| Currencies: Yen gains on speculation about a G-7 statement
NEW YORK: The yen rose against the dollar Monday and increased by the largest amount in a month against the euro on speculation that European policy makers would say that the Japanese currency was too weak. The yen climbed against the 16 most-actively traded currencies after officials in Europe said representatives from the Group of 7 industrial countries would debate the issue when they met this week. Hideto Fujii, the Japanese vice minister of finance, said that the G-7 would discuss currency markets as usual. Futures trading data released Friday showed investors held record bets that the Japanese currency would fall. "The yen has momentum coming into the G-7 meeting after all the talk about it being undervalued," said Mike Moran, senior currency strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York.
Dow hits new record
Stocks rose Wednesday afternoon as Cisco's strong earnings report and falling oil prices boosted the Dow to a fresh all-time trading high and propelled the S&P 500 within reach of a 6-1/2 year peak. The Nasdaq (up 22.51 to 2,494.00, Charts) composite added 0.9 percent with roughly 2-1/2 hours left in the session, and inched closer to a six-year high. .
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-02-10 15:44 GMT: G-7 recommends vigilance on hedge funds
ESSEN, Germany (AFX) - The world's major developed economies show solid growth, but foreign exchange fluctuations, the rising power of hedge funds and dwindling energy supplies are a concern, G-7 finance officials said Saturday. The finance ministers and central bankers also lauded China's commitment to "rebalance growth," but called for a move in its effective foreign exchange rate. China's tight control of its currency and trade surpluses have also raised concerns in the West. At its last meeting, the G-7 urged China to let the yuan respond more flexibly to market movements. This more explicit reference to movement in the exchange rate was a change. "Over the last two days, we discussed ways to keep the global economy growing in a balanced way, including stimulating domestic demand in Japan and Europe and pressing for greater exchange-rate flexibility in China," said U.S.
FOREX: Ringgit Ends Higher Against US Dollar
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- The ringgit ended higher against the US dollar Friday with continued demand for the local currency following the positive economic outlook locally, dealers said. At 5pm, the ringgit rose to 3.4925/49453 against the greenback from 3.4930/4960 at Thursday's closing. "The announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi that Malaysia's total trade surpassed RM1 trillion for 2006 has somewhat prompted demand for the local currency," one of the dealers said. They said the market was, however, quiet with thin trading as many players took a "wait and see" stance amid concerns over the agenda to be discussed at the Group of Seven Finance Ministers Meeting in Essen, Germany, this weekend. Both the United States and Japan, however, have indicated that they would refrain from formally discussing the Japanese yen weakness on the agenda, but would instead focus on China's rising yuan.
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