EUR/USD heads into the weekend on a soft note, trading below the area where the ECB tried to draw a line in the sand late last week and early this week at roughly the 1.2850 level. We head into the close just shy of 1.2800.
Equities have given back great chunks of recent gains as the US stimulus package is being revealed to be a bloated mess and a bank bailout still seems some ways off. There were some economic bright spots this week like a rise in existing home sales and a shallower-than-expected pullback in GDP, but there were also low-lights like climbing continuing jobless claims, massive fresh layoff announcements and Chicago PMI figures that barely maintained a 30-handle. Hopes are not high for ISM on Monday with a dip to 32.9 the median forecast.
Rumored 1.2750 barriers will be in focus in Asia early Monday barring government action over the weekend to shore up the banks.
To start the weekend right, here is a philosophical look at thrills and spills that closely approximate the ebb and flow of trading