12 JULY 2013 TODAY NEWS LIME LIGHT § Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark headed for its biggest weekly gain since April, on optimism policy makers from the U.S. to Japan will maintain stimulus. Metals led commodities lower, while the won climbed. § The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan both indicated this week they will maintain monetary stimulus, after the European Central Bank and Bank of England signaled they will keep key rates low. § Central banks around the world helped stoke a 13 percent advance in global equities last year by cutting interest rates, injecting liquidity and buying assets. § Silver for immediate delivery dropped as much as 1.1 percent to $19.9516 an ounce. The metal has rallied 5.6 percent this week, heading for the biggest weekly increase since September 2012. Aluminum decreased 0.7 percent to $1,822.50 a metric ton, while copper, lead and nickel all retreated at least 0.4 percent on the London Metal Exchange. § When Federal Reserve policy makers start to curb $85 billion in monthly bond buying, possibly before the end of the year, the last thing they want to do is spoil the nascent U.S. housing recovery. That means the Fed may concentrate first on trimming purchases of Treasuries, while continuing to buy mortgage bonds to keep a lid on interest rates for home loans. § Policy makers led by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke have said in the last two months that the central bank’s mortgage-backed securities program has helped the economy. § Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s June 18-19 meeting, released yesterday, showed about half of the 19 participants wanted to halt bond purchases by year end. At the same time, the minutes showed many Fed officials wanted to see more signs employment is improving before backing a slowing in the pace of the purchases, known as quantitative easing. Bernanke said in a speech hours later that the U.S. economy needs “highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future.” § Stocks rallied, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index above its record closing level, and bonds advanced on Bernanke’s comments. The S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent to 1,675.02 at the close in New York. § The European Central Bank provided guidance similar to the Fed’s in a statement today saying its commitment to keep interest rates low for an extended period of time uses a “flexible horizon” and will depend on the euro area’s economic performance. § The latest reading on the U.S. labor market showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased by 16,000 to a two-month high of 360,000 last week, during a period when applications fluctuate because of automobile plant shutdowns and the Independence Day holiday. § Consumer sentiment climbed for a fourth straight week, reaching the highest level in more than five years as Americans grew more upbeat about their finances, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort (COMFCOMF) Index. § USD/JPY rose 0.15% to 99.13 a day after the conclusion of the Bank of Japan meeting. As expected, BoJ made no alterations to its already massive easing program, but analysts remain bearish on the yen. Just this week. § West Texas Intermediate crude traded near a two-day low, trimming a third weekly gain as jobless claims in the U.S. rose to the highest level in two months and the IEA said global oil supply will exceed demand next year. § Global oil consumption will expand by 1.2 million barrels a day in 2014, up from a forecast 930,000 this year, according to the IEA. Supplies from outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase by 1.3 million barrels a day amid booming output in North America, reducing the need for shipments from the producer group, the Paris-based adviser said in its monthly report yesterday.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 08:59:48 +0000
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