Yen Weakens as Japan Stocks Gain on BOJ; Pound Falls on Moody’s

HONG KONG -- The yen fell and Japanese stocks rose amid speculation Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will name Haruhiko Kuroda as central bank governor. The pound weakened after Moody’s Investors Service cut the U.K.’s credit rating. The yen dropped 0.9 % to 94.23 per dollar at 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, its lowest level since May 2010. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.7 % to its highest since September 2008. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 %. The pound retreated against all but one of its major peers, and dropped 0.4 % to $1.5110. Abe probably will present Kuroda to the Japanese Diet in the middle of this week, Kyodo news reported, citing unidentified government sources. China’s manufacturing sustained its expansion in February, according to economists’ estimates ahead of a release today from HSBC Holdings Plc. Italians are voting in an election with initial estimates of the result due shortly after 3 p.m. in Rome, when the second day of balloting ends. “In the coming week, the key focus will be the announcement of Prime Minister Abe’s new Bank of Japan governor nominee,” Michael Kurtz, global head of equity strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong, wrote in a report. “Whoever is appointed will have marching orders to push forward with the aggressive monetary easing already underway.” Appointing Kuroda, 68, may help Abe to follow through on his pledge to counter more than a decade of deflation, a prospect that has already driven down the yen and triggered a stock rally. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and two deputy governors will step aside next month. Japan’s five-year government bond yield fell to 0.125 %, the lowest since February 2000, on speculation the BOJ will buy longer-dated debt. The central bank has “really substantial room” for loosening and additional measures could be justified this year, Kuroda said in a Feb. 11 interview. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he won’t give in to opposition calls to change his economic policy after Moody’s decision to strip the U.K. of its Aaa status. U.S. and French gilt yields are lower than when they were downgraded over the past two years. (Bloomberg/msw)



If you're #smart enough to make #money in your life, do the 2nd smartest thing: Join the #UCO today http://www.uconnective.com

To Signup you must have a #UCO coin, you can #BUY it with only $3 from ClickAlert or Send e-mail at clickalert@ymail.com or Call/SMS to +1 (202) 599-1808 and start earning $51 per day!