Market News

The fallout from the U.S. downgrade continues at a rapid clip; a full 24-hour cycle has passed, with Asian, then European and finally, U.S. markets all suffering from sell-off fever.

Following Friday’s announcement by Standard & Poor’s rating agency that the U.S. credit rating was to be downgraded to AA+ from their top-of-the-line AAA rating, the U.S. Dollar is under heavy pressure.

As analysts had previously suggested, the effects of the intervention efforts by the Swiss National Bank were short-lived.

Earlier in the Asian trading session, the Bank of Japan followed through on earlier hints that an intervention in the Yen’s rise would be forthcoming.

Continued market jitteriness and risk version is sending investors to the safe haven currencies at the expense of the Euro and AUD.

For the second consecutive day, the Euro declined against the U.S. Dollar and the Swiss Franc as investors focus is being drawn to recent data

After U.S. President Barack Obama announced late last night that the U.S. legislature had finally hammered out a deal which would raise the U.S. debt ceiling and ensure that a U.S. default would not occur

With Moody’s credit agency now reviewing the country’s situation, Spain may be the next country to have its debt status downgraded, once again fueling fears of contagion and instability in the region.

Investor fears of further debt contagion in the Eurozone sent the Euro broadly lower in Asian trading today, while the U.S. Dollar was also under pressure as the debt ceiling debate rages on in Washington.

The greenback was lower against its safe-haven counterparts the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc, but also against commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand Dollars, which rallied on key economic data.

With politics still the name of the game in the United States, the U.S. Dollar earlier hit a record low against the safe haven Swiss Franc, as well as a 4-month low against the Japanese Yen in Asian trading.

With the focus temporarily off of the Eurozone, investors shift their attention to the United States and the impending deadline for establishment of a new debt ceiling. As a result, the U.S. Dollar is under significant pressure on growing concerns that the policymakers there will fail to reach a deal and a debt default will ensue.

Following yesterday’s announcement by E.U. policymakers that a deal to bailout Greek debt has been worked out, the Euro continues to hold on to its gains against the U.S. Dollar.

In Asian trading yesterday the Euro strengthened 0.5%, up to $1.4288, a one-week high against the greenback. The currency’s position was solidified after a meeting of French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In earlier Asian trading, the Euro continued its rally against the U.S. Dollar, given respite by yesterday’s successful Italian and Spanish bond auctions.