A Quick Glance at News

v Fed Signals Support for Further Stimulus If Economy Slows, A few members of the Federal Open Market Committee said the Fed should ease policy to move the economy toward its targets for full employment and stable prices, according to minutes of the June 19-20 meeting released yesterday in Washington. Several others said more action could be warranted if growth slows, risks intensified or inflation seemed likely to fall “persistently” below their goal.
v European stock futures and Asian shares fell as South Korea unexpectedly cut interest rates and Australia’s jobless rate rose, underscoring concern the global economy is faltering. The won and the Australian dollar slid.
v The yen rose 0.3 percent to 79.49 per dollar. While the central bank expanded its asset-purchase program to 45 trillion yen ($564 billion) from 40 trillion yen, its loan facility was cut by the same amount to 25 trillion yen, according to a policy statement released in Tokyo today.

v Indian industrial output rebounded in May from a contraction after the central bank cut interest rates earlier in the year to bolster a weakening economy.
v Singapore’s economic growth probably slowed last quarter as the European debt crisis constrained exports while elevated inflation prompted the central bank to tighten policy.
v Brent crude stayed above $100 per barrel on Thursday, after a more than 2 percent rally in the prior session, as uncertainty over whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would launch more stimulus measures curbed investor appetites for riskier assets.
v Oil traded near the highest close in two days in New York after U.S. stockpiles fell and refinery utilization rose, countering concern that global fuel demand will falter as manufacturing stagnates in Europev Gold edged lower on Thursday, dropping for a fourth session out of six, as investors remained cautious on indications the Federal Reserve was unlikely to launch more monetary stimulus until U.S. economic conditions weakened further.
v Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) found a common culprit for weaker financial results in recent weeks: changes in currency values.
v Apache Corp. (APA) will drill Kenya’s first deepwater oil well next month, a prospect that could add a $70 billion crude find to the record natural-gas discoveries along East Africa’s coast.