The problems in the Eurozone are significantly overshadowing even the dismal jobs report out of the U.S. and the Euro is under considerable pressure as a result. The Euro edged closer to a 2-year low versus the U.S. Dollar, and as at 2:29 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.2393, a loss of 0.3% and edging closer to $.2288, a near 2-year low struck last Friday. In just the month of May, the Euro has lost nearly 6% of its value and analysts expect more declines and larger sell offs ahead. Market players are anticipating that the ECB might step in with some stop gap assistance, but they are more desperate to see some credible strategy that would work toward a resolution of the crisis from E.U. policymakers.
In the U.S., Friday’s non-farms payroll report from the U.S. government was far below expectations and suggests that the global slowdown is weighing more heavily on the U.S. economy than had been previously thought. Later this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will provide the second of his twice-annual addresses to the U.S. Congress on the state of the economy, and markets will be keen to hear whether or not he believes that more Fed stimulus might sufficiently keep the fragile economic recovery from retrogressing.