The Wall Street Journal reports, Consumer spending rose less than expected in January even as incomes improved, an indication that Americans may still be unsure about the slowly recovering economy. Separately, the number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped again last week, the latest sign of improvement in the labor market.
The Wall Street Journal also reports, a committee of dealers and investors decided Thursday, payouts on credit default swaps written on Greek sovereign debt won’t be triggered, after the country last week passed legislation allowing it to strong-arm private creditors into accepting losses on their holdings. CDS, which function like a form of default insurance for corporate and sovereign bonds, can be triggered by a restructuring of the reference entity’s debt, a failure to pay coupons or principal on the bonds, or a bankruptcy. There are about $3.2 billion worth of Greek sovereign debt CDS outstanding, according to the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.
Bloomberg reports, Gold futures fell as much as $100 to below $1,700 an ounce on signs that that the Federal Reserve will refrain from offering more monetary stimulus to bolster the U.S. economy. In testimony before Congress today, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave no signal that the central bank will take new steps to boost liquidity.
Finally, Reuters reports, Facebook has unveiled new ways for businesses to reach its 845 million users directly across all devices, including mobile, as it races toward a multibillion dollar IPO. With new “Premium on Facebook” ads, marketers can expand their reach on the social network by paying for a video, a coupon or other message to appear on the homepages of Facebook users, on the log-out screen and even within users’ newsfeeds. Until now the newsfeed had been free of paid marketing messages.
The Wall Street Journal reports, Consumer spending rose less than expected in January even as incomes improved, an indication that Americans may still be unsure about the slowly recovering economy. Separately, the number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped again last week, the latest sign of improvement in the labor market.
The Wall Street Journal also reports, a committee of dealers and investors decided Thursday, payouts on credit default swaps written on Greek sovereign debt won’t be triggered, after the country last week passed legislation allowing it to strong-arm private creditors into accepting losses on their holdings. CDS, which function like a form of default insurance for corporate and sovereign bonds, can be triggered by a restructuring of the reference entity’s debt, a failure to pay coupons or principal on the bonds, or a bankruptcy. There are about $3.2 billion worth of Greek sovereign debt CDS outstanding, according to the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.
Bloomberg reports, Gold futures fell as much as $100 to below $1,700 an ounce on signs that that the Federal Reserve will refrain from offering more monetary stimulus to bolster the U.S. economy. In testimony before Congress today, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave no signal that the central bank will take new steps to boost liquidity.
Finally, Reuters reports, Facebook has unveiled new ways for businesses to reach its 845 million users directly across all devices, including mobile, as it races toward a multibillion dollar IPO. With new “Premium on Facebook” ads, marketers can expand their reach on the social network by paying for a video, a coupon or other message to appear on the homepages of Facebook users, on the log-out screen and even within users’ newsfeeds. Until now the newsfeed had been free of paid marketing messages.