Currencies

Yen Trades Near Two-Week Low as Japan's Kan Says Intervention Is an Option The yen fell to a two-week low against the euro after Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said foreign-exchange intervention is always an option for the government if currency movements are abrupt.

Japan Increasingly Likely to Sell Yen to Curb Gains, Morgan Stanley Says Japan is increasingly likely to intervene in foreign-exchange markets to stop the yen from rising, according to Morgan Stanley, citing its own model.

Yen to Drop to 100 as Deflation Spurs BOJ to Add Cash, CIB's Kotecha Says The yen is likely to weaken to 100 per dollar, a level last seen in April, as the Bank of Japan pumps money into the financial system to combat deflation, according to Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.

Pimco Says Chile Peso Not `One-Sided Bet' Investors See After Earthquake Chile’s peso will begin weakening late this year as the country’s worst earthquake in 50 years slows economic growth and record-low interest rates sap demand for fixed-income assets, Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Guillermo Osses said.

Janet Yellen Said to Be Obama Pick for Fed Vice Chairman to Replace Kohn Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen is President Barack Obama’s pick for vice chairman of the central bank in Washington, two people with knowledge of the selection process said.

Retail Sales Probably Declined in U.S. as Blizzards Kept Shoppers at Home Sales at U.S. retailers probably fell in February as blizzards kept Americans away from auto dealers and limited traffic at malls, economists said before a report today.

Lehman Misled Investors on Leverage, Fuld Was `Negligent,' Examiner Says Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. used off-balance-sheet transactions to downplay its leverage in late 2007 and 2008, deceiving shareholders about its ability to withstand losses, a bankruptcy examiner’s report said.

Euro May Break Resistance to 5-Week High Against Yen: Technical Analysis The euro may rise to a five-week high against the yen after breaking through a key level of resistance, Ueda Harlow Ltd. said.

U.K. House Prices Rose in February by Most Since 2002, Acadametrics Says U.K. house prices increased in February at the fastest pace in more than seven years, research group Acadametrics Ltd. said.

Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Poland: Eastern Europe Bond, Currency Preview The following events and economic reports may influence trading in eastern European bonds and currencies today. Bond yields and exchange rates are from the previous session.

Brown, Sarkozy to Discuss Compromise Over Hedge-Fund Reforms, FT reports U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet tomorrow in London in an attempt to reach a compromise on proposed European Union reforms to regulations concerning hedge funds and private equity, the Financial Times reported, citing U.K. officials.