this new banking rescue plan to the world.

In the meantime, there may be some light profit-taking in the Dollar as traders may not want to be exposed to too much bearish activity over the long holiday week-end.

Pressure remained on the Euro for most of the day as the Dollar strengthened on less demand for higher yielding assets. Fear that the global recession is deepening has led traders to buy the safe-haven Dollar for several days.

Tomorrow the Euro Zone and German GDP figures will be released. Both are expected to show severe declines. Germany is expected to show a big decline on a huge loss in exports. As other countries’ economies deteriorate, few German goods are being demanded. News that the Euro Zone GDP will decline will lead to speculation that the European Central Bank may have to cut rates extensively at its next meeting in March.

The pressure may be on the ECB as many investors feel that the ECB has been behind the curve when it comes to economic stimulus plans and aggressive interest rate cuts.

Look for bearish news from the ECB to dominate the market tomorrow, but be aware that any announcement from the U.S. regarding more concrete details of its banking rescue plan may limit losses or even trigger a short-covering rally.

The British Pound remained under pressure throughout the day on Thursday. Traders are still selling the GBP USD in anticipation of aggressive monetary policy action by the Bank of England. Rumors are circulating that the BoE is going to start buying assets in an effort to revive the sinking economy.

Most of the pressure on the Pound this week is because of the forecast of lower growth in 2009. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King even went as far as saying the U.K. was in a “deep recession.” Rumors were circulating at times on Thursday that the BoE is even considering an interest rate cut to below 1%. This hurt the Pound even more as speculators believe this drastic measure would weaken the Cable considerably while at the same time having a minimal effect on the economy.

Traders continued to buy the Japanese Yen overnight and into the New York session as downside pressure mounted in the equity markets. Losses continued to grow in the stock market throughout the day on speculation that the Obama stimulus plan and the new banking rescue plan would fail to live up to expectations. Pessimistic traders bought Yen to pay back loans used to finance investments in higher yielding assets.

Late in the session a massive short-covering rally in the equity markets fueled by speculation of a government backed bailout plan for ailing banks and delinquent mortgage holders helped pare gains in the Japanese Yen.

Traders will be watching tomorrow to see if more details of the banking rescue plan will be released. A continuation of the late session rally in the equity markets overnight and tomorrow will contribute more upside pressure to the USD JPY. Overall it can be said with confidence that the direction of the stock market will dictate the trade in the Yen.

Canadian Dollar traders are beginning to believe that the lack of demand for commodity-linked currencies will continue to push the USD CAD higher. Weakness in exports of raw materials such as industrial metals is a contributing factor to the weakness in the Canadian economy. Most of the downside pressure is coming from the downward spiraling crude oil market. Without another production cut by OPEC some see front-month crude oil under $30 per barrel by the middle of next week.

For several days the USD CAD has been trading mixed out of optimism that Obama’s new financial stimulus plan would generate demand for industrial metals. Once the plan was picked apart by critics, it was revealed that the plan is tremendously back-loaded which means the demand for commodities may not pick up until next year or beyond.

Without demand for raw materials and crude oil in the short-run, lower exports will be a continuous drag on the Canadian economy.

The USD CHF rallied sharply higher on Thursday ending days of speculation that technically this market was poised to decline. Early weakness in the stock market led to a flight to quality rally in the U.S. Dollar as traders sold the Swiss Franc.

Fear that another rise in the Swiss Franc would give the Swiss National Bank a reason to intervene also helped to accelerate the rally in the USD CHF. Talk is circulating that the SNB may try to push down the value of the Swiss Franc through monetary policy actions since interest rates are already at 1%. Negative news is beginning to pile up on the Swiss Franc including possible exposure by Swiss banks to the growing financial crisis in Russia.

The Australian Dollar fell again on Thursday as weaker commodity prices kept pressure on the Aussie and all other commodity backed currencies. The falling stock market also contributed to the decline as traders ran away from higher risk assets. News that the newly proposed stimulus plan has met with opposition also attracted selling pressure. Unless new speculator optimism emerges buoyed by greater appetite for risk, look for more downside pressure on the AUD USD.

Risk aversion is helping to keep downside pressure on the New Zealand Dollar. This is not just speculation as traders truly believe that lower commodity prices will drive the New Zealand economy into a deeper, wider recession. The lack of demand for any higher-risk, higher-yielding asset is also contributing to the weakness in this currency pair.

Speculators are already anticipating more downside pressure as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand ponders another rate cut. Falling stock and commodity prices are likely to help maintain the bearish tone in this market. A short-covering rally in U.S. equities triggered by the proposal of a new U.S banking rescue plan may spur a short-covering rally in the grossly oversold NZD USD.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-800-971-2440, with any questions.

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PETALING JAYA: Foreign exchange (forex) trading and operations have surfaced as a more substantial source of earnings for banks following volatile currency movements.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading
Source: biz.thestar.com.my Friday February 13, 2009

In the current reporting season, two banks – Public Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd – have announced their latest quarterly earnings, and both showed significant increases in forex gains.

Hong Leong Bank, which unveiled its results on Tuesday, disclosed forex gains of RM68mil for its second quarter ended Dec 31, accounting for 20% of its pre-tax profit during that period. That was an increase in forex gains of RM39mil from the corresponding quarter last year.

Jupiter Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew said banks tended to “make some money” when currencies were volatile because corporates would take on more hedging to protect their trading positions.

The banks would also take some currency positions themselves with measures in place to limit the trading risks, he told StarBiz.

“I would expect all banks to register some boost from forex profits, especially those with a large treasury desk. Some of the favourite currencies are the US dollar-ringgit combination as well as Singapore dollar and euro,” he said, adding that trades were limited to major currencies.

He said companies, particularly those involved in trading, would now adopt a bigger hedging position to protect their investments. “At least they would know at what level their transactions would be,” Pong said.

Nonetheless, forex gains are unlikely to be sustainable for banks since they are subject to currency volatility. “Once the volatility subsides, the gains will also become lesser,” he added.

A banking analyst at a research house had similar views. “A lot of companies are playing hedging right now and that would add on to the banks’ fees,” she said.

She said the forex gains might last for another quarter but “it also depends on what happens during the book closing.”

A forex trader at a local bank said the market was volatile due to many factors, such as the various economic stimulus packages being implemented currently as well as the easing of monetary policies.

“For exporters and importers, it is important to hedge forward their receipts and payments to mitigate exchange risks,” he said.

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LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The dollar and yen rose on Thursday as investors drew comfort in the perceived safety of those units as stocks fell, fueled on concerns about the potency of government policies to combat recession and ailing banks.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading
Source: uk.reuters.com
Thu Feb 12, 2009 By Tamawa Desai

European shares .FTEU3 were lower in early trade after Asian stock markets fell, as disappointment lingered after the U.S. bank rescue plan on Tuesday fell short on detail. Investors remained wary despite U.S. Congress reaching a compromise deal on the economic stimulus package.

"The market is vaguely risk adverse," said Christian Lawrence, currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, but added it lacked clear direction.

The dollar index against a basket of currencies was up 0.2 percent at 86.087 .DXY.

By 0845 GMT, the dollar was down 0.5 percent at 89.99 yen while the euro was also down 1.1 percent at 115.27 yen .

The euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.2841 .

Traders will look to economic data including euro zone industrial production and U.S. retail sales data later on Thursday.

Industrial production in the euro zone is seen falling 2.1 pct in December from the previous month, or a fall of 8.9 year-on-year.

Traders will also keep an eye as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet speaks, as well as a slew of other ECB officials.

ECB officials that commented on Wednesday confirmed market expectations the central bank will cut interest rates next month, but nothing to further such views, analysts said.

Markets hope to get a cue from U.S. retail sales, which probably fell again in January. Total sales are forecast to fall 0.8 percent after tumbling 2.7 percent in December, while sales excluding autos are seen falling by 0.5 percent after a record 3.1 percent plunge in December.

"The weak tone of the data will provide an offset to what little enthusiasm prospective passage of the U.S. fiscal package may foster," Daragh Maher, deputy head of currency strategy at Calyon, said in a note.

"The weakness in Asian equities overnight suggests that disappointing data and the lack of detail so far from (U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy) Geithner will win out over fiscal optimism, pointing to modest gains for the dollar and yen."

U.S. congressional negotiators reached a deal on Wednesday on $789 billion in emergency spending and tax cuts aimed at pulling the economy out of a deepening recession, and voting on it could take place as early as on Thursday. [ID:nN11379390]

Sterling hit one-week lows against the dollar and euro, keeping its downward trend after the Bank of England said it may need to ease policy further, including steps such as buying gilts to boost the money supply. The pound was down 1.3 percent at $1.4186 . The euro was up 0.9 percent at 90.45 pence.

The Australian dollar was down 1.0 percent to $0.6482, after parliament rejected the government's A$42 billion ($28 billion) economic stimulus plan.

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South African bonds were having a bumpy ride, reversing earlier strength by midday to trade up to 22.5 basis points weaker as the rand moved back above the 10 rand per dollar level.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading source: www.thetimes.co.za
By Jacqueline Mackenzie, I-Net Bridge Feb 12, 2009

By 12:25 the short-term government R153 bond was bid at 6.820% from its previous close of 6.725%. The medium-term R157 was at 8.020% from a previous 7.820%, while the long-term R186 was at 8.480% from 8.330%.

The rand was last at 10.0230 to the dollar from a previous close of 9.7977.

A local market analyst said that bonds, which had firmed with the stronger rand earlier, had followed the currency weaker as it moved back above 10 per dollar.

Traders were also divided on the impact of the bond issuances announced in Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s Budget yesterday.

One trader said the amount of issuances which he put at around 70 billion rand would not be too much for the bond market to absorb.

He said given the cover ratios we have seen recently, he did not think it will too much for bond market to absorb it’s an increase of perhaps 15% on average on what is being absorbed right now. "It’s not a train smash and the market has taken it in its stride," he added.

Head of fixed income at Investec Asset Management, Andre Roux, noted that longer ends of the bond market had been weakening prior to the Budget in anticipation of the expected supply that would come via borrowing in the face of lower government revenues and the resultant deficit. This view was borne out by the news that the budget deficit would widen to a whopping 3.8% of GDP next year.

But Roux said the markets were pleasantly surprised when they dug beneath the initial headline debt raising numbers.

"The 95 billion rand was a big figure on the screens, but then we saw that it would be only 60 billion rand they would be coming to the bond market for," he said.

He notes that the government had bought back some of the debt in the past.

But Roux added: "The market is worried about the risks of 10 billion rand in overseas markets."

However, another local trader attributed the weakness morning to supply concerns, as well as the weaker rand.

Foreigners were net sellers of 3.754 billion rand worth of South African bonds yesterday after net purchases of 5.630 billion rand worth of local bonds on Tuesday, Bond Exchange of South Africa statistics show.

Nominal cumulative volume was 65.143 billion rand yesterday from 130.138 billion rand on Tuesday.

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Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a fourth day, led by financial and consumer-related companies, on concern U.S. measures to alleviate the financial crisis won’t be enough to revive the world’s largest economy.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading Source: www.bloomberg.com
By Jonathan Burgos and Patrick Rial

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Ltd., Japan’s biggest lender, lost 3.5 percent as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he needs time to work out details of a bank-rescue plan unveiled on Feb. 10. Daikin Industries Ltd., the biggest Japanese maker of air conditioners, slumped 5.6 percent after cutting its profit forecast. China State Shipbuilding Co. surged 10 percent in Shanghai on government support for shipyards.

“The U.S. stimulus plans are still lacking in details,” said Hong Kong-based Terrace Chum, who manages Greater China equities at Manulife Asset Management, which has about $240 billion. “It’s still unclear how they are going to bail out the banks. The Chinese appear to be doing a better job.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.8 percent to 81.51 at 7:22 p.m. in Tokyo, with seven stocks declining for every two that advanced. The gauge has lost 9 percent this year, extending 2008’s record 43 percent, as the credit crisis triggered by the collapse of the U.S. housing market dragged the world’s biggest economies into recession.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slumped 3 percent to 7,705.36, resuming trade following a holiday yesterday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6 percent. Most Asian markets declined.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.2 percent on better- than-expected employment figures. Lawmakers rejected a $28 billion economic stimulus package after markets closed.

‘High Hopes’

James Hardie Industries NV, an Australian building- materials maker, surged 11 percent after saying it’s comfortable with analyst profit forecasts. Leighton Holdings Ltd., Australia’s largest construction company, gained 6.1 percent after beating its earnings target.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 1.3 percent. The index gained 0.8 percent yesterday as Congress debated a $789 billion spending plan. U.S. House and Senate lawmakers agreed on a compromise late yesterday, a smaller bill than those originally approved by both groups.

Geithner announced a financial rescue plan two days ago that included as much as $2 trillion in funding for programs aimed at spurring new lending and addressing banks’ illiquid assets. The U.S. government was going to proceed “carefully” on the proposal, Geithner told Congress yesterday.

“The market had been awaiting the financial bailout plan with high hopes, but what was announced didn’t have much meat on the bone,” Juichi Wako, a strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Securities Co., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Bank of Korea

Governments around the world are stepping up efforts to revive global growth that the International Monetary Fund predicted two weeks ago will grind almost to a halt this year. The Bank of Korea cut its benchmark interest rate today to a record-low 2 percent to revive an economy headed for the first recession in more than a decade.

Mitsubishi UFJ fell 3.5 percent to 468 yen in Tokyo. Toyota Motor Corp., which makes 37 percent of its sales in North America, dropped 2.9 percent to 3,050 yen.

Declines in the past year as the financial crisis worsened have dragged the average valuation of companies on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index down by 13 percent to 13 times reported profit.

Daikin fell 5.6 percent to 2,105 yen after cutting its profit forecast by 59 percent for the year ending March 31 as the slumping global economy dragged sales lower.

Profit Targets

In Shanghai, China State, a unit of the country’s biggest shipbuilder, surged 10 percent to 58.48 yuan. Guangzhou Shipyard International Co. climbed 10 percent to 20.89 yuan. The government banned construction of new shipyards for three years and said it will urge banks to boost trade financing.

James Hardie, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., surged 11 percent to A$3.64. The company today said it’s comfortable with the middle of the range of analysts’ forecasts for full-year net operating profit excluding asbestos payments and other items of $91 million and $110 million.

Leighton surged 6.1 percent to A$18.56 even after saying first-half profit plunged 56 percent to A$110.1 million amid investment writedowns. The figure beat the company’s Jan. 6 forecast for earnings of about A$100 million.

Australian stocks rose as the January job increase reported by the country’s statistics bureau beat the decline of 18,000 economists in a Bloomberg survey estimated. The jobless rate rose to 4.8 percent from 4.5 percent as more people looked for work.

“It’s only one month’s data so you can’t hang your hat on it, but jobs being created is a very healthy sign,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage the equivalent of $800 million at Sydney-based Platypus Asset Management. “You have to hope it becomes a trend rather than being just a flash in a pan.”

After markets closed, a vote to pass a A$48 billion ($28 billion) spending package was tied in the Australian Senate, meaning automatic defeat of the legislation aimed at heading off Australia’s first recession in 18 years.

To contact the reporters for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net; Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 12, 2009 05:23 EST

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BRASILIA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Brazil has spent $61 billion on foreign exchange intervention since early October as the central bank stepped in because of a slump in overseas credit lines, Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said on Monday.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading
Source: www.reuters.com

The central bank has sold $14.3 billion of the U.S. currency on the spot foreign exchange through Jan. 29 as demand for the U.S. currency surged during a downturn in global markets.

The bank has also sold some $33.3 billion in foreign exchange swaps, which work like the sale of dollars in the futures market, and $13.4 billion of dollar repurchase agreements in the same period.

Last week the central bank said it stood ready to lend up to 18 percent of its $200 billion of international reserves to help domestic companies roll over foreign obligations.

Still, Meirelles said foreign credit lines to Brazil have gained steam and are near the levels seen before the collapse in global markets in September.

"We are already approaching the pre-crisis levels," Meirelles said at a seminar.
(Reporting by Isabel Versiani; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The dollar weakened across the board on Monday, weighed down by growing uncertainty over the timing and details of U.S. plans for a massive fiscal stimulus and a much-anticipated package to help banks.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading

President Barack Obama's administration pushed back the announcement of the bank rescue plan, which had been scheduled for Monday, until Tuesday as the government pressed lawmakers to settle their differences over the economic stimulus plan.

The announcement of the rescue plan, which aims to shore up some of the biggest U.S. banking institutions, was pushed back to enable lawmakers to spend the day focusing on the stimulus package ahead of a vote on Tuesday.

"That delay in the Treasury announcement undermines the enthusiasm that we we have seen in the market late last week," said Omer Esiner, senior market analyst, at Ruesch International in Washington.
"I think it did highlight the troubles the Obama administration faces in finding non-partisan support for the stimulus package. And that has pressured the dollar," he added.

Over the last few months the dollar has gained in the face of bleak U.S. economic news, with investors buying the currency on the view the U.S. government was the most aggressive among industrialized nations in tackling the credit crisis. That should help the U.S. economy emerge from recession quickly, analysts said.

But some cite the view that the stimulus package is U.S.-specific and a negative for the U.S. economy. "The knee-jerk reaction is to sell the U.S. dollar," Ruesch's Esiner said.

In early New York trading, the euro was up 0.8 percent at $1.3033 . The dollar was down 0.4 percent against the yen at 91.62 .

The euro was up 0.4 percent against the yen at 119.43 yen , recovering from an earlier session low of around 117.07 yen.

Analysts, however, said the decline in the dollar is not the start of a downtrend.

Brown Brothers Harriman said in a research note the negative turn in dollar sentiment came as a number of countries, including the United States, moved closer to adopting new measures to address the financial and economic crisis. That should help stem the worsening in the global economy and result in further euro and sterling gains.

"That is not to say that the dollar's long term uptrend has come to an end. We expect the more pro-active approach from the U.S. government and the central bank to begin to bear economic and financial fruit in the coming quarter."

Sterling rose 1.0 percent to $1.4948 , after UK bank Barclays Plc (BARC.L) earlier booked a bigger-than-expected annual profit of over 6 billion pounds and said credit market losses were waning. The pound earlier hit a nearly one-month peak at $1.4977, according to Reuters data.

With little on the economic calendar on Monday, market focus stayed firmly on the U.S. Congress, which remains sharply divided along party lines on an $800 billion-plus economic plan and the bank bailout plan.

The U.S. financial stability plan is due to be outlined by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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HONG KONG, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Ltd (2689.HK) will buy back $284 million of its 2013 bonds at 53 cents to the dollar, China's biggest paper board producer said in a stock filing on Monday.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading source: uk.reuters.com

Holders of the bonds have until Feb. 23 to sell back their debt. After that deadline, Nine Dragons will pay 48 cents to the dollar for any sellers of the debt until March 9.

Nine Dragons sold $300 million of the 7.875 percent 2013 bonds in April, but the debt has tumbled since then due to concerns about the paper board producer's financial standing.

The bonds <65439eaa1=> were quoted at 30 cents to the dollar as of last week.

Nine Dragons is expected to pay out about $160 million for the buyback, and could book a capital gains profit of $133.4 million should all investors sell their debt, BNP Paribas' analyst Winston Herrera said in an email to clients.

Nine Dragons already bought back about $16 million of the debt in the open market in December, having paid around 35 cents to the dollar then, according to BNP estimates.

Since it sold the bonds in April, Nine Dragons lost its investment-grade ratings from Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, which cited the paper board maker's debt levels at a time of weakening profitability as reasons for their downgrades.

Nine Dragons has been hit hard by declining sales and the rising costs of raw materials.

The company is in the midst of plans to repay debt early, cut capital spending and delay capacity expansion plans.

Merrill Lynch, which underwrote the initial bond sale, will handle the buyback, according to the filing. (Reporting by Rafael Nam)

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MUMBAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Indian corporate bond yields rose on Monday as sentiment turned cautious ahead of a meeting of government and central bank officials, expected on Tuesday, to finalise a schedule for extra government borrowing.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading source: in.reuters.com

Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla said a cash and debt management group would meet to work out the funds for the remainder of the current 2008/09 fiscal year ending in March.

"Investors are waiting and watching as an increase in government borrowing will crowd out corporate issues and push up yields, but the government has not ruled out private placement of its bonds and this could help corporate bonds," said a trader.

The yield on Indian Railway Finance Corp's 8.46 percent 2014 bond rose to 8.72 percent, from 8.70 percent at Friday's close.

The yield on the federal 2018 bond ended at 6.33 percent on Monday, higher than 6.19 percent at Friday's close. [IN/]

The government has completed most of its 700 billion rupee additional borrowing for 2008/09, and Friday's 80-billion-rupee bond auction would be the last under the current indicative calendar.

Tuesday's meeting will decide how much more the government will borrow after this auction. However, the central bank governor on Friday pledged to keep the debt market stable as the government ramps up its borrowing. [ID:nBOM423600]

"There was a need to borrow more due to higher expenditure and lower revenue receipt," said Chawla.

Suresh Tendulkar, the chairman of prime minster's Economic Advisory Council, said the fiscal deficit situation was not comfortable and that it was the right time to end state subsidies on fuel prices.

The central bank estimates the federal government fiscal deficit for 2008/09 at 5.9 percent, way above the budget estimate of 2.5 percent.

In the corporate bond market on Monday, Housing Development Finance Corp's 9.9 percent 2013 bond was the most traded, with a volume of 1.5 billion rupees.

Total volume traded on Monday was 10.82 billion rupees, slightly higher than Friday's 10.05 billion rupees, Thomson Reuters data showed, sourced to trades reported on the Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange and Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA), a market body.

Volume in January was 266 billion rupees, according to data on the market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India's web site.
(Reporting by Jeanette Rodrigues; Editing by Harish Nambiar)

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A delay in the Obama administration's unveiling of its latest bank-rescue plan left the stockmarket on pause as well on Monday.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading source: online.wsj.com

Major indexes edged lower as investors awaited details of an effort that will likely entail coordinated effort between the Treasury Department and the private sector to remove distressed credit securities from banks' balance sheets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by around 29 points in recent trading, sliding to roughly 8251. The S&P 500 was little-changed, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.4%.

The new bank plan was originally expected to be unveiled on Monday, but officials decided over the weekend to hold off so they could focus on parallel efforts to get a fiscal stimulus bill through Congress including a mix of tax cuts and federal spending aimed at bolstering employment and consumption.

"Certainly, these things won't cure all the economy's ills in 24 hours, but they should begin to restore some confidence," said economist Peter Cardillo, of Avalon Partners.

He said that the market may be on the cusp of a sustained rally, after suffering an early-year slide that factored in expectations of bad economic news to come. But there are still many skeptics of that rosy view throughout Wall Street.

Some investors took cash off the table Monday on the heels of solid market gains last week, snapping a four-week losing streak. Participants looked past a dismal employment report to passage of the economic stimulus plan and the rollout of the bank rescue.

The Senate is expected to vote on ending debate on the stimulus on Monday, with a possible vote on the compromise measure Tuesday. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is also expected to announce Tuesday that the government will become a partner with the private sector to purchase banks' troubled assets. The plan also includes programs designed to jumpstart consumer lending and assist struggling homeowners.

The administration's plans have evolved over the past several weeks as it has considered and discarded a host of ideas, with financial markets anxiously awaiting details.

As investors awaited the plan, the dollar was weaker against major rivals and U.S. Treasury prices declined. The two-year note fell 1/32 to yield 1%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury lost 9/32, sending its yield up to 3.01%.

Financial stocks, which have set the tone for the broader stock market in recent weeks, were mixed. Bank of America climbed 10%, while Morgan Stanley dipped 0.5%. Barclays' U.S. shares were up 13% after it said it wouldn't turn to the British government for more capital.

Elsewhere, General Motors shares rose 1.7% after The Wall Street Journal reported the company is in talks to take back large portions of Delphi Corp. to get more U.S. bailout funds. But Nissan Motor shares lost 3% after it said it was cutting 20,000 jobs after reporting a $904 million quarterly loss.

Asian stock markets finished mixed. Japan's Nikkei shed 1.3% on a stronger yen. Europe stocks were generally flat; the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.2%.

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NYSE Euronext has reported a $1.34bn (£904m) quarterly loss after weakened global share markets forced it to reduce the value of its assets.
Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading source: news.bbc.co.uk

NYSE Euronext, which was formed by a merger in 2007, said the write-down of its assets totalled $1.59bn.

The loss for the October to December period compares with a profit of $156m for the same period a year earlier.

NYSE Euronext runs the New York, Paris, Lisbon, Brussels and Amsterdam exchanges.

The company's net quarterly revenues were down 2% to $683m. Its annual net loss for 2008 totalled $738m.

It also announced that it was suspending its share buyback programme because of the bad market conditions.

"During this period of unprecedented market dislocation and uncertainty, we continue to focus on executing and delivering against our key strategic initiatives which will drive our long-term growth," said NYSE Euronext cheif executive Duncan Niederauer.

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Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading
Source: uk.reuters.com

By Tamawa Desai

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The yen fell versus the dollar and euro on Friday, reversing gains as rises in stocks renewed appetite for riskier assets but caution prevailed before U.S. jobs data which will show another grim sign for the economy.

The dollar recovered against the yen from levels seen in late U.S. trade on Thursday but was still below a nearly one-month high hit as Wall Street rallied.

But traders were wary of chasing prices sharply higher ahead of data that is expected to show more than half a million U.S. jobs likely lost in January.

The U.S. unemployment rate was likely to have climbed to 7.5 percent in January, compared with 7.2 percent a month earlier, with 525,000 jobs forecast to have been shed.

"Payrolls are the big focus for the day," said analysts at Citigroup. "Bad news still means good news for the dollar."

At 1004 GMT, the dollar was up 0.3 percent on the day at 91.46 yen after climbing above 92 yen on Thursday. The euro was at 117.20 yen .

European shares rose 0.4 percent in morning trade .FTEU3.

Data on Friday is expected to show German industrial output fell 2.5 percent in December from the previous month.

The euro was up 0.2 percent against the dollar at $1.2812 after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday but indicated more easing next month, as widely expected.

But analysts pointed out the euro will remain under pressure as the Russian rouble's decline has prompted Russian authorities to sell euros for dollars to maintain the balance of their reserves portfolio.

The rouble tested its new trading floor against a euro-dollar basket for the first time on Thursday. It was trading just above the trading floor of 41 on Friday.

The dollar was also supported on expectations for the Obama administration's bank rescue plan to be unveiled on Monday.

"The market already expects a weak jobs report, so the financial plan on Monday will be the main driver," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Meanwhile, sterling pared some early gains after UK industrial output weakened more than expected. It was up 0.4 percent to $1.4676 , after climbing upward after the Bank of England cut interest rates on Thursday. The euro was down 0.1 percent at 87.25 pence . (Editing by Andy Bruce)

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Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading
Source: business.theage.com.au

Vanessa O'Shaughnessy
February 7, 2009

THE first batch of bonds that will fund Australia's inescapable budget deficit have been sold at a yield of almost 4 per cent.

Yesterday, the Australian Office of Financial Management said bonds worth $601 million had been allotted, with an average yield of just over 3.9 per cent. They had a coupon rate of 6.25 per cent, and will mature on April 15, 2015.

The AOFM manages about $50 billion in government debt, having continued to issue bonds even though the federal budget has been in surplus for several years.

Over the next five months it will issue additional bonds worth between $22 billion and $24 billion. Some commentators expect the supply of Government bonds to rise to $120 billion over the next two years.

The funds will be used to pay for the Federal Government's $42 billion economic stimulus package, which includes hand-outs for parents and some taxpayers and infrastructure initiatives.

The budget is expected to remain in deficit for four years.

The AOFM has also announced its plans for further bonds sales. On Wednesday it will offer $600 million in Treasury bonds that will mature in May 2013. It will allocate on Friday another batch of bonds , to mature in June 2014.

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Stocks, Bonds & Forex Trading
Source: www.google.com

By MADLEN READ

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street was set for a moderately higher open Friday as investors hung their hopes on the government's stimulus plan even as they awaited another bleak jobs report.

A day after reporting that initial jobless claims hit a 26-year high, the Labor Department will report on January's payrolls and unemployment rate. The market is predicting a loss of about 524,000 jobs, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters/IFR. It also expects the unemployment rate to have risen to 7.5 percent from December's 7.2 percent.

Jobs are so important to investors because if people are unemployed, they are not likely to boost their spending, buy houses or keep up with their debt repayments. And three of the biggest problems facing the economy are dampened consumer spending, the housing market's ongoing slide, and accelerating loan defaults.

The Obama administration is aiming to turn the economy around with a stimulus package for individuals and businesses, plus another rescue plan for the nation's foundering banks. The Senate is expected to vote on the $937 billion stimulus bill Friday. A new plan for the banks is expected to be announced Monday.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 12, or 0.15 percent, to 8,006. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.20, or 0.26 percent, to 842.70, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 6.50, or 0.53 percent, to 1,241.00.

On Thursday, the major indexes soared more than 1 percent as Wall Street looked past troubling economic reports and bargain-hunted among battered retail and technology stocks.

In corporate news, Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest automaker, posted a loss for the fiscal third quarter and said it now expects not only a full-year operating loss, but a full-year net loss — which would be its first since 1950.

Early Friday, bond prices were mostly higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.90 percent from 2.92 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.29 percent from 0.26 percent.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $1.37 to $39.80 a barrel in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.60 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.79 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.98 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.51 percent.

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