Archive For "August, 2010"

The U.S. dollar extended losses against the euro and pared a decline against the Japanese yen after data on U.S. home prices rose more than some analysts expected, lending support to U.S. stocks and reducing the demand for the relative safety of the greenback and yen.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Chicago Purchasing Managers index for August is due for release at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the index to slow to 57.0% from 62.3% in July, consistent with the nationwide trend in slowing manufacturing.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The prices of single-family homes in 20 major cities rose a seasonally unadjusted 1.0% in June, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s. Prices have moved up 4.2% in the past year. Prices rose in 17 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by Case-Shiller in June compared with May. This is the third monthly increase in prices after six straight declines.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices remained higher and the dollar came under pressure against the euro and Japanese yen on Tuesday after the S&P Case-Shiller’s index of home prices rose 1% in June. Yields on 10-year notes , which move inversely to prices, fell 5 basis points to 2.48%. The euro rose to $1.2729 compared with $1.2664 in late North American trading on Monday. The dollar index , a measure of the U.S. unit against a basket of currencies, fell to 82.913, from 83.184 late Monday.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index for June is due for release at 9 a.m. Eastern. Economists expect home prices to rise for the third straight month due to the boost in demand earlier in the year from the homebuyer tax credit. Although the tax credit expired at the end of April, the impact has lasted because the Case-Shiller index is based on finalized sales.

The dollar loses ground against both the euro and Japan’s yen, as currency traders digest data on Germany joblessness for August and await key Chicago PMI data as well as the latest reading on U.S. consumer confidence.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian stock markets declined Tuesday, with Japanese shares finishing at a fresh 16-month low as investors fretted over the adverse impact of a rising yen on the nation’s economy and exporters.

The seasonally-adjusted number of German unemployed people declined by 17,000 in August, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 7.6%, Germany’s labor office reported Tuesday.

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the 16-nation euro zone was 10% in July, unchanged from June, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Tuesday. The reading matched forecasts. Eurostat estimated that 15.833 million people were unemployed in the euro zone in July, a decrease of 8,000 from June.

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Consumer prices in the 16-nation euro zone rose 1.6% in August compared to the same month last year, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Tuesday. CPI grew at an annual rate of 1.7% in July. Economists had forecast inflation to slow to a 1.5% annual pace. The rate remains below the European Central Bank’s target of just less than 2%.