Sterling scaled a six-week peak early on Monday following recent hawkish-sounding comments from the Bank of England, while the other major currencies were subdued in a holiday-riddled week.
Australia
Layoffs and empty streets as Australia's boom towns go bust
When Probo Junio got a visa to work in Australia, he thought he had won a ticket to the good life. In 2013, the 45-year-old boilermaker left his hometown of Cebu in the Philippines, where he was getting paid about $10 a day, to work in Karratha in Western Australia for $30 an hour. Enough to support his relatives and build a new life Down Under.
Dollar revved up for jobs data, Nikkei hits a high
The dollar held pole position in Asia on Friday as bulls wagered a looming U.S. jobs report would add to the chance of rate hikes there, even as the European Central Bank embarks on a trillion euro campaign of bond-buying.
Asia shares inch ahead, hostage to Fed outlook
Asian share markets crept higher on Tuesday as Tokyo scored another 15-year peak, though gains were hostage to what Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen might say later in the day about the likely lift-off date for U.S. rate hikes.
Asia tentative, awaits word on Fed rate outlook
Caution gripped Asian markets on Tuesday as investors fretted over what Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen might say later in the day on the likely lift-off date for U.S. policy tightening.
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Asian stock markets turned cautious on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar crept higher as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek debt crisis threatened to produce more confusion than clarity.
Asian stock markets were subdued on Wednesday while major currencies barely budged as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek debt crisis overshadowed a firmer finish on Wall Street.
Asian markets got off to a cautious start on Wednesday as looming euro zone meetings over Greece overshadowed a firmer finish on Wall Street.
Australia faces a A$17 billion ($13.3 billion) exodus of investment from its windfarm industry because of a political deadlock, threatening to deal the country a major economic blow and kill hopes of meeting a self-imposed clean energy target.
Australia's central bank cut its cash rate to an all-time trough of 2.25 percent on Tuesday, breaking an 18-month hiatus on stimulus as it seeks to spur a sluggish economy while keeping downward pressure on the local dollar.
Australian gaming mogul James Packer’s Crown Resorts Ltd. (CWN.AX) has scrapped a proposed $400 million luxury hotel and resort development in Sri Lanka after Colombo's new government withdrew approvals for casinos.
Most Asian share markets firmed on Tuesday and the euro clung to rare gains, relieved that European equities had weathered Greece's election outcome without too much disruption.
Unease over the global economy engulfed commodities and dented Asian equities on Wednesday, while the euro loitered near nine-year lows as investors bet the European Central Bank was just a week away from launching a new stimulus campaign.
The U.S. dollar took a dip on Monday as Asian investors caught up with a benign payrolls report and the subsequent slide in Treasury yields, though turnover was light with Tokyo on holiday.
