- Case-Shiller home price index rises 0.6% in November, as expectedm up 5.5% versus year ago
- Italian authorities say banking system solid despite Monte dei Paschi problems
- US consumer confidence tumbles to 58.6 in December from 66.7 in November
- US delays approval of Japan’s Softbank merger with US’s Sprint, a $20 bln deal; usd/jpy dips briefly on news
- Spanish region of Catalonia to ask central government for EUR 9 bln in funding
- Merkel: ECB buying policymakers time
After waffling for much of the European session, EUR/USD became directional in US trade and spent the afternoon trying to overcome options-related selling ahead of 1.3500 barriers. Prices reached 1.3498 before stalling but dips proved shallow.
Equities traded firmly, underpinned by the Case-Shiller data, with the Dow and S&P near 2007 highs. Money continues to rotate out of safe havens and into riskier asset classes. This has pushed US 10-year note yields back to 2%, a boost for USD/JPY.
