Yahoo Finance Morning MoneyBeat Europe: Bounce Tipped, Markets Mull Fed Call
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Good Morning Europe
European markets are tipped to bounce back a little early Thursday as investors digest the latest monetary policy meeting outcome from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The decision's curtain raiser was news of very weak U.S. GDP growth in the first quarter of the year. The Fed said much of this weakness was likely transitory, but, all the same, bets have been pared on a June interest rate increase, even if it remains a possibility.
Greece is back in the headlines with Moody's downgrading its debt deper into junk-grade territory.
There are plenty of economic numbers to keep investors busy Thursday. We'll get a look at employment levels in Germany, Italy and the European Union overall, as well as a glimpse at European inflation in April.
Market Snapshot: U.S. markets (Wednesday close) DJIA down 0.4%, Nasdaq down 0.6%, S&P 500 down 0.4%. Nikkei now down 1.6%. Brent crude down 29 cents at $65.55. Gold down 7.30 at $1202.80. EUR/USD at $1.1111, USD/JPY at ¥118.67. 10 year Treasury yield 2.02%, Bund 0.28%, Gilt 1.86%.
Watch For: German jobless claims, eurozone inflation. From the U.S. will come weekly jobless claims and personal income and spending numbers.
What You May Have Missed on MoneyBeat:
China Construction Bank Looks to Switzerland: China Construction Bank has officially applied for a banking license in Switzerland, a widely anticipated move that follows on efforts by the Alpine country to become an international trading hub for the Chinese currency.
Super Mario Unblocks Europe’s Credit Pipes: Could it be that the eurozone’s credit blockage is finally being cleared? The latest money supply and lending data for the single currency region suggest that at long last easy money is starting to flow from the European Central Bank to households and small firms. And the latest corporate investment suggests this is the start of a virtuous circle.
ECB’s Hansson: ‘Premature’ for Talk About Ending QE: It’s too early to discuss tapering the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing program scheduled to end in September 2016, a member of the ECB’s governing council said Wednesday.
Why Are Bunds Finally Falling?: Falling bund prices. Not a concept you’d have heard much about for much of this year, as the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program, growth worries and endless wrangling over Greece’s place in the eurozone spurred demand for what’s perhaps the bond market’s ultimate refuge
From The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Pushes Back on Foreign Bribery Probe: Banks are embroiled in a dispute with the U.S. government over what they term its “aggressive” interpretation of foreign-bribery laws. The probe has broad implications for how corporations do business overseas.
Slowing Growth Muddles Fed Plans:The Fed pointed to cooling economic activity and reduced job-market gains in its latest policy statement, underscoring uncertainty about when the economy will rebound and clouding the timing interest-rate increases.
Spain and Portugal Can Cope With Grexit: Spain and Portugal aren’t clamoring for a eurozone capitulation but are among the hardest of hard-liners in demanding Greece respect the conditions of its loan agreements, says Simon Nixon.
