US February unemployment and nonfarm payrolls (nfp) will be released on Friday, March 5th at 8:30 EST. Two major snowstorms hit large portions of the US during February. The bad weather may distort the February unemployment report and contribute to larger than expected job losses. One of the snowstorms hit during the

Greece Austerity Measures Help Euro

U.S. Dollar Trading (USD) the market reacted well to the new Greece Austerity measures in Europe and the Euro led the majors higher against the greenback. Adding to the positive sentiment was the February ISM Services PMI at 53 vs. 51 forecast. February ADP Employment report was a relief at -20k as forecast. In US

The risk markets were encouraged by news from Greece, as well as some US data. Greece announced €4.8bn of planned cuts to it budget defi cit (confi rming what was fl agged the previous day), which rating agency Moody's said was consistent with their present A2 rating. In the US, the ISM services survey beat expectations. The S&P500 is up 0.3%, European indices also modestly higher. Commodities gained, copper up. US 10yr notes lost ground, adding 3bp.

The dollar fell on Wednesday as Greece's announcement of a €4.8 billion budget cut led to a short covering rally of the European currencies. The ISM US non-manufacturing index showed US service industries expanded at the fast pace since October 2007. Economic conditions improved in 9 of the Federal Reserve's 12 regions in January