Japanese and European Consumers Rebound, Credit Suisse Warns.
[B]Fundamental Headlines[/B]
• [B]USDJPY [/B]– Japanese convenience store sales in February increased 1.2%, on a same store basis. It marked the first gain in four months and largest in almost four years. February saw Japanese consumer spending gaining strength as retail sales ,retail trade and household spending all improved. The labor market has been steadily improving with labor cash earnings increasing and unemployment decreasing. The economy has benefited from the robust demand of China which has offset a U.S. decline. However, as the U.S. slowdown filters through China and the rest of the world, Japan will be greatly impacted. Therefore many expect that the BoJ will need to lower rates by year’s end, but political posturing has left the central bank without a leader, as Governor Fukui ended his term this week. For more news and resources please visit our Japanese Yen Currency Room.
• [B]EURUSD [/B]– France’s consumer spending saw a sharp increase in February of 1.2% from a 16 year low of -1.3% the month prior. The breakdown revealed that there were strong gains in durable goods(3.3%) and cars (7.5%) ,signaling that consumers are increasing their discretionary spending. In a separate report Italian consumer confidence fell to a four year low of 99.0 on economic and inflation concerns. However, they didn’t let that deter them from spending as retail sales unexpectedly gained 0.2% in January, pulling the year over year total up 1.0%. Discuss the topic and your trade ideas in the EUR/USD Forum.
• [I] Mortgage Mess Hits Home For Nation Small Builders[/I] (link) – Wall Street Journal
• [I]Obama Wins Richardson’s Support [/I] (link)– Wall Street Journal
• [I]Credit Suisse Warns on First Quarter[/I] (link) – Financial Times
• [I]Commodities Drop, Rally Dollar, Stocks Vindicate Bernanke /I – Bloomberg
• [I]CIT Plans Asset Sales to Quell Concerns About Cash Shortages[/I] (link) – Bloomberg
