The EU has bigger things to worry about than a downgrade of Italy - such as its own inevitable downgrade. That hasn't happened yet, has it? But it's GOT to be coming.
Sept. 20, 2011, 8:00 a.m. EDT
Euro shrugs off Italy downgrade
Dollar weakens as equities regain footing
By William L. Watts and Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar declined versus most major rivals Tuesday, with the euro bouncing back from a selloff triggered by Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Italy’s credit rating.
The euro traded at $1.3685, virtually unchanged from the level seen in late-afternoon North American trading on Monday after temporarily testing territory above the $1.37 level.
The euro tumbled in Asian trade after Standard & Poor’s late Monday cut its long-term sovereign credit ratings on Italy by one notch to A from A-plus. It also cut Italy’s short-term rating to A-1 from A-1-plus and left the country’s ratings on negative outlook. Read more about the Italian downgrade.
Michael Turner, fixed-income and currency strategist at RBC Capital, said the euro’s rebound followed talk of Italian-bond buying by the European Central Bank and reports that the Greek government fully paid 769 million euros in coupon payments that were due Tuesday.
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos is scheduled Tuesday night to continue a conference call with inspectors from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank over its next tranche of aid. The finance ministry said talks Monday night were “productive.”
A smaller-than-expected decline in the German ZEW gauge of investor sentiment also helped buoy the shared currency, Turner said. Read Market Pulse about Sept. ZEW decline.
Full story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-drops-vs-dollar-after-italy-downgrade-2011-09-19
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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