S&P cuts Greek Outlook to Negative from Stable

Good Morning,

- S&P cuts Greek Outlook to Negative from Stable, rating unchanged.

- Signs of tension in Greek financial markets added to downward pressure on the euro. Greek short-term bond yields hit their highest since the country's 2012 debt restructuring and Greek shares tumbled 9 percent to a 2-1/2-year low on Wednesday.

- Asian shares skid as bullish Fed takes investors by surprise.

- The Federal Reserve took an upbeat view on the U.S. economy and signaled that it remains firmly on track to raise interest rates this year, despite an uncertain global outlook.

- The Fed said that international developments would be taken into consideration, but noted that falling energy prices boosted household purchasing power even as it acknowledged a decline in certain inflation measures.

- Bank of America on EUR/USD: For the past few days, EUR/USD has been correcting higher before stalling and now this correction seems to be drawing to a close, notes Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "Now that correction looks to have completed (a zig-zag formation for those who follow Elliott Wave analysis) and the larger bear trend is set to resume," BofA clarifies. "A break of 1.1224 (Jan-27 low) would confirm a resumption of the larger bear trend for 1.10000 (round number) ahead of 1.0765 (Sep’03 lows) and eventually below," BofA projects. On the upside, BofA thinks that a move above 6wk trendline resistance (now 1.1494) would be the 1st sign of trouble for EUR/USD bears, but it would take a break of 1.1679 (Jan-21 low) to point to a near term base and turn in trend. "To be clear, we do not expect a break of either of these levels, but the risks must be highlighted," BofA warns.

- The IMF set a June deadline for making progress on reforms that would give emerging countries more say in how the world lender is run, an attempt to break a standoff created by U.S. failure to ratify the changes. The governance reforms were adopted by the IMF in 2010, which initially set a 2012 deadline for all member countries to endorse them. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has so far been unable to persuade Republicans in Congress to act on the measure. The board of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday the institution’s 188 member countries should agree on steps that could make “meaningful progress” toward the reforms by June 30, without providing details. Finance chiefs around the world had previously given the United States until Jan. 1 to act and threatened to move without it if it failed to do so.

- The European Union will extend asset freezes and travel bans imposed on dozens of Russians and Ukrainians after Moscow's annexation of Crimea to the end of this year, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday. A draft statement, prepared for an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on Thursday and seen by Reuters, said sanctions imposed from March last year on people undermining Ukraine's sovereignty would be extended until December 2015. An earlier version of the draft had said the sanctions would be extended until September.

- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has held its key interest rate at 3.5 per cent, but in a change in stance has opened the door to a possible future rate cut. After saying it would hold interest rates at 3.5 per cent "for some time", the bank today said the next move in interest rates may be "either up or down".

Have a nice Day !