Greek leaders agreed to terms for a second bailout of approximately $172 billion dollars. The Greek parliament stills need to ratify the agreement as well as major reductions in spending. European Union finance ministers would than have to provide final approval for the deal.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/09/us-greece-idUSTRE8120HI20120209
James Sutliff
Fitch lowered the credit ratings for the sovereign debt of five Euro region nations. The five nations included Italy, Spain, Belgium, Cyprus, and Slovenia. The credit rating for Italy was cut to A- and the rating for Spain fell to A. Italy has the third largest European Union economy.
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James Sutliff
Standard & Poor’s downgraded the sovereign debt of nine European nations on Friday. France and Austria lost their AAA ratings and were lowered to AA+. In addition, the sovereign debt was downgraded for Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Four European nations that still have a AAA rating are Germany. Finland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Borrowing costs could rise for the nations that had their sovereign debt downgraded. U.S. Treasuries rose in trading on Friday and forced yields down to 1.87%.
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Jim Sutliff
Crude oil rose to $103.41 during afternoon trading and settled at $102. 24 a barrel. An improved outlook for US economic growth also sent the stock market to a five month high. In addition, tensions in Iran and Nigeria raised supply concerns for the near term.
To read a related Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/10/us-markets-oil-idUSTRE7AD06820120110
Jim Sutliff
The European debt crisis has forced the Euro lower in trading over the last few months. Recent weeks have shown a steeper decline as recessionary concerns mounted and the debt crisis remained unresolved. The Euro fell below $1.27 in Friday trading before climbing back above that mark. Recently, the Euro showed weakness against the Yen as well as other currencies.
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James Sutliff
The Federal Reserve has announced that they will release their forecasts for the Federal funds rate. The move will increase transparency at the Federal Reserve at may help with financial planning for businesses and investors. Monetary policy expectations should be released at the next meeting on January 24th and 25th. The Fed funds rate is expected to remain low for the remainder of 2012.
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James Sutliff
Treasuries fell as prospects improved for the U.S. economy in 2012. This marked the first decline for Treasuries in four days. Ten year yields rose dlightly in trading to 1.91%. Ten year yields fell to as low as 1.67% on September 23rd.
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Jim Sutliff
Oil futures rose to their highest close since December 15th and settled at $99.68. The increase capped a weekly gain of 6.6% for crude oil. Positive economic data and tensions in Iran were two factors driving the price of crude higher.
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Jim Sutliff
