A Quick Glance at News

v The dollar hit a two-month low against a basket of currencies on Thursday after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting surprised traders by suggesting it is willing to deliver more stimulus "fairly soon".

v German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will not make any decisions during their talks on Friday, adding she would wait for the lenders' report on Greek progress in meeting targets. That report is not expected until late September.

v Asian shares were mixed as China’s manufacturing activity shrank at its fastest pace in nine months while the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s August meeting revealed a strong consensus for action.

v China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August fell to a nine-month low of 47.8 on a 100-point scale, dropping from July’s final print of 49.3.

v Gold rose above $1,660 an ounce for the first time since early May on Thursday, after minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting fuelled hopes for the swift launch of another round of quantitative easing.

v Japan's Nikkei average hit a three-month closing high on Thursday, reversing earlier losses as investors picked up exporters that had weakened on the back of firmer yen after the Fed signaled it is likely to launch another round of stimulus.

v Brent crude rose more than a dollar on Thursday, approaching $116 per barrel on renewed hopes for another round of monetary stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve, helping investors look past weak manufacturing data from China.

v Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts President Francois Hollande today as officials look for ways to stave off an immediate crisis after a report due next month from Greece’s international creditors on the health of its finances.

v Foreign direct investment in China declined 8.7 percent in July from a year earlier to $7.58 billion, the eighth drop in nine months and the smallest inflow since July 2010, a report last week showed.

v Chinese financial institutions sold a net 3.8 billion yuan ($600 million) of foreign currency in July, indicating capital outflows as property curbs and export weakness slow growth and the yuan weakens.

v U.S. 10-year Treasuries dipped in Asia on Thursday, taking a breather from a rally triggered when minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting stirred renewed talk about the possibility of more monetary stimulus.

v European stocks are seen opening higher on Thursday, tracking positive Asian cues as investors bet central banks in the U.S. and China would soon announce some steps to support the world's biggest economies.

v Purchases of new homes in the U.S. probably rose in July for the third time in four months, a sign the industry that helped trigger the recession is recovering, economists said before a report today.

v Germany posted a surplus worth0.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first half of the year on a 2.9 percent year-on-year increase in state income, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.

v Hewlett-Packard Co swung to an $8.9 billion quarterly loss as personal computer sales shrank again and it swallowed a huge write-down linked to its $13.9 billion purchase of Electronic Data Systems Corp.

v Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN) canceled an order for 35 Boeing Co. (BA) 787-9s after posting its first annual loss in at least 17 years because of higher fuel costs, labor disputes and rising competition on international routes.