Australia, New Zealand Dollars Decline as Carry Trades Cut on Stock Slide

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian and New Zealand
dollars fell a second day against the yen as global stocks slid
on concern U.S. mortgage losses will worsen, deterring investors
from buying higher-yielding assets funded by loans in Japan.

New Zealand's dollar has weakened 7.5 percent versus the
yen in the past month, the most among the 16 most-active
currencies, and Australia's retreated 4.8 percent, as traders
pared positions in so-called carry trades. Asian shares declined
today after The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell the most in
five months in New York on Aug. 3.


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Japan's Shares Drop on U.S. Economy Concern, Stronger Yen; Sony Leads Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks declined, led by Sony
Corp. and Canon Inc., on concern losses in the U.S. mortgage
market may slow the world's biggest economy.

Exporters also fell after the yen strengthened to a four-
month high against the dollar, eroding the value of their dollar-
denominated sales.


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Dollar Approaches Record Low Versus Euro After Decline in Payroll Growth

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell the most in almost a
month against the euro, trading within a cent of its record low,
after U.S. reports showed slowdowns in payroll growth and service
industries.

The U.S. currency also declined versus the yen and pound as
speculation rose that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates
by year-end, trading in futures contracts show. The yen gained
after investors sold higher-yielding assets funded by loans in
Japan amid concern over losses from U.S. subprime mortgages.


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Rand softer vs dollar as risk aversion weighs

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was weaker against the dollar in late Friday trade -- giving up its earlier gains -- as the greenback's own softness against the yen brought risky-asset jitters back to the fore.

At around 1510 GMT, the rand was trading at 7.1135 against the dollar, down 0.33 percent from New York's Thursday close of 7.09, having earlier strengthened to 7.0360 as some market players liquidated long dollar positions.


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Dollar May Rise to 120.90 Yen on a Break of 119.49 on Fibonacci, MUFG Says

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may rise to 120.90 yen
should it pass 119.49 yen in coming weeks, Masashi Hashimoto, a
currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., said.

Traders may accelerate buying of the U.S. currency as it
rises above so-called resistance at 119.49, which represents the
previous high set on July 31, near the conversion line on the
so-called ichimoku chart, Hashimoto said. The next resistance at
120.90 is a 50 percent reversal of the dollar's climb to a high
of 124.13 reached on June 22 from a low of 117.60 on Aug. 1,
based on the Fibonacci series of numbers.


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Tunisia's Central Bank Offers Higher Yield in 30 Billion Yen Samurai Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Banque Centrale de Tunisie, the
central bank of the Republic of Tunisia, sold 30 billion yen
($253 million) of bonds denominated in yen, offering a wider
spread to investors than originally planned.

The bank priced the 20-year bonds to yield 75 basis points
more than the yen swap rate, according to an e-mail sent to
investors today. It had planned to offer a spread of between 52
basis points and 57 basis points, according to an e-mail sent to
investors on July 27. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Gold regains footing, Tokyo futures jump as yen dips

(Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Tuesday after sentiment for the metal improved following a recovery in U.S. shares the previous day, while Japanese gold futures jumped nearly 1 percent due to the yen's dip against the dollar.

Cash platinum rose sharply on technical buying due to the strength in Tokyo platinum futures, which also rose because the yen dropped.


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Platinum Futures Fall Daily Limit in Tokyo on Rising Yen, Demand Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures in Tokyo declined
by the daily limit to a two-month low as a rising yen against
the dollar reduced the value of yen-denominated futures, and
amid concern that platinum usage in autocatalysts may decline.

The yen rose to the highest in more than three months
versus the dollar on July 27 as a fall in stocks caused traders
to repay Japanese currency loans used to fund high-yielding
investments.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Drops on Subprime Concerns; Topix Climbs on Earnings

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
dropped after U.S. residential investment slumped, raising
concern the world's largest economy will slow.

Canon Inc. slid 2.6 percent, leading exporters lower after
the yen advanced to the highest against the dollar in more than
three months, reducing the value of their overseas sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Canadian Dollar Declines as Traders Speculate Subprime Losses Will Spread

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar fell for a third
straight day as stocks were poised to extend their losses and
investors unwound risky bets in commodity-linked currencies.

The Canadian currency fell 0.54 percent to 94.40 U.S. cents
at 8:20 a.m. in Toronto. The currency dropped 1.13 percent
yesterday, its biggest decline in 13 months. One U.S. dollar
buys C$1.0593. Canada's dollar dropped 0.34 percent to 112.25
yen.


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Risk aversion sends high yielders tumbling

(Reuters) - High yielding currencies fell sharply in volatile markets on Friday as an overnight sell-off in credit and stock markets led investors to pare risky carry trades.

The rise in risk aversion originally sent the low-yielding yen to a three-month high against the dollar and a six-week high versus the euro. But the Japanese currency's gains proved short-lived, in part due to soft retail sales data from Japan and also because of a recovery in European stock markets.


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Gold rebounds after sell-off, Tokyo hits 1-mth low

(Reuters) - -- Most active June 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 75 yen per gram to 2,521 yen, having fallen to an intraday low of 2,566 yen -- the lowest level since June 27.




-- The most active December contract on the recently launched "mini" gold futures contract <0#JAM:> fell 74 yen per gram to 2,557 yen.


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UPDATE 1-Nintendo jumps in market value on earnings fever

(Reuters) - Nintendo's stock climbed 8.8 percent or by its daily limit
of 5,000 yen to end at a record 618,000 yen, adding to a 3.5
percent gain made on Wednesday after its earnings announcement.




The Kyoto-based company lifted its annual outlook above
market expectations after quarterly operating profit more than
tripled, as its strategy to expand the gaming population to
women and the elderly paid off handsomely.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Sony Q1 profit more than trebles on digicam, yen

(Reuters) - Sony, which competes with Canon Inc. in digital cameras and Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. Ltd. in video games, earned an operating profit of 99.32 billion yen in April-June, up from 27.05 billion yen a year earlier.



This is a turnaround from an operating loss of 113.4 billion yen in the previous three months, when Sony booked losses at its once high-flying game unit.


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Yen May Rebound as Volatility Erodes Carry Trades, Shinko's Suzuki Says

(Bloomberg) -- The yen may gain to more than a two-
month high of 119.50 against the dollar as rising options
volatility prompts traders to exit carry trades, said Kengo
Suzuki, currency strategist at Shinko Securities Co. in Tokyo.

``Investors aren't being compensated enough for the risk of
putting on dollar-yen carry trades,'' said Suzuki. ``It's
possible for the yen to head higher against the dollar and this
could spread to other currencies.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japanese Stocks May Slip as U.S. Shares Fall on Housing Concern, Yen Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may slip after U.S.
shares fell the most in four months as earnings from the largest
mortgage provider in the U.S., Countrywide Financial Corp.,
prompted concern the subprime loan problem is spreading.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
may lead declines by companies that get a large proportion of
their earnings from the U.S. market, aggravated by a stronger yen.


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Japanese Corporate Bond Risk Approaching a Peak, JPMorgan Chase Forecasts

(Bloomberg) -- The price to protect Japanese debt
from default is close to a peak because there will be a limited
impact on the economy from U.S. mortgage defaults, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Investors should sell credit-default swaps tied to 1 billion
yen ($8.3 million) of debt in the iTraxx Japan Series 7 Index
once the price reaches 3 million yen, said Mana Nakazora, chief
credit analyst at JPMorgan in Tokyo. The cost to guard against
defaults among 50 investment-grade companies on the index rose to
2.74 million yen yesterday from 1.6 million yen on May 17,
according to Credit Suisse Group.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

New Zealand Dollar Declines as U.S. Stocks Prompt Trimming of Risky Bets

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar dropped from
near a 22-year high as declining U.S. stocks and concern about
losses tied to that nation's housing and mortgage market
prompted some investors to unwind riskier bets.

The currency, known as the kiwi, is a favorite for the
carry trade, where investors borrow cheaply in yen to put their
funds in countries that offer higher yields. New Zealand's
record 8 percent benchmark interest rate is 7.5 percentage
points higher than Japan's, luring traders to the higher returns
offered by the nation's fixed income assets.


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Dollar hits record low vs euro on subprime woes

(Reuters) - The dollar fell to a record low against the euro on Monday and a six-week low against the yen, hurt by continuing worries about the U.S. subprime mortgage sector and some unwinding of yen carry trades.

The yen seesawed, sliding broadly in early Asian trading and hitting record lows against the euro in a move that traders attributed to speculative buying of sterling against the yen.


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Gold holds steady on weaker dollar, Tokyo dips

(Reuters) - Gold was mostly steady on Monday as the dollar fell to a record low against the euro and a six-week low against the yen, while Tokyo gold futures gave up earlier gains and fell.

The dollar was hurt by continuing worries about the U.S. subprime mortgage sector and some unwinding of yen carry trades, which involves the selling of low-yielding currencies, such as the yen, to invest in higher-yielding currencies and assets.


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