China has overtaken Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
The Australian Dollar has opened around USD0.9000 this morning after trending higher in the early part of the European session.
New claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, but stayed at a stubbornly high level that underscored the labor market recovery was having trouble gaining traction.
The euro hit a 12-week high against a broadly weaker dollar on Thursday as month-end demand helped pushed the single currency above a key technical barrier.
A jump in euro zone economic sentiment to a 28-month high and a decline in German unemployment supported the euro's gains.
A string of Europe's largest firms issued surprisingly upbeat profit reports on Thursday, bolstering an abrupt renewal of investor confidence in the region after months of debt turmoil and fears for the euro.
Euro zone economic sentiment rose strongly in July, buoyed by figures from Germany that point to a recovery as the currency area overcomes the sovereign debt crisis, but the outlook remains uncertain.
The euro struck a two-month high against the yen and stayed within reach of an 11-week high against the dollar on Wednesday, as markets stayed in risk-on mode on robust European bank earnings and solid economic data.
Asian stocks hit a 12-week high on Wednesday and the euro inched ahead as investors took comfort from solid U.S. and European company earnings, while the Australian dollar eased after a sharp slowdown in inflation.
An increase in the Australian Conference Board leading index from 0.1% to 0.3% during the month of May added some underlying support to the Aussie dollar in Asia yesterday as it held firm above the 90 cent handle etching out gains to enter offshore exchange at 0.9025.
UBS flagged a return to client inflows this year as strong equities and forex trading gains helped it outdo Deutsche Bank and other rivals, which were hit hard by Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
Over one-third of investors expect Europe's banks to raise significant capital in the next six months following a health check that forced little fundraising but showed up some weak spots, according to a survey.
Almost two-thirds of investors expect Europe's banks to raise significant capital in the next year following a health check that forced little fundraising but showed up some weak spots, according to a survey.
UBS flagged a return to client inflows by year-end as strong equities and currency trading gains helped it outdo Deutsche Bank and other rivals, which were hit hard by the European sovereign debt crisis.
Results from two of Europe's top banks, UBS and Deutsche Bank reassured investors following last week's European Union tests of the sector's ability to withstand financial shocks.
UBS outdid rivals thanks to strong investment banking revenues and shrinking client outflows, while Deutsche Bank held ground after a drop in loan loss provisions.
World stocks hit a 2-1/2 month high on Tuesday while the euro held near a two-month peak versus the dollar as upbeat results from Swiss bank UBS added to a recent run of strong corporate earnings.
Apple Inc said on Monday its popular iPhone 4 model will go on sale in an additional 17 countries on Friday, July 30.
European banks who only just scraped through a health check could look for over 25 billion euros in new capital, while Spain's smaller lenders set out to reassure investors on Monday that they too can raise funds.
Investors gave European banks the benefit of the doubt on Monday over stress tests that prompted more transparency from Spanish banks needing to raise capital than from German banks cagey about sovereign debt.
There is good news for the economies in Europe as the European bank stress test passed off without much problems. However, this good news has become a pain for gold prices as the stability in EU economy is set to hit the yellow metal in the international market.
Oil rose past $79 on Monday, supported by improved risk appetite and expectations that a forecast severe Atlantic hurricane season could bring further disruptions to oil and gas operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Asian shares rose and the euro extended gains on Monday as solid U.S. corporate earnings and strong euro zone data offset growing skepticism that a stress test on European banks were not strict enough.
Investors took some reassurance that European banks had passed stress tests on their ability to deal with a debt crisis, prompting European stock futures prices to rise on Monday.
