Forex News and Rumors – Afternoon Update

Wall Street sinks as bank shares tumble
Stocks slid on Monday on concerns over the sustainability of recent better-than-expected results from banks after Bank of America Corp reported a big increase in troubled loans.

Wall Street’s tumble follows a six-week winning streak, the longest for the S&P 500 since 2007, with the Dow scoring its biggest gain over the period since 1938. More

Debt overshadows US bank’s profit
Concerns about debt levels at Bank of America have overshadowed its better than expected profits for the first three months of 2009.
The US’s largest bank set aside $13.4bn (£9.2bn) to cover credit losses, from the fourth quarter’s $8.5bn. More

Canadian Dollar Tumbles to One-Week Low as Stocks, Crude Fall
Canada’s currency dropped to the lowest in more than a week as stocks and crude oil fell and the Bank of Canada prepared to make a decision on interest rates and issue a report on monetary policy.

The currency fell for a third day as the U.S. dollar strengthened. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 3.4 percent on speculation it has moved too high too quickly. The equities gauge wrapped up its steepest six-week gain since 1938 on April 17. Crude for May delivery tumbled as much as 8.5 percent to $46.05 a barrel. The Canadian dollar tends to track swings in stocks and commodity prices. More

In Shift, Obama Doesn’t Plan to Reopen Nafta Talks
The Obama administration said on Monday that it had no plans to reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement to revise its labor and environmental provisions, as then-Senator Barack Obama promised to do during his presidential campaign. “The president has said we will look at all of our options, but I think they can be addressed without having to reopen the agreement,” said Ronald Kirk, the United States trade representative. More

‘Worst of UK recession is over,’ says CBI
The CBI said today that the worst of the UK recession was over but warned that there would be no recovery until this time next year.

The business group said that the recession worsened more quickly than expected in the first three months of 2009.

It expects the speed at which the economy is contracting to slow in the second half of this year.More

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