Commodity and EMG currencies saw a nice rebound overnight

Good Morning,

– Commodity- and EMG currencies saw a nice rebound overnight, after they have been mainly under pressure. Also equity markets in Asia rallied towards the end of their session. Oil continued to drift lower from the 11 months high hit last Friday. EURUSD has digested S+P’s EFSF outlook revision and another Greece downgrade well.

– Stocks: Nikkei +0.92 %, Hang Seng +1.11 %, Shanghai Composite -0.01 %, Dow Jones -0.44 %, S+P500 +0.14 %

– European Financial Stability Facility AA+/A-1+ ratings affirmed by S&P.

• S&P says outlook reflects lowering of outlooks of France, Austria to negative on Jan. 13

• S&P may lower EFSF ratings if it lowers L-T sovereign credit ratings on any of EFSF’s AAA or AA+ rated members (Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Luxembourg) to below AA+

– Greece’s credit ratings were cut to “Selective Default” by Standard & Poor’s after it negotiated the biggest sovereign debt restructuring in history.

– Standard & Poor’s decision to lower Greece’s credit rating to Selective Default, was “duly anticipated and taken into account in the planning of the PSI operation,” Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro-area finance ministers.

– ECB Nowotny said the ECB has shelved its government bond purchase program for the time being. “This program is more or less on hold,” Nowotny said late yesterday in London. He said there is a “clear policy line” of keeping it “in reserve” while “there is not an intention of using it.”

– Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Tuesday he told his counterparts at a Group of 20 meeting over the weekend that he is prepared to take firm measures against excessive currency moves, reiterating his threat of intervention against yen gains.
– Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke said slow improvement in housing and mortgage markets has impeded the benefit from record-low interest rates to U.S. economic growth.

– 1430 US Durable Goods Orders Jan
– 1500 US S+P/Case Shiller Home Price Index Dec
– 1600 US Consumer Confidence Feb
– 1600 Fed Duke
– 0800 Germany GfK Consumer Confidence Mar
– 1100 Eurozone Business Climate Feb
– 1100 Eurozone Consumer Confidence Feb
– 1100 Eurozone Economic Confidence Feb
– 1100 Eurozone Industrial Confidence Feb
– 1100 Eurozone Service Confidence Feb
– 1100 ECB Nowotny
– 1200 UK CBI Reported Sales Feb
– 2210 BOE Tucker
– 0800 Switzerland Consumption Indicator Jan
– 1830 SNB Jordan
– 0930 Sweden PPI Jan
– 0930 Sweden Retail Sales Jan
– 0930 Sweden Trade Balance Jan

      (CET)

Have a good day!