News

The dollar fell against the yen and the euro on Wednesday on concerns about that the economy will continue to weaken as investors place their assets into commodities.

The dollar fell to 103.25 yen at 12:11 p.m. in Tokyo from 103.68 late Tuesday. The U.S. currency fell to $1.5665 per euro from $1.5646. The euro traded at 161.75 yen from 162.22.

The U.S. financial sector may be in for additional turmoil, according to Oppenheimer analysts led by Meredith Whitney, who cut their earnings outlook for large U.S. banks, noting that the credit crisis is far from over. They expect additional writedowns and loss provisions reaching $170 billion by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks fell by early afternoon. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 2 percent, following a decline in U.S. stocks yesterday. The S&P 500 closed down 0.9 percent.

Crude oil reached a new record past $129 per barrel yesterday as gold gained for a fifth day.