Despite strong quarterly earnings reports from tech giants Apple and IBM, the dollar remains weak across the board.
Apple followed up Tuesday’s (January 18) disappointing news that CEO Steve Jobs would be taking another medical leave of absence with impressive first quarter earnings.
The company announced fiscal net income that was higher by 78 per cent compared to its first quarter in 2010. The major catalyst for the holiday season performance was the sale of 7.3 million iPads, over one million more than had been projected.
IBM beat analyst expectations by reporting …

UK Jobless claims are expected to remain flat in December after falling 1.2k in November. The claimant count is also expected to stay stable at 4.5%. Sterling has in recent days seen an aggressive rally on expectations that interest rates will have to go up to combat inflationary pressures. However today’s news could see a correction in Sterling’s gains as the currency stands at a crossroads ahead of what is expected to be a dismal jobless claims report.

Sterling has made significant gains in trade today as UK consumer prices rose to 3.7% vs an expected 3.4%. Inflation in the UK now stands at the highest level since April last year and is forecast to remain above the Bank of England’s 3% target for the near term. The recent VAT increase is expected to further weigh on consumer prices possibly extending inflation to a rate of more than 4% by February.

Last week saw a mixed bag of news for the UK economy and the British Pound. UK Retail Sales expanded at a slower pace than expected, The UK trade deficit widened and the BoE held both interest rates and the QE program at £200bn.

Yesterday both the ECB and the BoE announced that interest rates are to remain on hold for the time being. Markets are however starting to price in future changes due to headline inflation rates currently coming in above target in both sectors. Jean Claude Trichet indicated in yesterdays post meeting press conference that interest rates will have to be reviewed despite problems with sovereign debt and liquidity due to mounting inflationary pressures. Data released this morning from the eurozone is expected to show that inflation has risen to 2.2% in …

The Euro traded fairly sideways in opening trade this morning ahead of Italy and Spain’s bond auctions and the key interest rate announcements from the ECB and the Bank of England. markets also eagerly awaited the ECB press conference and news on monetary policy for the Eurozone moving forwards into 2011.