FX Market Overview

And then there was Andy. Elena Baltacha exits Wimbledon leaving Andy Murray to once again carry the hopes and dreams of a nation - no pressure Andy.
News of the death of “The King of Pop” Michael Jackson this morning at the age of 50 will have shocked many readers. In the later years he was often surrounded in controversy which overshadowed his music however one thing that could never be denied was his musical brilliance. I heard a chap who wrote a book about Jacko say on BBC radio this morning that he was as brilliant as Mozart or Beethoven - maybe.
On to another King, this one called Mervyn who is the Governor of the Bank of England who was accused by cabinet ministers of an “unholy alliance” with the Tories. A touch unfair really. He is being attacked for demanding tougher action to cut “extraordinary” levels of public borrowing. That’s not exactly unholy Darling, it’s simply prudent governance which most UK households practice every day.
Yesterday the good news from the US hit a brick wall as weekly jobless claims edged higher sending the US dollar higher as stock markets sold off and safe haven flows returned to the greenback.
The US Commerce Department yesterday revised US Q1 GDP growth up from an annualised figure of -5.7% to -5.5%. New Zealand on the other hand released their Q1 GDP overnight revealing a -1.0% contraction compared with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) estimate of a -0.3%.contraction in growth. This is now the longest recession in New Zealand’s history and reinforces our view that interest rates in NZ will not rise until 2011.
The kiwi dollar sold off a little on this weaker figure but it still remains 4% up on the week against the US dollar. This is of major concern to the RBNZ as a strong NZD arguably poises the single biggest threat to economic recovery in Aotearoa.
Today the focus turns once again to the US with the release of US May personal spending and income at 13:30pm, and then at 15:00pm the final June University of Michigan consumer confidence index.

Police in Columbia, Missouri, have captured an inmate who enjoyed two days of freedom after escaping from jail thanks to a cardboard toilet roll holder. Curtis Jones apparently managed to fold it and jam it in the lock to his closing cell door and scarpered when warders moved to other parts of the jail. Obviously a man who watched a lot of Blue Peter and MacGyver on TV as a boy.

Have a great weekend, and good luck with the weather. According to conflicting weather reports, it’s either going to be hot with heavy rain or hot and sunny. My glass is currently half fill therefore I reckon it will be a scorcher with a little rain to cool down those of us without a pool.