FOREXLEARNING

Geithner to meet top HK official as yuan talk mounts »

HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will meet the top Hong Kong government official on Thursday before heading to Beijing for talks, with speculation swirling that the diplomacy presaged a change in China’s currency policy.

“On Thursday, Secretary Geithner will stop in Hong Kong on his return from India. There he will meet [...]

PIMCO sees Greece action ineffective; UK downgrade »

TAIPEI (Reuters) – PIMCO sees Europe’s action on Greece as ineffective in fixing the country’s problems, while Britain’s sovereign debt rating could be downgraded within a year, a top executive of the world’s largest bond fund said.

Scott Mather, head of global portfolio management at Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO), told a briefing in Taipei on [...]

Japan plans targets to reduce debt level: media »

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government will set incremental goals to reduce its heavy reliance on debt in its upcoming fiscal strategy, the Nikkei business daily said, but analysts doubted it would be enough to allay concerns about its massive borrowing.

Japan

Credit ratings agencies have threatened to downgrade Japan’s sovereign rating as the ambitious spending plans [...]

Greece woes push euro to 10-month low »

(Reuters) – The euro sank to a 10-month low against the dollar and a lifetime trough versus the Swiss franc on Wednesday as speculation Greece may have a difficult time securing debt aid highlighted instability in the euro zone.
European shares hit their highest since October 2008, following a climb in U.S. stocks, but broader [...]

Rare China trade deficit not seen signaling new trend »

(Reuters) – China will probably run a trade deficit of more than $8 billion in March, state media said on Tuesday, citing Premier Wen Jiabao.
It would be China’s first monthly deficit since April 2004, but is expected to be a one-time blip rather than the start of a new trend for the world’s largest [...]

Europe divided on aid to Greece before summit »

(Reuters) – European leaders sent out conflicting signals at the weekend over aid to Greece, with Germany’s Angela Merkel urging Athens to solve its debt problems alone and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi strongly backing EU support.
The comments were the latest sign of divisions within the 16-nation euro zone over whether and how best to provide [...]

Stocks advance, dollar steady ahead of Fed »

Stocks advance, dollar steady ahead of Fed
(Reuters) – World stocks climbed on Tuesday while the dollar was corralled as investors bet the U.S. central bank will repeat its vow of keeping interest rates low for an extended period after its monthly meeting.
The Federal Reserve is expected to leave benchmark rates near zero given [...]

Lawmakers press for action on China currency »

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama faced growing congressional pressure on Monday to get tough with China over its currency practices, one day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao brushed off accusations that Beijing was undervaluing its currency for an unfair trade advantage.
“The impact of China’s currency manipulation on the U.S. economy cannot be overstated. Maintaining [...]

China denies yuan behind U.S. trade gap »

China denies yuan behind U.S. trade gap
(Reuters) – China on Tuesday shunned mounting U.S. demands for a stronger yuan, saying again that its currency is not the cause of its big trade surplus and vowing to keep the currency stable to shore up exports.
Beijing and Washington appear to be locked in a dialogue [...]

EU executive to put Greek plan to finance ministers »

(Reuters) – The European Union’s executive said on Monday it was ready to propose a framework that could be used to aid Greece, despite signs of continuing reluctance from France and Germany to make concrete commitments.
Ministers were expected to discuss the possibility of providing loan guarantees or bilateral loans to help Athens finance its [...]