US market yields moved down somewhat during the second half of previous week but remain elevated and the bond market seems to be the key for further developments, certainly for currencies and perhaps for other markets as well. The yields rose along the curve (except the short end which seems to be obvious keeping in mind that interest rate hikes aren’t anywhere on the horizon yet) despite Fed efforts and along improving macroeconomic picture. Recovery signals combined with a super-lax economic policy (including a recent fiscal push) actually make markets worried about a necessary tightening in the future. T

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Dec. 20 () – Crane Group, the Australian plumbing supply chain and plastic piping company, has pooh-poohed a takeover tilt from Fletcher Building Ltd.

In a statement to the ASX, the company’s board said the A$9.35 a share offer made up of A$3.43 cash and one Fletcher share was “inadequate and undervalues the company.”

A successful offer, which values the target at A$740 million, would make Fletcher’s Australian business bigger than the local unit, which Crane says isn’t reflected in the price.

“The offer does not take into account the substantial synergies expected to be available to Fletcher Building as a result of the acquisition,” Crane said. “Fletcher Build

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() December 15 – Stocks on Wall Street and in Europe extended recent gains on signs of better-than-expected consumer spending in the world’s largest economy.

Data showed that sales at U.S. retailers rose more than forecast in November, while optimism among small businesses climbed to the highest level in three years.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, while the S&P 500 Index gained 0.39% and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.37%.

The jump in retail sales is “indicative of an economy that is beginning to recover some strength,” Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois, told Reuters.

Investors were waiting for the Fed’s latest take on the economy. Policy ma

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Australian Dollar: Reports from Australia revealed business confidence had declined from the previous month while the number of new homes for the 3rd quarter contracted by -13.2%. The Aussie dipped to an intra-day low of 0.9940 against the Greenback upon release of the data. Following the release the pair traded tightly, hovering between 0.9940-0.9965 before moving offshore.  Demand for risk improved overnight following economic data indicating continued improvements in economic conditions around the world. Improvements in European sentiment and strong US retail sales figures bolstered investor confidence, propelling the Aussie to a fresh 4 week high of 1.002 US Dollars.

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Australian Dollar:  The Aussie rallied quite sharply on Thursday hitting an intraday high of 0.9880 on the back of stronger-than-expected jobs data. The Australian economy added a total of 54,600 positions in November – the most since January – for an unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent, down from the previous month’s level of 5.4 per cent. The unit climbed from 0.9780 as investors speculate that interest rates may need to rise in the first quarter of 2011. This was a different tune to Tuesday when RBA governor Glenn Stevens suggested that rates “in the economy are now a little above average”. During the

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Dec. 9 () – Broadlands Finance Ltd., the auto-financier controlled by Tony Radisich, had its credit rating cut two notches to B by Standard & Poor’s as the post-government-guarantee finance sector gets shakier.

S&P analyst Peter Sikora said the lender, which missed out on securing a strong enough credit rating to get into the extended guarantee scheme, has a “weak liquidity position, vulnerable funding profile and high-risk loan portfolio” which prompted the downgrade. He also put it on a negative outlook. About 60% of the firm’s loans were in default as at Aug. 31, and B

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Dec. 3 () – The Securities Commission says it has initiated 50 separate investigations, prosecutions, or referrals to other authorities in relation to the recent spate of finance company collapses.

Stung by suggestions from one of the country’s top lawyers, Bell Gully chairman Roger Partridge, that it “nodded off” during the finance company collapses, the commission released a list showing some 24 finance companies, including Hanover, Geneva, Equitable, South Canterbury and others less well-known, are the subject of continuing investigations.

In another 14 cases, charges have been laid and court action is pending, including against such well-known names as Bridgecorp, Capital & Merchant, Five Start, Nathans, and Lombard Finance.

The commission listed a further 12 finance companies, whose activities had been referred to another enforcement agency or, in eight cases, closed. In ever

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