United States forex news

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The US trade deficit rose 2.3 pct in May to 60.0 bln usd as Americans imported more and more expensive oil and other commodities.Economists were looking for a 60.0 bln usd deficit, expecting imports to recover from their April slide...

NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's consumers, uninspired by this season's fashions and rattled by high gas prices and the weak housing market, shopped gingerly last month, extending the misery of retailers who have struggled with a spending slowdown since February...

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 12,000 last week, the Labor Department said today.Labor said 308,000 new claims were filed for the week ending July 7, down from the revised 320,000 from the prior week...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The euro continued to post fresh all-time highs against the dollar, supported by an unexpected upward revision to first quarter GDP growth and robust industrial production figures.First quarter euro zone GDP was revised up to show a 0...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic lawmakers on Thursday are expected to propose raising taxes on tobacco products to fund a health care program, potentially posing a threat to Philip Morris, Reynolds American Inc. and other cigarette maker investors.Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus is scheduled to release his proposal for expanding the government program that provides health care to 6 million children who don't qualify for Medicaid but whose families cannot afford insurance...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil rose in light early trade after yesterday's report on US fuel stockpiles failed to alleviate concerns over the supply of both crude and refined products in the US.Oil dipped slightly last night after inventory data from the Energy Information Administration showed a larger than expected rise in gasoline stocks and a bigger draw on crude, but retraced its losses this morning as supply concerns resurfaced...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The euro climbed to a fresh all-time high against the dollar after a hawkish European Central Bank monthly bulletin, amid ongoing concern about the US sub-prime mortgage market.The ECB said it is monitoring inflation risks closely and remains ready to raise interest rates further if necessary...

WASHINGTON (XFN-ASIA) - The United States said it is considering forging a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan but ruled out a free trade pact in the immediate future.The two sides raised the possibility of an investment accord during annual talks under a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which usually precedes a free trade pact...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The US dollar strengthened against the yen after the Bank of Japan on Thursday kept its overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.5 percent for the sixth straight meeting, as widely expected by the market.At 2.17 pm (0417 GMT) in Sydney, the dollar was trading at 122...

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The White House cut Wednesday its forecast of the federal budget deficit for the fiscal year ending September to 205 billion US dollars, saying an expanding economy will boost tax revenues.This means the deficit in this fiscal year is now expected to be 43 billion dollars or 18 percent smaller than last year's...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Private equity firms that sell shares to the public should be designated as investment companies, a category that would have meant more regulation for Blackstone Group, Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday.Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said during a House hearing that the Securities and Exchange Commission made a mistake last month when it refused to classify the New York-based Blackstone as an investment firm before it proceeded with its initial public offering...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress did not appear in any hurry on Wednesday to raise taxes on private equity firms and their wealthy executives, nor to regulate hedge funds more closely.At a Senate hearing, industry warnings that higher taxes on private equity partnerships could dry up venture capital were heeded by lawmakers from states where finance and technology are key to the economy...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators from states where finance and technology are key to the economy on Wednesday heeded industry warnings that efforts to raise taxes on private equity partnerships could dry up capital that spurs innovation.Congress is debating whether to force private equity groups and hedge funds -- and their managers -- to pay more taxes, but a wide swath of industries, including venture capitalists, is concerned that the effort could affect all companies set up as limited partnerships...

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - US Senators struggled Wednesday to figure out whether hedge fund and private equity managers were paying their fair share of taxes on their immense profits, and what if anything Congress should do about it.The Blackstone IPO, in particular, has prompted a populist reaction...

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - Members of the House today said they are worried about whether hedge funds are sufficiently regulated, but nonetheless appeared content to leave the issue in the hands of US regulators, as none warned of any pending legislation in this area...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers on Wednesday said tighter regulation of hedge funds may be necessary to protect ordinary investors from unforseen losses.That was the consensus among many Democrats, and some Republicans, at a House hearing focused on Bush administration recommendations for managing the economic risks posed by hedge funds and their high-dollar cousins, private equity firms...

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The new jobless claims number due out Thursday morning is as likely to raise as it is to reduce the confusion about what is going on in the US labour market.The expectation is another 316,000 new first-time claims for unemployment insurance...

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The recent widening of credit spreads is not yet posing a threat to most leveraged hedge funds or to the financial system, according to Federal Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh.Though the potential for systemic risk exists, he said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, "thus far the repricing of credit risk does not appear to have imposed significant strains on the financial system"...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The dollar continued to weaken further, touching new 26-year lows against the pound and staying near all-time lows against the euro, as a lack of hard data left the market focused on the troubled subprime mortgage market in the US...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil continued to trade lower on the day after US fuels inventory data showed gasoline stocks rose last week above market expectations.Motor fuel stocks rose by 1.2 mln barrels in the week to July 6 while crude stocks dipped by 1...