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NEW YORK, (Reuters) - The euro again targeted record highs against the dollar on Monday after higher-than-forecast euro-zone price data reinforced expectations that the inflation-focused European Central Bank will not start cutting rates soon. Read more

MANILA — The Philippines will explore the Canadian housing finance system in a bid to create a system for securitization of housing mortgage in the country, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Quoting a report from the Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose Brillantes, the DFA said on Wednesday that a senior level delegation from the National Housing Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) visited Canada from March 17 to 19 and met with officials of Canada Mortgage and Housing Finance Corporation (CMHC).

The department said that the NHMFC was tapping CHMC’s expertise and experience in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and as the leading provider of liquidity in Canada’s housing markets, a role similar to the one envisioned by NHMFC.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Finance Corporation (CMHC) is Canada’s national housing agency, and premier provider of mortgage loan, mortgage-backed securities, housing policy and programs and housing policy research. It has globally recognized expertise in housing finance, mortgage funding, capital markets policy, business development and new products, strategic planning, international housing policy and evaluation and legal and default management.

DFA Spokesperson Claro Cristobal said that during the three-day workshop-meeting, the officials of both housing agencies discussed and exchanged views on all aspects of securitization, its evolution and development, challenges, market analysis, funding, legal infrastructure, risk management, among others.

The members of the Philippine delegation came from the Department of Finance, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), National Housing Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC), and Home Develoment Mutual Fund (HDMF). They included Undersecretary Jeremias N. Paul, Jr., Lucille P. Ortille, lawyer Joseph Sison, Gonzalo A. Bongolan, lawyer Romeo S. Quimbo, laywer Rene N. Carreon, Daisy S. Dulay, lawyer Daniel Q. Lacuata, Rosabella C. Jose and Virgei A. Paz.

Brillantes hosted a dinner for the delegation at the “Tahanang Rizal,” the ambassador’s Official Residence, which was also attended by embassy officers and staff. A reception in honor of the Philippine delegates was also hosted by Pierre David, Executive Director of CHMC International.

By Cynthia Balana
Philippine Daily Inquirer

At the Islamic Business Law session during the recently concluded conference of the Section on Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association, participants discussed how to strengthen the national economy through providing Shari’ah compliant business solutions in the arena of Islamic financial services. OLUFEMI SUNMONU who coordinated the session reports
Read more

The MOU sets the stage for the cross-border marketing and distribution of Islamic funds.

Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission has signed an Islamic finance pact with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

The memorandum of understanding calls for mutual cooperation on capacity building and human capital development in Islamic finance, as well as the promotion and development of their respective Islamic capital market segments. Read more

This is an excerpt from a Market Insight comment that Elliott Wave International’s Senior Currency Strategist Jim Martens posted for his Currency Specialty Service readers on April 1: Read more

The U.S. dollar was trading firmer against major currencies in Asian afternoon trade on Friday as investors braced themselves ahead of the release of U.S. jobs data for March later tonight.

At 12:20 p.m. (0415 GMT), the U.S. dollar was trading at 102.62 yen, up from 102.32 yen in Sydney this morning. The euro was at $1.5653, down from $1.5662 in Sydney. Read more

The dollar fell on Friday after a report showed the U.S. economy shed jobs for a third straight month, confirming fears that the country may already be in a recession.

Both the euro and yen posted gains on the greenback after the government said U.S. employers cut 80,000 jobs in March, more than expected and the biggest monthly fall in five years. Read more

Image credit to The Westin

Japanese and eurozone finance ministers called for G7 finance leaders meeting next week to seek a curb on excessive exchange-rate movements, amid growing concern over the economic effects of a sliding dollar. Read more

The US dollar was trading mixed against major currencies on Wednesday morning in Sydney,
following overnight losses after the release of soggy economic data.

The US Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 64.5 in March from 76.4 in February — the lowest reading since March 2003 and well below the 73.5 reading the market had expected.

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s (NYSE:MHP) /Case-Shiller home price index indicated that US home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, the steepest drop since data was first collected in 1987.

At 10.15 am (2315 GMT) the dollar was at 100.13 yen from 100.52 in late trading in New York while the euro was at 1.5611 dollars from 1.5651 dollars.

Overnight, the dollar weakened against the euro after European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos said euro zone inflation developments are ‘unsatisfactory’, adding that the ECB governing council is committed to ensuring that the objective of price stability is achieved in the medium term.

John Noonan at Thomson IFR said Papademos’ statements were not helpful to the dollar which had made some gains on Monday on better US economic data.

Noonan said in a fairly quiet session the dollar bounced to a high of 100.67 yen in Europe before dropping to 99.64 as softer data was released in the US.

He said high-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar also slipped on risk-aversion selling after the weak US data but improved as Wall Street recovered from its lows for the session.

The Australian dollar dipped to 91.05 US cents but then recovered to trade in a range of 91.70
to 91.75 cents.

Noonan said the mostly positive sentiment on equity markets overnight despite the poor US
economic data should extend into the Asian session.

‘Overall, it looks like an Asian session of range trading, with a US dollar negative bias,’ he said.

Sydney 10.10 am (2310 GMT)
US dollar
yen 100.13
sfr 1.0082
Euro
usd 1.5611
stg 0.7796
yen 156.24
sfr 1.5752
Sterling
usd 2.0029
yen 200.38
sfr 2.0210
Australian dollar
usd 0.9163
stg 0.4575
yen 91.655
New Zealand dollar
0.8052
bruce.hextall@thomson.com
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The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

Source: CNN Money

Forex - Japanese Currency Slightly Higher In Asian Trading [USD/JPY]

3/26/2008 12:52:41 AM Wednesday in Asia, the Japanese yen traded slightly higher against its major counterparts.

According to data released today by the Finance Ministry, Japan’s February trade surplus increased 0.9% over one year earlier. The increase was the first in four months, but came in below economists’ forecasts. The February surplus increased to 970 billion yen (US$9.69 billion), compared to analysts’ estimates of a 16.8% increase to 1.123 trillion yen.

Additionally, Japan’s corporate service price index increased 0.3% in February. The index reading for February was 94.1 percent compared to 93.8 percent for January. Read more