MORNING BRIEFING: Swiss National Bank meeting today

[RTFX-Trading]

MORNING BRIEFING: Swiss National Bank meeting today

What’s new :
United States: Lower defaults Mortgage
Greece: General strikes
Euro zone: The idea of an European fund mot dismissed by Mr. Trichet
Switzerland: Publication of its rates by the Swiss National Bank today
Japan: Repatriation of profits for fiscal year’s end still present
China: Rumors of rate hike as early as tomorrow
New Zealand: rate hike unnecessary, according to central bank

Today:


Rates in Asia and Indices:
EURUSD: 1.3659 - 1.3628.
USDCHF: 1.0721 - 1.0695.
EURUSD: 1.4989 - 1.4949.
EURJPY: 123.66 - 123.02.
USDJPY: 90.55 - 90.21.
DowJones: 10'567 .33 +0.03%
Nasdaq: +0.78 ° 2'358 .95%
S & P 500: 1'145 .61 +0.45%
Nikkei: 10'664 .95 +0.96%
Shanghai: 3'056 .90 +0.26%
Gold: $ 1'108 .45
Crude Oil: $ 79.98
 
Comments:
For the second consecutive month, foreclosure filings declined in the United States, which could indicate that the housing market has bottomed and began its recovery.

Following Greek government austerity plan, Greece should be largely paralyzed by strikes today, which should be followed by both the private and the public sectors. Public participation in these strikes should provide an indication of support to the Government in its efforts to reduce the budget deficit.

Despite the conflicting views within the European Central Bank, his boss Mr. Trichet did not totally dismissed the idea of a European fund, even if he judged that its designation as European Monetary Fund would not reflect its exact role.

The press conference of the SNB, expected at 14:00 CET, should cause no surprise, the central bank should keep its interest rates at their current levels of 0.25%, despite encouraging signs of growth for the Swiss economy.

In Japan, the repatriation of corporate profits before the end of the fiscal year has continued, while the Nikkei hit its highest closure in 7 weeks.

In China, the surge in exports in February together with the increase of inflation, which reached its highest in 16 months at 2.7% (annualized) fueling rumors of a possible increase in deposit rates occurring as soon as tomorrow.

As expected by the markets, Royal Bank of New Zealand has kept its rate at 2.50%, the surprise coming from his boss Mr. Bollard revising downward the forecast rate hikes for 2010. The markets reacted by selling the kiwi, the interest differential between Australia and New Zealand increasing the move on the AUD/NZD pair.

Good day

Pascal Bovay

RTFX Ltd
Trading desk
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