In early morning trading in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar and the Japanese Yen lost ground, as Asian share prices propped up U.S. stocks as a result of investors’ optimism that forthcoming bold and aggressive economic measures would be implemented not long after President-elect Obama is sworn into office on Tuesday, January 20, at 12:00 pm (EST).
The majority of investors were heartened by reports that the new administration, under President-elect Obama, will put $350 million of the bailout money to more effective use so that cash-strapped American consumers and businesses will benefit from the increased cash flows and less restricted liquidity.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the U.K. is prepared to announce another bank rescue plan today; that news has been eagerly awaited and will be welcomed by investors, according to Koji Fukaya of Tokyo’s Deutsche Securities. According to unnamed sources, Britain is prepared to guarantee up to 200 billion Pound Sterling of “toxic debt.”
Against the U.S. Dollar, the Euro saw a .6% gain in trading today to $1.3347, and versus the Japanese Yen, had a .7% rise to 121.10 Yen. Versus the Japanese Yen, the U.S. Dollar saw a small gain of .1% trading at 90.83 Yen in early trading in Asia.