Swedish Krona Gains on Signs Growth Is Quickening, Interest Rate Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden's krona rose on expectations
faster economic growth and further interest-rate increases will
make the Nordic currency more attractive to investors.

The Stockholm-based Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, said in
June it will probably lift its benchmark rate twice more this
year bringing it to 4 percent. Gross domestic product growth
quickened to an annual 3.6 percent in the second quarter from 3
percent in the first, the statistics office said last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Stocks Retreat in Europe; UBS, BNP, Philips, BHP, Lafarge Lead the Drop

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell, following
declines in Asia and the U.S., on mounting concern that losses in
the U.S. mortgage market will erode economic growth and raise
financing costs for companies.

UBS AG and BNP Paribas SA led a drop by financial shares.
Royal Philips Electronics NV and Lafarge SA decreased as the
dollar traded near a record low against the euro. BHP Billiton
Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group slipped after copper fell in Shanghai.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Government Bonds Advance as Asian Stocks Slide on Subprime Losses

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds rose for a
second day as Asian stocks slid on concern U.S. subprime mortgage
losses will slow economic growth and drive up global financing
costs.

Gains in bunds pushed benchmark 10-year yields to near the
lowest since May as investors sold riskier assets and sought the
relative safety of government debt. Bear Stearns Cos. ousted Co-
President Warren Spector after credit-market losses and eroding
investor confidence.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.S. worries pressure Asian stocks, dollar

(Reuters) - The negative trend is expected to spread to Europe where financial bookmakers are calling for major markets to open around 1 percent lower.




Heightened concerns for economic growth knocked oil prices, which briefly dipped below $74.50, and dragged Shanghai copper futures down 3 percent, but flight to safety helped gold stay near one-week highs and held the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield near 2-½ month lows.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Singapore Dollar to Rise 10 Percent to Record $1.38, BNP Paribas Predicts

(Bloomberg) -- The Singapore dollar may rise 10
percent to a record in a year as an influx of tourists and
bankers supports economic growth, BNP Paribas SA said.

The currency may reach S$1.38 per dollar by June 30, passing
the record of S$1.3835 reached in 1995, as the Monetary Authority
of Singapore seeks gains to curb inflation, said Thio Chin Loo,
senior foreign-exchange strategist in Singapore at France's
largest bank by market value.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Canada's Dollar Strengthenens as Crude Oil Surges, Growth Accelerates

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar rose, ending its two-
week losing streak, as crude oil prices touched a record high,
and economic growth accelerated in May.

Canada's currency has gained this year as the Bank of
Canada raised interest rates to stem inflation and cool the
expanding economy. The currency, up more than 11 percent against
the U.S. dollar this year, is the second-best performer among 16
most actively traded currencies, trailing only Brazil's real.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

TREASURIES-Bond dip on firmer stocks, credit markets

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. Treasuries eased on
Tuesday as stocks rose for a second day and credit markets
rallied on waning fears over tighter access to funding.




Government bonds were little moved by mixed economic data
that painted a picture of benign inflationary pressures and
slower economic growth, but surprisingly upbeat consumer
sentiment. For details, see [ID:nN30403317], [ID:nN30443227]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Copper Rises in Asia on U.S. Economic Growth Report; Zinc, Aluminum Up

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures in Asia rose after a
report showed faster-than-expected economic growth in the U.S.,
indicating demand may increase in the world's second-largest
consumer of the metal.

The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.4 percent annual rate in
the second quarter, the fastest in more than a year, as
commercial construction soared, the Commerce Department said
July 27. Construction is the main market for copper in the U.S.,
accounting for almost half of its use.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

South Korea Stocks Rise, Erasing Earlier Losses; Hynix Semiconductor Gains

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks rose, snapping a
two-day fall that had wiped out $68 billion in market value.
Technology companies rose, led by Hynix Semiconductor Inc., after
Shinyoung Securities Co. lifted its price estimate on higher chip
prices.

Stocks also rose after a government report showed South
Korea's industrial production increased almost twice as much as
expected, reinforcing speculation economic growth will speed up.
Posco advanced.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US economic growth rebounds in second quarter

(Reuters) - U.S. economic growth rebounded during the second quarter to its strongest pace since the beginning of last year on a surge in business investment, more government spending and a better trade performance, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Gross domestic product that measures total output within U.S. borders gained at a 3.4 percent annual rate -- the fastest since 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2006 -- after barely growing at a downwardly revised 0.6 percent pace in the first quarter. Second-quarter growth exceeded Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 3.2 percent rate of increase.


Read more at Reuters Africa

US stock indexes flat after GDP, Treasury's Paulson

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday, erasing small gains in a skittish session after a government report that showed a stronger-than-expected pace of economic growth in the second quarter.

Comments by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson briefly lent some support, but the underlying tone on Wall Street remained nervous, a day after equities suffered their second worst decline of the year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Mexican Peso Little Changed Before Central Bank's Benchmark Rate Decision

(Bloomberg) -- The Mexican peso was little changed
before the Bank of Mexico's benchmark lending rate decision
today.

Mexico's central bank will likely hold the overnight
lending rate at 7.25 percent as reports on retail sales and
industrial production signal slower economic growth, according
to 16 of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The decision is
expected at 10 a.m. New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Angola cuts GDP growth forecast for 2007

(Reuters) - Angola has cut its economic growth forecast for 2007 to 19.8 percent from 31.2 percent, reflecting a drop in oil revenue and appreciation of its currency, the Kwanza, the state-run Jornal de Angola said on Friday.

The reduction in expected GDP growth was announced after Angola's cabinet approved a revised 2007 budget for the southwestern African nation, sub-Saharan Africa's second largest petroleum producer after Nigeria and the newest member of OPEC.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Bush meets economic advisers to discuss GDP

(Reuters) - A spokesman said Bush's meeting with his "economic team,"
due to begin at 9:10 a.m. EDT , had been previously
scheduled to coincide with release of Friday's Gross Domestic
Product report.




The Commerce Department reported that U.S. economic growth
rebounded during the second quarter to its strongest pace since
the beginning of last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazil's Bovespa Tumbles on Rate, Credit Concerns: Latin American Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian stocks fell the most in five
months, led by commodity producers and banks, after the central
bank signaled it may slow the pace of interest rate cuts, curbing
economic growth.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange fell 2,263.76, or 4 percent, to 53,737.54 at 1:02 p.m. New
York time, the steepest drop since Feb. 27. The slide was part of a
global equities rout spurred by credit quality concerns in the U.S.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International index of Latin American
shares fell 4.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Yen Strengthens as Equities Decline, Prompting Unwinding of Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose to a 2 1/2-month high
against the dollar as global equities fell, prompting traders to
reduce investment in assets funded by borrowing in Japan.

The Japanese yen rose against all 16 most-actively traded
currencies as investors pared so-called carry trades, following a
declines in stock markets in Asia and Europe. U.S. stock-index
futures also dropped on concern losses related to subprime
mortgages will undermine economic growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Bonds Fall as Rebound in Stocks Eases Appetite for Safest Assets

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds fell,
pushing 10-year yields up from near a two-month low, as a
recovery in stocks reduced demand for the safest assets.

Bunds reversed gains as the risk of holding corporate debt
dropped from earlier in the day, according to credit default
swaps traded on JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s iTraxx index. ECB Vice
President Lucas Papademos said today he expects economic growth
in the euro region to stay ``robust'' in coming quarters, stoking
speculation interest rates have further to rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

LME stocks cap price after copper hits 10-week high

(Reuters) - Copper was steady on Monday as rising stocks capped prices after they hit a 10-week high on bullish U.S. economic growth expectations and possible strike actions in top producer Chile, analysts said.

London Metal Exchange copper for delivery in three months was at $8,090/8,110 a tonne at 0932 GMT, down $20 against the close on Friday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

China silences green GDP study, report says

(Reuters) - Wang Jinnan, a senior expert at the Chinese Academy for
Environmental Planning who was technical head of the project,
said publicly spelling out the cost of bad air, water and soil
had drawn fierce opposition from local officials eager to
maintain growth.




"Taking out the costs of environmental damage would lead to a
huge fall in the quality of economic growth in some areas," Wang
told the paper.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Dollar Falls to Record Low Versus Euro on Concern Subprime Losses to Mount

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to a record low
versus the euro and headed for a sixth straight weekly drop as
concern increased that losses in subprime mortgages will worsen
a slowdown in U.S. housing and curb economic growth.

The currency also tumbled versus the yen as investors
exited riskier bets. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
said yesterday there will be ``significant financial losses'' on
mortgages given to people with poor credit histories.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News