[B]Fundamental Headlines[/B]
[I]• Apartment Vacancies Rise to 7.8% – Wall Street Journal
• Fed Opens Credit-Rater Door for TALF – Wall Street Journal
• Australia raises rates from 49-year low– Financial Times
• Obama Weighs Spending, Tax Cuts to Stem Job Losses Without Second Stimulus – Bloomberg
• Euro Aspirants Must Stabilize Their Economies Before Adoption, Sramko Says -Bloomberg[/I]
[B]GBPUSD[/B]- U.K. industrial production unexpectedly fell by 2.5% versus forecasts of a 0.2% gain led by drops in mining and oil refining. Additionally, manufacturing activity declined by 1.9% which was the largest decline in 17 years as demand has dropped following the inventory cycle boost. Earlier advances were built upon the re-stocking of inventories by businesses, but weak consumer demand is expected to slow activity. The BoE decided to loosen their criteria for banks and building societies to be able to open a reserve account with the central bank. This is an attempt to help small businesses manage their liquidity. Indeed, policy makers have been concerned with tight lending standards and could look to take further action at this week’s rate decision. To discuss this and other ideas visit the GBP/USD Forum.
[B]USDCHF[/B]- Swiss consumer prices fell for a seventh straight month in September on an annualized basis. Inflation dropped 0.9% from a year ago which surpassed forecast of -0.8% as declining energy costs continue to depress prices. During the month prices were flat as rising food and alcohol cost offset declines in housing and utilities. However, core prices which exclude energy and food increased by 0.1% which may dampen deflationary concerns. The Swiss National Bank has continued intervene in currency markets to prevent Swiss Franc appreciation in an effort to alleviate the downward pressure on prices and may continue to do so until upside risks increase. For more news and information, please visit the Swiss Franc Currency Room.