Russia at the Edge of the Precipice, AUD hits 5-Year Lows, No Joy for Oil
December 17, 2014 7:17 am
An uneasy hush settled over Asian markets on Wednesday as a brewing financial crisis in Russia and the rout in oil prices sent investors scurrying for the cover of top-rated bonds. Yields on British, German and Japan sovereign debt had all hit record lows while long-dated U.S. and Australian yields reached their lowest since 2012. U.S. stocks fell for a third day in a volatile session on Tuesday, led by declines in consumer discretionary and technology shares, while another drop in the Russian rouble added to worries about the global economy. The Dow closed down 111 points at 17,068 while the S&P500 closed at 1,977.
The urge to close leveraged positions caused collateral damage to the Dollar as investors had been very long on the currency in anticipation of further gains, and helped the Euro up to $1.2510. The rush from risk tended to benefit the safe haven Yen, with the Dollar back at 116.79 having been atop 118.00 on Tuesday. The commodity linked Australian Dollar also took a dive to a five-year trough of $0.8157.
There was no respite for oil as Brent leaked another 66 cents to $59.35 a barrel in Asia on Wednesday, while U.S. crude lost $1.12 to $54.81.
British telecoms group BT’s plan to buy UK mobile operator EE for 12.5 billion pounds ($19.7 billion) should be completed by the end of 2015 or early 2016, said a senior executive of French group Orange which owns half of the business. BTs stock was down 0.7% in early trade at 401p per share.
An uneasy hush settled over Asian markets on Wednesday as a brewing financial crisis in Russia and the rout in oil prices sent investors scurrying for the cover of top-rated bonds. Yields on British, German and Japan sovereign debt had all hit record lows while long-dated U.S. and Australian yields reached their lowest since 2012. U.S. stocks fell for a third day in a volatile session on Tuesday, led by declines in consumer discretionary and technology shares, while another drop in the Russian rouble added to worries about the global economy. The Dow closed down 111 points at 17,068 while the S&P500 closed at 1,977.
The urge to close leveraged positions caused collateral damage to the Dollar as investors had been very long on the currency in anticipation of further gains, and helped the Euro up to $1.2510. The rush from risk tended to benefit the safe haven Yen, with the Dollar back at 116.79 having been atop 118.00 on Tuesday. The commodity linked Australian Dollar also took a dive to a five-year trough of $0.8157.
There was no respite for oil as Brent leaked another 66 cents to $59.35 a barrel in Asia on Wednesday, while U.S. crude lost $1.12 to $54.81.
British telecoms group BT’s plan to buy UK mobile operator EE for 12.5 billion pounds ($19.7 billion) should be completed by the end of 2015 or early 2016, said a senior executive of French group Orange which owns half of the business. BTs stock was down 0.7% in early trade at 401p per share.
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