• S&P cuts UK outlook to negative
  • US retail sales +0.3% vs +0.5% exp
  • US initial jobless claims 343K vs 372K
  • Obama/Boehner to meet at 1700 GMT on cliff
  • PPI +1.5% y/y vs +1.8% exp
  • Canadian new house price index +0.2% vs +0.1% exp
  • Fed extends swap lines with global central banks
  • Westpac calls for another Australian rate cuts
  • US business inventories +0.4%, as expected
  • BOE’s Fisher says stronger pound “not helpful”
  • Reuters: Berlusconi proposed that Monti should lead a center right coalition in coming election
  • S&P 500 down 0.6% to 1419
  • CHF leads, JPY lags

The euro stalled out ahead of 1.3100 for the third time in the past two days and sank back to 1.3060.

The pound was chopping in the 1.6130/50 range and the slumped to 1.6084 after the S&P headlines. Somewhat impressively, it clawed back to 1.6110.

Aussie was the loser in US trading, falling to 1.5010 from 1.0560 as it takes a break and consolidates recent gains.

Not much happening in USD/JPY which was capped by the overnight high at 83.68.