Tag: Bloomberg

What are Occupy Wall Street’s wins and losses?

Bank fees: Every time you use your Bank of America debit card and don’t pay $5, thank Occupy Wall Street.
Changing the national conversation: Coming out of the summer, the economic debate in Washington was dominated by talk of cutting the deficit — not jobs, not the wealth disparity in America, and certainly not the role of money in politics.
Getting Wall Street’s attention: Perhaps even more impressive is how OWS has seeped into Wall Street’s own conversation. This is partly due to the early attention paid by a few influential financial bloggers, such as bank critic Barry Ritholtz. But bankers were clearly stung by the 1% tag and angered by suggestions they hadn’t earned their bonuses.

The Euro Rose to a Three-Week High Against the Yen

The euro rose to a three-week high against the yen as the European Central Bank member Jozef Makuch said it is “highly probable” that the bank will raise interest rates next week.

Japan’s currency weakened against all of its major counterparts on the prospect of the Bank of Japan leaving borrowing costs unchanged into 2012. Inflation in Germany stayed at the highest level in more than two years in March, a report is forecast to show today.

Stocks Fall on Concern Japan’s Quake to Hurt Growth; Treasuries, Euro Gain

Global stocks slid, following the biggest drop in Tokyo since 2008, and Treasuries gained amid concern Japan’s biggest earthquake on record will hurt economic growth. The euro rallied as European leaders agreed to expand the region’s rescue fund.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.6 percent to 1,296.39 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring a drop of as much as 1.4 percent as energy shares rebounded. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 6.2 percent, with about $285 billion in equity value erased from the Japanese market. Ten-year Treasury yields lost 4 basis points to 3.37 percent. Oil reversed losses after dipping below $99 a barrel. The euro rose against 15 of 16 major peers.

Companies that operate nuclear power plants or supply the fuel helped lead stocks lower, with Entergy Corp. down 4.9 percent in New York and Cameco Corp. tumbling 13 percent in Toronto, while natural gas rallied amid speculation that the atomic-energy industry will suffer as Japan works to contain radiation at damaged reactors. Tiffany & Co. and Coach Inc. lost more than 5.2 percent for the biggest declines in the S&P 500 on concern sales of luxury goods in Japan will slow.