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A sombre end to the week (ISFM) (18-05-2012)

Europe declines after downgraded Spanish banks (MarketWatch) (18-05-2012)

Currency Exchange Rate

Forex

Asian Markets
10:30am GMT (18-05-2012)
Index	Value	% Change
NIKKEI 225	8,611.31	- 2.99
HANG SENG	18,951.85	- 1.30
SHANGHAI SE COMPOSITE	2,344.52	- 1.44
TAIWAN TAIEX	7,151.19	- 2.79
KOSPI 100	1,782.46	- 3.40
S&P/ASX 200	4,046.50	- 2.67
NZX 50 FF	3.501.44	- 0.57
STRAITS TIMES	2.779.10	- 1.54

10 Top Performing Japan Banks
(18-05-2012)
Bank	Close	Pct Change
AICHI LTD	3.860	+0.13%
KITA NIPPON	2.013	+0.10%
TOMATO	122	0.00%
OKINAWA	3.370	- 0.45%
CHIBA KOGYO	377	- 0.53%
MIE	171	- 0.58%
HOKUETSU	149	- 0.67%
AOMORI	229	- 0.87%
RESONA HOLDING	306	- 0.98%
YAMANASH CHUO	301	- 1.00%

More bad news from Europe in the form of downgrades for Spanish banks pushed sentiment further down causing more losses among stock markets.  Earlier in Asia, stocks declined sharply as fresh concerns about Spanish banks piled on top of existing worries about capital flight from Greek lenders, resulting in losses in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the region’s market capitalization. Talk of Greece leaving the euro zone is intensifying, adding to the pressure on the consequences of a messy exit. Benchmark oil for June delivery fell by 1 cent to $92.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the previous day’s 25 cent. Among currencies, the euro...

MADRID — European stocks lose ground on Friday after losses for resources, drug stores and a downgrade of Spanish banks by Moody’s Investors Service. The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.7% to 239.91, after dropping 1.1% on Thursday to a new closing low for the year. Set for a fifth day of losses, the index is down nearly 5% for the week.  Moody’s slashed the ratings of 16 Spanish banks, citing economic worries for the country and restricted market funding access. In Spain, Banco Santander SA and BBVA SA added 2.7% and 3%. Bank gains helped keep losses for the IBEX 35 index at around 2%, trading at 6,514.40.  Total SA traded 1% lower. Those losses pushed...

Dollar remains on high levels; euro a little higher (MarketWatch) (18-05-2012)

Fitch downgrades Greece to CCC (Reuters) (18-05-2012)

FRANKFURT — The US dollar stays high on Friday continuing its longest rally since at least 1985 as continued worries over the euro zone’s debt crisis lured investors to buy currencies perceived as safe havens.  The ICE dollar index changed hands at 81.487, up marginally from 81.454 in North American trade late Thursday.  The euro traded a little higher at $1.2702, little changed from its level late on Thursday. Earlier Friday, the currency dropped as low as $1.2641. The British pound fell slightly to $1.5793...

The Greek government has called for a new election for June 17 while EU leaders believe that without the bailout, Greece would be headed for certain bankruptcy and ejection from the common currency. Rating agency Fitch underscored the high stakes, downgrading Greece's debt a further notch below investment grade to CCC. An emergency government led by a judge and made up of mainly professors, technocrats and a few politicians was sworn in on Thursday in a ceremony presided...

Wall Street welcomes Facebook shares (MarketWatch) (18-05-2012)

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks opened with limited gains Friday as the market attempted to bounce back from its week of losses, with shares of Facebook Inc. to begin trading on the Nasdaq in about an hour.  The Dow industrials gained 7.42 points to 12,449.9. The S&P 500 added 2.06 points to 1,306.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52 points to 2,808.17...

BANGKOK -- Asian stocks fell on Friday following discouraging U.S. economic reports and worries about the stability of the 17-country euro currency union.  Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.9 percent to 8,617.75 as the signs of weakness in the U.S., a critical export market for Japanese companies, battered some of the country's behemoth manufacturers.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.7 percent...

Currency Summary

Greece dissolves Parliament for new election on June 17 (AP) (18-05-2012) 

Spain, Italy yields higher after Moody’s downgrade (MarketWatch) (18-05-2012) 

Moody’s downgrades Spanish banks (Reuters) (18-05-2012) 

Gold advances 1 pct as euro recovers from losses (Reuters) (18-05-2012) 

Treasury yields up from record low (MarketWatch) (18-05-2012) 

Brent over $107 ahead of a weekly fall (Reuters) (18-05-2012)