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Japan's monthly trade deficit hit a record in January after its recent aggressive monetary policy stance weakened its currency sharply. Exports rose in January, the first jump in eight months, as its goods became more affordable to foreign buyers

Gold futures took a tumble in electronic trading on Wednesday, with prices dropping below the key $1,600-an-ounce level as markets awaited a hefty data calendar from the U.S. Gold for delivery in April GCJ3 -1.08% fell $14.20 to $1,589.50 an ounce in

Bank of England's Sir Mervyn King outvoted on QE move Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King backed more action to boost the economy earlier this month, but was outvoted by his colleagues on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Minutes of the MPC's

Several Federal Reserve policy makers said the central bank should be ready to vary the pace of their $85 billion in monthly bond purchases amid a debate over the risks and benefits of further quantitative easing. The officials “emphasized that the

This is another ugly start to the day. Remember, yesterday the US took it on the chin. Commodities got crushed and stocks fell nicely on slightly hawkish Fed minutes. Today: the pain is in Europe. Flash PMI from across the Eurozone is coming in bad

Capital Market is undergoing its self-regulated Q1 reality check of pitting financial markets progress against the real economy. The discouraging story surrounding the global real economy has resulted in risk-off trading strategies winning out

Key points: Strongest rise in output since March 2011 New order growth remains strong, but slower than January Job creation at three-month low Input price inflation slows, but remains strong The Markit Flash U.S. ManufacturingPurchasing Managers’

After taking a cursory look at the recent 13-Fs filed by hedge funds, it became apparent that hedge funds were scaling back their exposures to gold. George Soros was among the big names that unloaded his position. According to Goldman Sachs' new

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was paid 374,124 euros ($493,694) last year, more than twice Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s $199,700 salary. The Frankfurt-based ECB published details of Draghi’s remuneration in its 2012

Germany will avoid recession and return to growth in the first quarter of 2013, the country's central bank has said. The Bundesbank's monthly report for February forecast that the rest of 2013 will see a gradual pick-up in activity in Europe's

The euro's exchange rate is not a policy target for the European Central Bank but it does pose a "downside risk" to inflation, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Monday. The euro hit a 15-month high against the dollar earlier this month, complicating

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi sought to take the heat out of a debate about currency wars on Monday but said the ECB would still have to assess the economic impact of the euro's strength. The euro hit a 15-month high against the dollar

The two most hated currencies in the world right now are: The Japanese Yen and The British Pound. In the case of the yen, the new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has come into power with an aggressive easing agenda (both monetary and fiscal). The yen has

This weekend’s G20meeting was supposed to shed light on the state of the so-called currency war–but instead its members acted as though one didn’t exist. Real or imagined, however, emerging-market investors ignore FX at their own risks. Talk of

Gold continues to tumble today after a brutal Friday session took the shiny yellow metal below $1600 per ounce. Over the past four months, it's fallen more than 10 percent from its October 4 high of $1798.10. In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank

I'm flying to Italy tomorrow night. I'll be spending 3 nights in Milan, and then 3 nights in Rome, all to cover the Italian election. Why is the Italian election worth covering? Well for one thing, elections are always fun events. But for another

Europe's two largest economies, Germany and France, both shrank markedly in the last three months of 2012, suggesting the euro zone has slipped deeper into recession. The German economy contracted by 0.6 percent on the quarter, official data showed

The recession in the 17-nation eurozone deepened sharply in the fourth quarter of 2012 as the debt crisis continued to sap growth and confidence, with the outlook remaining uncertain and weak, analysts said Thursday. Eurostat data showed the eurozone

" The large operator does not, as a rule, go into a campaign unless he sees in prospect a movement of from 10 to 50 points. Livermore once told me he never touched anything unless there were at least 10 points in it according to his calculations." So

European Central Bank council member Jens Weidmann said an appreciating euro alone won’t trigger a cut in interest rates and the exchange rate’s gains are justified by the economic outlook. The strength of the euro “is one factor among many in