A Quick Glance at News

v European markets are set to continue their upward trajectory on Tuesday as investors hold on to hopes the European Central Bank (ECB) will act to lower borrowing costs for struggling euro zone economies, despite denials from the central bank.

v Italian and Spanish bond yields fell to their lowest point in a month on the back of the rumored yield cap report, but rose after the ECB and Germany’s Bundesbank said there will be no yield cap on bonds, quashing speculation that they were preparing to set an interest rate threshold for the debt of each euro zone nation.

v Treasury 10-year yields traded at almost a three-month high as investor demand for safety ebbed amid speculation the European Central Bank may make progress curbing the euro bloc’s debt crisis.

v Shanghai stocks rose Tuesday after a report Tuesday in the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency's Economic Information Daily said Beijing was planning fresh economic stimulus for the second half of the year. The moves would be meant to boost domestic consumption and would likely include encouraging the use of credit, the report said without citing source.

v U.S. Data, Existing home sales rose 3.2 percent in July from June, when they dropped 5.4 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey before the National Association of Realtors’ report on Aug. 22. Sales of new homes, due the next day from the Commerce Department, rose 4.3 percent, a separate survey showed. Durable- goods orders increased 2.5 percent in July, another survey said Commerce Department data will show on Aug. 24.

v With international sanctions squeezing Iran, the Islamic Republic is seeking to expand its banking foothold in the Caucasus nation of Armenia to make up for difficulties in countries it used to rely on to do business, according to diplomats and documents.

v The euro held steady on Tuesday but appeared increasingly vulnerable to a reverse amid doubts whether policymakers could agree a viable plan of action by next month to take some of the pressure off debt-stricken euro zone countries.

v Apple Inc's market value climbed past $623 billion on Monday, surpassing the record set by Microsoft Corp during the heyday of technology stocks in 1999.

v Platinum inched down on Tuesday, sliding from a two-month peak hit in the previous session on heightened supply worries in top producer South Africa, while expectations for easing monetary policy buoyed gold.

v Spot silver jumped nearly 3 percent on Monday to a two-month high of $28.84, surprising traders and analysts. The move, helped by the rally in platinum prices, was the sharpest one-day rise in more than a month and pushed silver above its100-day moving average for the first time since April.

v The Reserve Bank of Australia signaled confidence domestic growth would weather a “fragile” global economy in its decision this month to maintain the highest borrowing costs among major developed nations.

v Face book Inc. (FB) director Peter Thiel sold most of his stake in the operator of the world’s largest social-networking website, bringing his proceeds to more than $1 billion, after restrictions on insider sales ended.