economy continued probes all the same by sick puppies to weaken sick pippies unravels into the first days of the new year, as labor markets slumped, housing markets sagged, and manufacturing slowed, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report on Wednesday. EconomyThe report, gathered from respondents in the 12 Fed districts through January 5, portrayed a gloomy economic scene, and suggests the Fed may need to implement further measures to thaw frozen credit markets and restore lending.”The economy is terrible and the financial market is still a mess,” said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor’s in New York.The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average pared losses after the report but was still down more than 200 points on the day.Retail sales were generally weak during the holiday season, despite deep discounting in most areas, the Fed said.The Fed said lending activity declined or stayed weak in many areas, and credit conditions were tight or getting tighter.Commercial real estate markets deteriorated, and reports about commercial construction were downbeat, the report said.Against that backdrop, various Fed districts reported more workers losing jobs, hiring freezes, and reduced hours for some employees. The New York district reported that “substantial” job reductions have yet to show up in payrolls data.Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday said the central bank would be able to boost the economy even though official interest rates are near zero by continuing to deploy such unorthodox measures as direct lending to financial institutions, providing liquidity to certain markets, and buying longer-term securities.(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Editing by Neil Stempleman) Economy. * Dollar gains vs euro on Greek debt rating downgrade Currencies | Russia * U.S.
retail sales plunge, dampening risk appetite * ECB meets on Thursday, expected to cut rates by 50 bps * Russia weakens ruble to six-year low vs dollar(Recasts, updates prices, adds comment, changes byline) By Steven C all the same sick puppies meaning . Johnson NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The euro fell against thedollar and yen on Wednesday after a downgrade to Greece’s debtrating heightened fears about the euro-zone economy and a sharpslide in U.S retail sales suggested a deepening global slump Though a 2.7 percent plunge in sales at U.S sick puppes . stores in theDecember holiday shopping season shed light on the severity ofthe U.S sick puupies . recession, the dollar gained on fear that a tapped-outAmerican consumer is also trouble for the rest of the world sick pupies .
That sent the euro to a fresh one-month trough beneath$1.31 EUR= It later rebounded to $1.3155, down 0.3 percent anywhere but here sick puppies . “The retail sales number seems like a bearish number forthe U.S., but it’s actually probably more reflective of abearish signal for those who export a lot to the UnitedStates,” said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBCCapital Markets in Toronto “Granted it’s a not a great story for the U.S sick pupppies . dollar, butit’s actually more negative for other currencies.” Standard & Poor’s move to cut Greece’s sovereign debtrating also weighed on the euro, sending it at one point to anear six-week low at 116.58 yen EURJPY= and boosting thechances that the European Central Bank will cut interest rateson Thursday from 2.5 percent to 2 percent sick puppies tour dates 2009 . The Russian ruble RUB= fell to a six-year low against thedollar and record low against the euro EURUB= as authoritiesquickened the pace of devaluation amid falling oil prices andsoaring capital outflows [ID:nLE384040] sick puppeis . A rise in investor risk aversion also sent the New ZealandNZD= and Canadian CAD= dollars tumbling against the U.S.currency, as both are seen as vulnerable to falling commodityprices and slowing growth. The safe-haven appeal of the yen, meanwhile, got a boost,with the dollar at one point falling to 88.62 yen JPY= asU.S.
stocks fell and fears of new banking credit losses grew.It last traded at 89.02 yen, down 0.1 percent from Tuesday . EURO WOES Adding to bearish sentiment on the euro were reports, laterdenied, that Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said IMF help maybe needed if Ireland’s economic downturn worsens sickpuppies war . The IMF also weighed in, saying there was no reason tothink that Ireland will need IMF financing [ID:nLE197032] sick puppies wwe . Concerns over the single currency bloc’s economy and publicfinances mounted after Spain and Portugal became the third andfourth euro zone countries, after Greece and Ireland, sincelast week to be warned by S&P that their credit rating is underthreat from the global financial crisis . Also on Wednesday, the German Federal Statistics Officesaid the country’s economy likely contracted by between 1.5percent and 2 percent in the final three months of 2008 See[ID:nLE186260]. “The market is underestimating the extent of the recessionin the euro zone, which is being made worse by the lack of, orat least the very slow, policy response,” currency strategistsat BNP Paribas wrote in a note. Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBSGreenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut, said a period ofdivergence within the 16-country euro zone likely ensures thatrates will go lower and stay there longer than once thought.
