There were high hopes for the latest Italian debt sale, but they were disappointed. Indeed, even though Italian debt costs dropped below 5 percent, the sale failed to raise the kind of money needed to overcome some of the budget woes. As a result, the euro is down against its major counterparts.

Italy’s debt costs dropped largely because o

(eToro Blog) Investors had been keenly anticipating yesterday’s Spanish and Italian sovereign debt auctions, worried that yields would rise in 2012 as they did last year. With some clear relief, it was learned that the Spanish auction had easily raised €10 billion, nearly twice its target, with 3-year benchmark bonds selling with a yield of 3.3

(eToro Blog) According to George Osborne, the U.K. Finance Minister, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the economic outlook in 2012, despite the growing threat of stagnation brought about by its Eurozone neighbor. In a recent address, Mr. Osborne highlighted the government’s efforts to reduce a record budget deficit in the face of

(eToro Blog) Asian market performed relatively well as they digested comments from the European Central Bank. ECB President Draghi commented in his press conference that he saw tentative signs of stabilization. The Japanese Nikkei closed up 1.34%, the Hang Seng up 0.5%, the Shanghai index down 0.95% and the Australian S&P ASX up 0.4%. Traders

(eToro Blog)  U.S. equity markets consolidated as off-setting forces created mixed sentiment. Better than expected auction results in peripheral Europe had equity futures higher prior to the opening bell, but worse than expected U.S. economic data put a dent in the rally. The energy markets continued to drag on the major indexes for a second

The Japanese yen fluctuated, demonstrating a downside bias, as today’s reports from the United States are expected to be mixed. The yen slid versus the euro today on signs of stabilizing economic situation in Europe.

On the negative side for the yen, Michigan Sentiment Index is expected to rise from 69.9 to 71.2 this month. On the positive side, gr

A Spanish bond auction exceeded expectations with over double its target amount of bonds selling to investors on Thursday. Spain was able to raise €10 billion ($12.7 billion) from the sale, although it originally hoped to sell half that. The Euro rose and European stock markets rose on the bond results.

Part of the sale’s success was due to demand