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The strong January jobs report may finally put a nail in the QE3 coffin.

If you're looking for a sign that the economy may be on the mend, look no further than the Treasury yield curve -- a closely monitored harbinger of the economy.

In a case stemming from the housing meltdown that led to the financial crisis, a former executive at Credit Suisse and two associates have been charged with deliberately inflating the price of mortgage-backed securities held on their books.

World markets were under pressure Monday, dragged down by uncertainty in Europe, where leaders have failed to agree on a solution for the Greek debt crisis.

Portugal has come under heavy pressure in the bond market this week as investors fear the nation could be the next domino to fall in the eurozone debt crisis.

Bond yields are slowly creeping up in the United States as the economy improves. But with a yield barely above 2%, the 10-year Treasury is still not that far above its all-time lows.

Greek debt talks are said to be progressing but officials have yet to announce a deal to scale back the nation's overwhelming debt load. Greek debt talks have been ongoing for days, but outcome Is uncertain ahead of Monday's finance ministers' meeting.

The financial fate of Greece hangs in the balance this week, as officials reconvene over the contentious topic of Greek bonds, or more specifically, how big a writedown private investors are willing to take.

Things are looking up in Europe, at least for now, as borrowing costs in Italy and Spain eased Thursday following strong debt auctions.

DENVER----Speaking as a special guest at the Project New West Summit, energy expert T. Boone Pickens updated Western senators, governors and state leaders on the level of foreign oil imported by the United States in July 2009.

Oil prices rose above $71 a barrel Thursday as stock markets rallied and after the International Energy Agency boosted its global crude demand forecast.

DENVER----MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. announced today that it priced an upsized public offering of 5,200,000 primary common units at $20.95 per common unit. In addition, an entity controlled by a director of the general partner of the Partnership is selling an additional 300,000 secondary common units at the same public offering price.

LITTLETON, Colo.----ADA-ES, Inc. today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009.

The outlook for North Dakota's wheat has improved dramatically over the past month, with cool weather and timely rain. The state could see its highest spring wheat production in more than a decade.

U.S. farmers weathered soggy summer conditions to produce what is expected to be the second-largest corn crop on record and the biggest soybean crop in history, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.

DENVER----ROYAL GOLD, INC. , a leading precious metals royalty company, today announced record royalty revenue of $73.8 million for fiscal 2009 , an 11% increase over revenues of $66.3 million in fiscal 2008.

MIDLAND, Texas----Clayton Williams Energy, Inc. today filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide financial guidance disclosures for the year ending December 31, 2009.

DUBLIN----Research and Markets has announced the addition of Global Markets Direct's new report "Gamma Camera Clinical Trial Analysis" to their offering.

HONG KONG----Alibaba.com Limited :

American employers substantially stepped up their hiring in January, bringing the unemployment rate down for the fifth month in a row.

Companies are saying the job market is getting better. Workers are saying it's already kicked into high gear.

The strong January jobs report may finally put a nail in the QE3 coffin.

The unemployment rate for blacks fell more than 2 percentage points last month to its lowest level since March 2009.

The January jobs report contains a slew of numbers that are likely to put a twinkle in the eye of Obama campaign staffers.

The Great Recession has dealt Nevada a losing hand.

The New York attorney general sued some of the nation's biggest banks on Friday, accusing them of unlawful and deceptive practices for relying on a private electronic registry that tracks mortgages.

States have until late Monday to agree to the latest draft deal aimed at relieving homeowners struggling with mortgages bigger than their home's value.

A new Obama administration push to strengthen U.S. manufacturing has the support of smaller firms, but it might not be enough to stir many into action.

The Justice Department charged Switzerland's oldest bank Thursday with helping American taxpayers hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service. The case marks the first time an overseas bank has been charged in the U.S. for aiding tax evasion.

EUR/USD Current price: 1.4155 Pair remains trapped in the 1.4105/1.4200 range it has been for the past 24 hours, and consolidation will likely extend ahead of Wednesday afternoon FOMC Minutes. Nikkei 225 opened 0.9% down, yet flat indicators in the hourly gave no clear clues; bigger time frames are slightly bullish at this point thus the pair will need to clearly break above 1.4200 to confirm some upside continuation. At this point sentiment remains mixed across the board. Support levels:

The longs have finally been convinced to take some of their profits off of the table. Despite what might have occurred given the dramatic gains, the selling pressure was moderate at best. Investors are looking forward to the Fed's comments regarding the state of the economy. Oh yeah, and they also might be interested in the interest rate decision. We have been suggesting that the rally has gotten away from what may be the reality, and the Fed's wording could have a large impact on whether the

After a slow start to the news week, traders were able to gnaw their teeth on this afternoons 3-year note auction. However, with the 10 and 30-year auctions and the FOMC interest rate decision looming, the market is bracing itself for volatility. Today's auction went relatively well; $37 billion in 3-year notes were met with a bid to cover of 2.89 and a lower than expected yield of 1.78%. Additionally, foreign buyers stepped up their game; the indirect bidder participation was 62.5%. Much of

Today’s Treasury auction saw great demand which helped drive up the price of September Treasury Bonds.  Investors were encouraged to buy the 3-year Notes at the auction because of the attractive yield and the weakness in the equity markets.  Overseas demand was particularly stronger compared to the last three months.  This could be an indication that foreign central banks are regaining confidence in the U.S. ability to pay back its debt obligations.    U.S. equity

Japanese Yen traders shrugged off discouraging news by the Bank of Japan and instead focused on the U.S. equity markets for direction.    The BoJ offered no support for the Yen following a rather pessimistic outlook for the Japanese economy.  Japanese interest rates were kept at historically low levels while the BoJ felt that a turn around in the global economy would not have a significantly strong effect on the Japanese economy.    The commentary from the BoJ was

FXstreet.com (Buenos Aires) - Considering the risk of the event, European majors will likely spend the Asian session consolidating in past Tuesday’s range ahead of FOMC Minutes. Market players will be focusing in QE and if the FED plans either to extend it, or plan an exit, as rates are widely expect to remain unchanged. For next session however, and adding thin trading flows due to summer holidays and the lack of cues ahead of FED’s announcements, EUR/USD will likely remain between 1.4110/1.4200 as well as GBP/USD between 1.6430/1.6520 range.

Different scenario for Japanese yen, as Nikkei 225 is expected to fall following Wall Street; the currency is hovering around the 96.00 level against greenback and is likely to continue strengthening, thus the movement will remain limited also ahead of FOMC.

For more information, read our latest forex news.

FXstreet.com (Córdoba) – Markets in the US fell the day before the FED’s decision. Crude-oil futures ended below $70 a barrel. The Yen was the main winner of the day among currencies, rising across the board. Dollar finished mix practically unchanged against EUR and GBP.

USD/JPY tumbled for the second day in a row. The pair fell from 97.05 to 95.75, from there rebounded but is having difficulties to get back above 96.00. After reaching a one-month high on Friday at 97.80, the Dollar weakened and has accumulated a decline of more than 180 pips.

The Yen rose across the board. Against European currencies completed the second day with sharp gains. GBP/JPY plunged below 160.00 to 157.80. Currently the pair is back above 158.25 but far from Friday’s high at 163.05. EUR/JPY fell from 137.45 to 135.20 and currently is attempting to reach levels on top of 136.00.

Dollar ended mix. EUR/USD finished Tuesday at the same levels it had at the begging of the day. Same situation applies to GBP/USD. Cable ended only a few pips below the opening price. It was the fourth consecutive day with losses for the pair.

For more information, read our latest forex news.

Q2 Productivity Surge is Temporary Productivity of the U.S economy rose 6.4% in the second quarter after a 0.3% increase in the prior quarter. Although output declined, hours worked fell more sharply and led to an increase in productivity. Productivity gains toward the end of a recession and the beginning of recovery are typical (see chart 1) and they reflect cost cutting strategies of firms. The surge in productivity registered in the second quarter is not representative of the long-term

8/11/2009 3:20 PM: EUR/$..1.4146 $/JPY..96.00 GBP/$..1.6478 $/CHF..1.0816 AUD/$..0.8296 $/CAD..1.1012 USD Edges Up, Eyes FOMC The dollar and yen were higher in Tuesday trading amid renewed declines in the equity bourses. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were lower by 1% and the Dow Jones softer by 0.75% in afternoon trading. Earlier US economic reports were mixed with Q2 labor costs falling by more than expected to -5.8%, compared with a negative revised Q1 figure at -2.7% and a sharply higher

Weaker data out of China overnight continued to weigh on risk trades during the NY session, with commodity currencies (AUD, CAD, and NZD) coming under pressure.  Slower Chinese exports and imports suggest waning demand for commodities and thus diminished appeal of holding long AUD or CAD positions, in particular.  Negative banking analyst comments hurt financial shares in the US, which led broader markets lower by more than 1%, sending JPY-crosses (carry trades) lower in

Stocks turned lower in early trading Thursday as disappointing reports on jobs and retail sales deflated some of investors' optimism about the economy.

Shares of solar cell wafer maker LDK Solar Co. Ltd. tumbled on Thursday, the morning after the company posted a second-quarter loss as it wrote down the plummeting value of its inventory.

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported quarterly results that beat expectations.

Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.'s second quarter results, due out Thursday, may give a sense of how well the company can keep its dominant grip on ticket selling.

Shares of Advance Auto Parts Inc. fell in premarket trading Thursday as two analysts described its do-it-yourself business as soft and lackluster despite an increase in second-quarter profit and revenue.

Semiconductor companies are seeing orders pick up in August, pointing to a strong third quarter for a hard-hit industry, a Robert W. Baird analyst said Thursday.

An analyst on Thursday reiterated his "Buy" rating on shares of URS Corp., saying the engineering and construction contractor's increasingly diverse end markets and global presence should boost its value.

Preppy retailer J. Crew Group Inc.'s trendy merchandise, strong customer traffic and top-notch management were among the reasons that led an analyst to upgrade the stock on Thursday.

U-Store-It Trust, which provides business and personal self-storage facilities, is on the right track as it seeks to reduce its debt, but refinancing costs could cut into earnings, an analyst said Thursday.

Interpublic Group of Cos. is set to restore its profit margins as the economy recovers, a Deutsche Bank analyst said Thursday, upgrading shares to "Buy" from "Hold."

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Republican front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to an easy victory in Nevada on Saturday, crushing his three remaining rivals and taking firm command of the party's volatile presidential nominating race.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia and China vetoed on Saturday a U.N. resolution that backed an Arab plan calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit, stalling global efforts to end his bloody crackdown on unrest after hundreds were reported killed in the city of Homs.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers told Greece on Saturday it could not go ahead with an agreed deal to restructure privately-held debt until it guaranteed it would implement reforms needed to secure a second financing package from the euro zone and the IMF.

KABUL (Reuters) - A secret NATO report showing the strength of confidence among the Afghan Taliban is raising concerns from Kabul to Washington that the militant group might overrun the country again when foreign combat forces finally leave.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow on Saturday to demand fair elections in a march against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, while supporters of the prime minister staged a rival rally drawing comparable numbers.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Memory chipmaker Micron Technology's board appointed company veteran Mark Durcan as chief executive a day after longtime Chairman and CEO Steve Appleton was killed in a plane crash.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police removed protesters as they confiscated bedding and most tents on Saturday from an "Occupy" protest site just blocks from the White House, enforcing a no-camping rule for the public McPherson Square they had ignored for months.

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian government building was set on fire on Sunday as protests disrupted the heart of Cairo for a fourth day and public figures demanded a faster transition to civilian rule.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mounted a lavish celebration on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the failed coup that helped launch his political career, as opposition leaders slammed the event as a blemish on the country's democracy.

Nevada has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in unemployment, foreclosure filings and number of underwater homes. That's not good for the state's economy. The Great Recession has dealt Nevada a losing hand.