Afternoon Report: 17.00
- Greece has been centre stage throughout the day and weighing heavily on markets as a consequence. There are various parties involved including the IMF, ECB,European governments, banks and hedge funds. The crux of the argument comes down to a question of who is going to bear the losses. Right now private debt holders which include banks and hedge funds are being asked to take a larger hit than they expected, while other creditors are potentially being prioritised. The problem is that there has to be some pain somewhere sometime, but right now all parties appear to be steadfastly refusing for the burden to come down on them.
- So the Greek debt problems that were expected to be solved last week, last month etc are still rolling on. It’s been enough to dent the euro’s rally, but judging by today’s reaction it appears that markets have slipped down the gears a bit rather than hitting full reverse.
- The EUR/ USD is down 0.50%, but this is isolated weakness, with the NZD/ USD down 0.80%.
- It’s certainly been a day for the dollar with the yen slipping further. The USD/ JPY extended the morning’s gains and is now up 0.60%.
- We’ve still excitement to come though with the FOMC announcement and press conference due later.
Summary:
