posted by Admin on Feb 5
A huge night in the foreign exchange markets saw a flight to safety, with traders continuing to flee the Euro amid concerns that the sovereign debt issues in Greece may spread further afield, to weaker economies such as Spain and Portugal. Sterling fell to its lowest levels against the US dollar in 4 months, and the Euro hit an eight month low.
Market News
Barclays Capital economists warned that the Greek issue could spread to create a “Lehman-style tsunami spreading across much of the EU”
Yesterdays initial jobless claims in the US came in a lot lower than expected, with claims rising by 8,000 to 480,000, way above analysts’ expectations, who forecast a fall of 10,000
Both the UK and the ECB left rates unchanged at 0.5% and 1% respectively
Following 11 months of support, the Bank of England announced that they would be pausing their quantative easing programme
Please note that the non-farm payroll figures are scheduled for release at 1330 this afternoon
