The US economy grew 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter last year as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is the fastest quarterly growth in six years.
“Business are now feeling confident enough to deploy a larger portion of the recent strong corporate earnings rebound into new investment spending,” Brian Bethune, chief financial economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said before the report was released. “This is a key development to support a strong, non-inflationary recovery.”
Source: Bloomberg
Scratched nerves over Greek debt and the strained structure of Europe’s single currency are finally having the expected effect on Eastern Europe’s currencies, breaking an unusual recent trend to push them lower.
The Hungarian forint, Czech koruna and Polish zloty have all defied expectations and gained against the tumbling euro in recent weeks, reflecting the depth of the euro’s woes as it has fallen by 7% against the dollar since early December.
Since mid-way through Wednesday, however, spooked investors have returned to a more familiar trading mode, shoving these currencies lower against the euro as they retreat from the perceived risks of emerging markets.
“It became clear once again yesterday: Risk appetite is the main driver for the zloty exchange rate,” said analysts at Commerzbank Thursday. The zloty often sets the tone for other currencies in the region, because it is seen as one of the strongest local bets.
source: WSJ
Britain borrowed £15.7bn to balance the books last month, the highest December figure on record, as two-and-a-half years of financial crisis and recession took a toll of the public finances.
Despite some signs that the pace of decline may be easing, the government’s net borrowing stood at £120bn in the first nine months of the financial year, almost double the total for the same period in 2008-09.
The Office for National Statistics said the gap between government spending and tax receipts received by HM Revenue and Customs was the highest since recent records began in 1993.
source: Guardian
The Canadian dollar – known as the “loonie” – advanced to its highest level in more than two weeks against the US dollar. The gains were spurred by a rebound in oil prices for which Canada is a major exporter.
Investor risk appetite is also on the rise again as investors shun the US dollar in favor of higher-yielding – but potentially riskier – investments. According to a recent survey of analysts, the loonie, which traded at C$1.043 this morning, could advance to C$1.03 by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
Bloomberg News
