BLOOMBERG

Germany Urges Greece to Win Over ECB in Quest for Funding

Germany's top envoy for Europe urged Greece to end its spat with the European Central Bank, saying ECB President Mario Draghi is an ally in the country's struggle for funding.

Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth said he made the point in talks with Greek government officials in Athens this week. Confrontation with the ECB won't help Greece and it would be "disastrous" if Europe failed to put the country on the path to prosperity, he said in an interview in Berlin.

As Greece and its European creditors seek a financing deal, Roth's trip reflects a German effort to smooth relations and keep Greece in the euro area. A week after Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for talks and dinner, Roth met Nikos Pappas, Tsipras's chief of staff, and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-02/germany-urges-greece-to-win-over-ecb-in-quest-for-funding

REUTERS
Solid U.S. job growth anticipated despite weak economy

(Reuters) - U.S. job growth likely remained solid in March, which should allay fears over recent economic weakness and keep the Federal Reserve on course to start raising interest rates this year.

Nonfarm payrolls probably increased 245,000 last month after rising 295,000 in February, according to a Reuters survey of economists. March would mark the 13th straight month of job gains above 200,000, the longest streak since late 1993.

The labor market has largely shrugged off a harsh winter, a buoyant dollar, weaker global demand and a now-resolved labor dispute at West Coast ports, which have combined to undermine economic activity in the first quarter.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/03/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN0MU07X20150403

BLOOMBERG

Samsung Said to Win Apple A9 Chip Orders for Next IPhone

Samsung Electronics Co. will manufacture the main chip in Apple Inc.'s next iPhone model, regaining a customer previously lost to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Samsung will start making Apple A9 processor chips at its Giheung plant in South Korea, the people said, asking not to be identified because the contract hasn't been discussed publicly. Additional orders will go to Samsung's partner Globalfoundries Inc., according to another person familiar with the arrangement.

Winning this order from Apple will help the world's second-largest chipmaker rebound against TSMC, which last year ended Samsung's monopoly over contracts to make iPhone and iPad chips. Both manufacturers have boosted capital expenditures to gain business from Apple and Qualcomm Inc. in the more than $300 billion semiconductor industry.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-03/samsung-said-to-win-apple-a9-chip-orders-for-next-iphone

EUR / USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.1034 (1044)

$1.0988 (868)

$1.0956 (209)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.0879

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.0844 (611)

$1.0814 (744)

$1.0776 (990)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date May, 8 is 38395 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,1200 (4601);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date May, 8 is 53627 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,0000 (7548);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 1.40 versus 1.13 from the previous trading day according to data from April, 2

GBP/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.5112 (1108)

$1.5016 (976)

$1.4921 (430)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.4833

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.4776 (2365)

$1.4680 (2541)

$1.4684 (615)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date May, 8 is 15102 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,5100 (1108);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date May, 8 is 22297 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,4700 (2541);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 1.48 versus 1.06 from the previous trading day according to data from April, 2

* - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange bulletin (CME) is used for the calculation.

** - Open interest takes into account the total number of option contracts that are open at the moment.

(pare/closed(GMT +3)/change, %)

EUR/JPY $1,0879 +1,05%

GBP/USD $1,4830 +0,03%

USD/CHF Chf0,9594 -0,73%

USD/JPY Y119,73 +0,04%

EUR/JPY Y130,25 +1,07%

GBP/JPY Y177,56 +0,08%

AUD/USD $0,7588 -0,16%

NZD/USD $0,7512 +0,76%

USD/CAD C$1,2559 -0,48%

(time / country / index / period / previous value / forecast)

00:00 Australia Bank holiday

00:00 New Zealand Bank holiday

01:30 Japan Labor Cash Earnings, YoY February 1.3% 0.7%

01:45 China HSBC Services PMI March 52.0

06:00 Germany Bank Holiday

06:00 Switzerland Bank holiday

07:00 United Kingdom Halifax house price index March -0.3%

07:00 United Kingdom Halifax house price index 3m Y/Y March 8.3%

08:00 United Kingdom Bank holiday

12:00Canada Bank holiday

12:00 U.S. Bank holiday

12:30 U.S. Average hourly earnings March 0.1% 0.2%

12:30 U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls March 295 251

12:30 U.S. Unemployment Rate March 5.5% 5.5%