Markets in Asia are heading for a positive weekly close, and it would be the third consecutive week of gains. The proximate cause lies in the reduction of jobless claims in the United States, but the remote causes are in the feeling that the two big problems linked to the state of public finances in the advanced countries – sovereign debts in Europe and the 'fiscal cliff' in the Usa – are, if not on the way to definitive solutions, at least faced with a greater cooperative spirit.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange feels the change of government near after the elections on Sunday 16. A serious candidate for the post of new governor of the Bank of Japan, Takatoshi Ito (an academic and former senior official of the Ministry of Finance) said that the central bank it has so far done too little too late: it should have started monetary expansion policies sooner and it has been too timid in setting an explicit target for higher inflation.
After the hints between the lines of possible further reductions in ECB rates, the euro has weakened, as befits an area in recession that needs a less strong exchange rate. Gold narrowly regained the 1700 level and WTI oil remains low, between 86 and 87. However, the US energy agency also said it considers the Brent price more representative of global oil supply and demand , given the growing supply, which is exhausted in the domestic market, of shale oil and gas, a supply that dominates the quotation of West Texas Intermediate.
