Tomahawk, WI 10/5/2011 (PennyPayDay) – The euro was steady versus major counterparts on Wednesday amid hopes for a plan to recapitalize the European banking system in the event of a wider sovereign debt crisis.Doubts have been raised about the next installment of aid to debt-ridden Greece, and analysts say that a Greek default could threaten Europe's biggest banks.
In exchange for bailout funds, Greece's neighbors are demanding significant structural reforms including severe budget cuts. Earlier in the week, Athens admitted it is falling short of its austerity targets.
Public services across Greece have been shut down by striking workers in response to the austerity measures. The euro was near $1.3425 versus the dollar, nudging a bit closer to an 8-month low of $1.3344 set earlier this week.
The euro was stuck near GBP 0.8620 versus the sterling. The single currency was also stable at 102 yen, having touched a 10-year low of 100.74 on Monday.
The euro zone's private sector contracted for the first time in two years last month. Markit's Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 48.8 last month from 51.5 in August, its lowest reading since July 2009. Eurozone retail sales declined in August on weak non-food product sales, data from Eurostat showed Wednesday.
Retail sales were down 0.3 percent month-on-month in August, reversing a 0.2 percent rise in July. The August figure came in line with economists' expectations. The U.K. economy logged weaker than expected growth in the second quarter, raising chances of additional quantitative easing from the central bank in order to underpin the fragile recovery.
The economy grew only 0.1 percent sequentially in the second quarter instead of the initially estimated 0.2 percent growth, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. The growth was slower than the 0.4 percent rate it logged in the first quarter.
Employment in the U.S. private sector increased by more than expected in the month of September, according to a report released by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) on Wednesday, although the pace of job growth remains moderate.
ADP said that private sector employment rose by 91,000 jobs in September following a downwardly revised increase of 89,000 jobs in August. Economists had expected employment to increase by 75,000 jobs compared to the addition of 91,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
PennyPayDay Disclaimer
No comments:
Post a Comment