CURRENCY TRADING INFOR

(RTTNews) – The Kenyan shilling strengthened to a new multi-month high against the dollar during early deals on Wednesday. The Kenyan currency reached a high of 63.50 per dollar by about 2:30 am ET. The dollar-shilling pair that closed yesterday’s trading at 64.05 is now worth 63.70.

The US Federal Reserve lowered its interest rates by 75 basis points to 2.25% yesterday to help the economy falling from a recession. In an accompanying statement, the Fed noted that inflation has been elevated, and some indicators of inflation expectations have risen.

The Fed reduced its benchmark rate to the lowest level in more than three years. The central bank has cut the rate six times and slashed the discount rate for direct loans to banks eight times since the middle of August 2007, when the collapse of sub prime mortgages started to affect markets around the world.

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NEW YORK 12/8/07 � The dollar fell against the euro. The 15-nation currency bought $1.4729 in afternoon trading in Europe, up from $1.4696 late Monday in New York.A cheap dollar can make commodities more attractive as an alternative investment, and can also raise demand from foreign buyers as their currencies gain strength.

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(RTTNews) – The Swiss currency was mostly uncertain in trading against its counterparts on Wednesday morning in New York, though it saw some strength against the pound. The franc traded with little economic news from the area.

The Swiss franc saw little direction in trading against its American counterpart on Wednesday. As action moved into the mid morning, the currency held between a high of 0.9917 and a low of 0.9980. The pair moved ahead of crude inventory data due out later in the day. On Thursday, jobless claims for the week of March 15 will be released, along with Leading indicators for February and the Philadelphia Fed survey for March. Markets are closed Friday and will re-open Monday.

In trading against the sterling on Wednesday, the Swiss franc saw some strength into the mid morning.

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FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) – The European Central Bank said net foreign currency reserves in the eurosystem rose by 300 mln eur to 138.3 bln in the week to March 14, compared with the previous week.

The ECB said banknotes in circulation within the eurosystem — comprised of the ECB and the central banks of euro zone countries — rose by 1.4 bln eur to 658.7 bln.

The bank said gold and gold receivables fell by 40 mln eur to 201.192 bln eur, which mainly reflected the sale of gold by one eurosystem central bank.

judith.csaba@thomson.com

jcs/sal

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008.

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NEW YORK – Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s biggest investment banks, reported a lower first-quarter profit Wednesday but strong stock and bond trading pushed its results above Wall Street projections.

Its shares rose $4.02, or 9.2 percent, to $46.88 in morning trading, following a 17 percent gain in Tuesday’s market rally.

The company said it earned $1.53 billion after preferred dividends, or $1.45 per share, down 42 percent from $2.66 billion, or $2.17 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 17 percent to $8.3 billion from $10 billion a year earlier.

But the lower results easily topped analysts’ expectations for a profit of $1.03 per share on $7.19 billion of revenue, according to Thomson Financial.

John Mack, Morgan Stanley’s chairman and chief executive, said the investment house known for its trading prowess “effectively capitalized on market opportunities and aggressively managed our positions.”

Wall Street’s biggest investment banks have suffered this year amid a deepening credit crisis, highlighted on Sunday when Bear Stearns Cos.

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(RTTNews) – During early Asian trading on Wednesday, the Canadian currency climbed to a 5-day high against the yen due to across the board weakening of the yen. The yen dropped as rally in stock prices encouraged investors to buy higher yielding assets with money borrowed from Japan.

The loonie also showed strength against its US and European counterparts and reached 2-day highs. But the loonie slipped against the aussie during this time period.

The loonie that closed yesterday’s trading at 0.9926 against the greenback reached a 2-day high of 0.9889 at about 6:45 pm ET. The next upside target level for the loonie is seen around 0.983 against the greenback.

The US Federal Reserve lowered its interest rates by 75 basis points to 2.25% yesterday to help the economy falling from a recession.

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FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- The dollar’s role as a reserve and trading currency makes it particularly important to avoid foreign exchange volatility against the euro, European Central Bank governing council member Yves Mersch told the Reuters news agency.

“The dollar is an international currency with a special responsibility, and, …, we would certainly in this respect need to avoid excessive movements and disorderly developments,” Mersch said in an interview Monday, published Tuesday.

Mersch said the impact of the U.S. dollar’s exchange rate development goes beyond transatlantic ties and is of global importance.

Mersch, who is also governor of Luxembourg’s central bank, repeated that U.S. authorities have said they recognize the value of a strong dollar.

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(RTTNews) – The Swiss currency was mostly uncertain in trading against its counterparts on Wednesday morning in New York, though it saw some strength against the pound. The franc traded with little economic news from the area.

The Swiss franc saw little direction in trading against its American counterpart on Wednesday. As action moved into the mid morning, the currency held between a high of 0.9917 and a low of 0.9980. The pair moved ahead of crude inventory data due out later in the day. On Thursday, jobless claims for the week of March 15 will be released, along with Leading indicators for February and the Philadelphia Fed survey for March. Markets are closed Friday and will re-open Monday.

In trading against the sterling on Wednesday, the Swiss franc saw some strength into the mid morning.

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Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer told Bloomberg yesterday that the central bank would not intervene in the future in foreign currency markets without announcing it first.

In a television interview from his Jerusalem office with the business news agency, Fischer defended the intervention, saying that he was pleased with the results as of now.

Turning to the crisis in the U.S., Fischer said that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has the skills to guide the U.S. economy through a credit squeeze, now in its eighth month.
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TORONTO (Dow Jones)–The Canadian dollar is moderately lower but still within the limits of its established trading range early Wednesday, as the currency registers some limited reaction to substantial falls for commodity prices such as oil and gold, and also a generally more robust global tone for the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar was trading at C$0.9972 at 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 GMT), from C$0.9969 at 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) and C$0.9921 late Tuesday. Movements in the Canadian dollar continue to be a minor side-show when set against the convulsive movements in other asset markets recently, with traders describing light, flow-driven activity. But the Canadian currency has weakened off since overnight trading in line with the steep pullbacks for oil and especially gold prices, as well as more stable conditions for the U.S.

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