Message-ID: <4778977.1075855402444.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2001 16:14:13 -0800 (PST) From: info@forexnews.com To: sara.shackleton@enron.com Subject: Japanese Preview Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: @ENRON X-To: Shackleton, Sara X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Sara_Shackleton_Jan2002\Shackleton, Sara\Inbox X-Origin: Shackleton-S X-FileName: sshackl (Non-Privileged).pst [IMAGE] Forums Discuss these points in the Forums: Forexnews Forum T= echnicals Live Charts Analysis available from: Cornelius Luca J.P. Chorek= Technical Research Ltd. Charts & News featuring Standard & Poor's = Interest Rates US: Japan: Eurozone: UK: Switzerland: 1.75% 0.15% 3.= 25% 4.0% 1.25-2.25% [IMAGE] =09 [IMAGE] Japanese Forex Trading Pre= view December 30, 7:00 PM: EUR/$..0.8841 $/JPY..131.32 GBP/$..1.4498 $/CHF= ..1.6738 Japanese Forex Trading Preview by Stacey Yang No key data. The = dollar remains weaker against the European currencies in thin trading ahead= of the New Year's holiday and in the absence of key economic data. Despite= better-than-expected US consumer confidence, home sales and jobless claims= released on Friday, the dollar fell due to profit-taking. The Conference B= oard Confidence Index rose unexpectedly for the first time in 5 months to 9= 3.7 in December from the previous 84.9, as did the consumer expectations in= dex, which soared to 91.5 from 77.3. Both the headline and forward-looking = figures suggest that US consumer confidence, which had been undermined by t= he terrorist attacks and the slowing economy, has bottomed and will lead th= e way to a recovery by inspiring consumer spending next year. Furthermo= re, the rise in US jobless claims to 392k was also a positive signal for th= e US economy, since it was smaller than the 400k rise that economists had p= rojected. Not only did last week's jobless claims undershoot estimates for = the fourth straight time, but also it marked the seventh time out of the la= st eight weeks for which it remained below the key 400k figure. Recall that= jobless claims had surged above 500k in the aftermath of the September 11 = attacks that halted business activity, and thus the retreat in the jobless = claims bodes well for both consumer sentiment and the dollar. In additio= n, other favorable signs were seen in the 0.6% rise in existing home sales = to 5.2 mln units for November. Despite the easing pace of home sales, the h= ousing sector continues to reflect considerable strength amidst an economic= contraction. Also indicative of a bottoming in the heretofore ailing manuf= acturing sector was the modest improvement in the Chicago PMI to 41.4 in De= cember vs. the previous 41.1. The euro is trading around .8841 against th= e dollar, overcoming what should have been dollar-supportive data to regain= lost ground after the overnight release of Eurozone M3 for November which = surged above and beyond the ECB's 4.5% target to 8.0% y/y in October from t= he previous 7.4%. The 3-month moving average also climbed to 7.4% from 6.7%= , thwarting market hopes for another rate cut by the European Central Bank = in the near future. The Japanese currency is trading around 131.32 agains= t the dollar, stronger because of dollar weakness rather than because of in= herent fundamental strength. The yen continues to be mired by pessimism abo= ut Japan's deflationary spiral, as well as the rise in Japanese unemploymen= t to a record high of 5.5% in November. Key economic indicators due from = the US this week include the ISM (formerly known as NAPM), jobless claims, = construction spending, labor market report and ISM non-manufacturing (forme= rly NAPM). Highlights from the Eurozone consist of Euroarea PMI, German PMI= , French PMI, Spanish Unemployment, ECB rate announcement and press confere= nce, French INSEE Household survey, Italian CPI, Euroarea Business and Cons= umer Confidence survey, Euroarea unemployment, HICP, Eurozone Services PMI,= German Services PMI, French Services PMI and Italian Services PMI. =09[IM= AGE] Audio Mkt. Analysis USD Ignores Rise in Consumer Confidence Index = Articles & Ideas A Look Back at 2001, Forex Themes for 2002 2002: Euro= Deja Vu? Articles & Ideas Forex Glossary Economic Indicators For= ex Guides Link Library [IMAGE] =09 =09=09[IMAGE][IMAGE] [IMAGE][IMAGE]=09 =09=09 This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. If you wish to unsubscribe f= rom this or any other Forexnews.com newsletters, please click here . =09