NEWS / Foreign Exchange

U.S Market Update

• *** SCHEDULE ***
• No data scheduled for release in the US today
• Fed??™s Mishkin to speak in New York [9:00 et]
• Fed??™s Kroszner to speak on mortgage lending [13:00 et]
• *** EUROPEAN NEWS OVERNIGHT ***
• SP Oct Net Change in Unemployment: 31.2K v ??“10.9K prior
• SP Oct Consumer Confidence: 76.2 v 80.2 prior [Lowest since records began in September 2004]
• EU Nov Sentix Investor Confidence: 14.0 v 12.4e
• UK Oct Services PMI: 53.1 v 56.0e
• UK Sep Industrial Production: M/M ??“0.4% v 0.2%e || Y/Y ??“0.2% v 0.4%e
• UK Sep Manufacturing Production: M/M ??“0.6% v 0.1%e || Prior revised from 0.4% to 0.5% |||| Y/Y ??“0.1% v 0.7%e
• GE IFO Nerb: Business sentiment is unlikely to fall as much as it did in 2001/02 period
• GE IFO Nerb: The Euro is Germany??™s biggest economic risk followed by oil
• GE IFO Nerb: The job market is seen improving further
• GE IFO Nerb: Weak construction is a worry
• EU ECB Trichet: Financial economy risks were underestimated in the past but a correction is underway
• *** ASIAN NEWS OVERNIGHT ***
• NZ Q3 Labor Cost All Wages Q/Q: 0.9% v 0.8%e
• NZ Q3 Labor Cost Private Sector Q/Q: 0.9% v 0.8%e
• AU Oct AiG Performance of Service Index: 53.2 v 56.4 prior
• AU Oct TD Securities Inflation M/M: 0.3% v 0.2% prior || Y/Y 3.3% v 3.0% prior
• AU Oct ANZ Job Advertisements: 2.7% v ??“0.4%e
• JP MOF Shinohara: Forex levels should be set by markets
• JP MOF Shinohara: Currencies should reflect fundamentals
• JP Fukui: Reiterates that interest rates will rise gradually || No present schedule on rate movements
• JP Fukui: Must carefully assess the future economic view
• JP Fukui: Real interest rates remain low
• JP Fukui: Notes a continued easy policy behind the yen-carry trade
• JP Fukui: US economic slowdown to be offset by other recoveries
• More hurdles are needed to be cleared before a go-ahead could be given to a plan which would let mainland individual investors trade Hong Kong stocks [Asian Press]
• China's securities regulator has told the asset management industry to restrain the growth in the size of its mutual funds in a move to lower risks [China Press]