Topic: Currencies

Earlier this month, I asked the leaders of a group of U.S-based companies what – if anything – they were doing to prepare for “Grexit”, or a possible exit of Greece from the euro zone. The responses from the manufacturers were rather vague. The FT reports.

Some of Europe’s biggest fund managers have confirmed they are dumping euro assets amid rising fears over a possible Greek exit from the eurozone and single currency turmoil, the Financial Times reports.

The euro wallowed at two-year lows against the dollar on Friday, weighed down by weak German manufacturing data which showed that no European state is immune from the ongoing debt crisis, which saw the currency tumble nearly 2 percent this week.

Japan's core consumer prices edged up in April from a year earlier due to higher energy prices, but the meager pace was a sign the fragile economy was still a long way from achieving the central bank's target of 1 percent inflation.

Greece's four largest banks will get an 18 billion euro capital injection by Friday or Monday, the country's central bank chief said.

Any Greek exit from the euro zone would pose a huge disruption with unforeseeable consequences, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said on Thursday.

There has been no global recession but negative sentiment and maximum uncertainty are clouding the reality of the situation, Frank Appel, Deutsche Post’s CEO told CNBC on “Worldwide Exchange.”

Joint bonds issued by the euro zone, also known as Eurobonds, are one of the possible solutions to Europe’s debt crisis, Joaquin Almunia, vice president of the European Commission told CNBC, “but many conditions would have to be met” before they were introduced.

Greece will leave the euro zone next year and the country's new currency will "immediately fall by 60 percent," according to Citi chief economist Willem Buiter.

Market correlations have once again been rising - with stocks, bonds and even gold dropping in recent weeks on worries about Greece. That's making it harder for investors to use traditional forms of portfolio diversification. Instead, according to one fund manager, investors should be looking at technical price patterns.

European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout programme.

The euro surrendered gains against the dollar in volatile trading on Thursday as investors positioned ahead of a long U.S. holiday weekend amid concerns about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone.

To the frustration of Mario Draghi the European Central Bank is once again being eyed as a possible saviour of Europe’s monetary union. The FT reports.

Egypt made history on Wednesday as it kicked off its first free presidential election and put its fragile democratic transition to the test. Just over 50 million eligible citizens are expected to cast their votes over the course of two days.

The Indian rupee dropped to a record low against the dollar on Wednesday, sparking mild intervention from a central bank seen by traders as reluctant to be more aggressive against such a strong down trend.