League Assets posts the Bloomberg Morning Market Summary each weekday morning to provide more information about investing in real estate.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Canadian dollar advanced for a fourth straight day against its U.S. counterpart, the longest streak in seven weeks, as stocks make the best start to the year in a quarter century. The currency traded within one cent of parity with the greenback as crude oil, the nation’s largest export, rose for a third day. Canada’s inflation rate probably slowed in December, a Statistics Canada report is forecast to show tomorrow, according to median forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.  Canada’s currency gained 0.2 percent to C$1.0090 per U.S. dollar at 9:55 a.m. in Toronto. It touched C$1.0071, the most since Dec. 8. One Canadian dollar buys 99.11 U.S. cents. The MSCI World Index of equities in developed nations advanced 0.7 percent. Crude oil futures rose 0.3 percent to $101.44 a barrel in New York.

 Government securities declined today, with the benchmark 10-year yield falling two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 1.98 percent. It ended 2011 at 1.94 percent, after touching 1.837 percent on Dec. 16, the lowest in Bloomberg records dating to June 1989.  Canadian government bonds have returned 0.1 percent this month, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index. U.S. stocks are off to the best start in 25 years as investors speculate Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has done enough to insulate the economy from Europe’s debt crisis. The S&P 500 gained 4 percent through Jan. 18, the most since it rose 10 percent over the first 11 days in 1987, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The loonie gained 1.7 percent during the past month, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes, a gauge of 10 developed-nation currencies. The U.S. dollar is down 1.6 percent, and the euro fell 2.5 percent.

U.S. stocks rose for a third day as Bank of America Corp. posted a profit and jobless claims slid, while European equities and the euro climbed as French and Spanish borrowing costs decreased. Copper rallied on signs China will relax credit controls.  The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent at 9:30 a.m. in New York, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.3 percent. The euro appreciated 0.3 percent to $1.2900. French 10-year yields were little changed at 3.13 percent, while Spanish yields increased seven basis points to 5.22 percent. Copper advanced 1.1 percent to help lead commodities higher. Morgan Stanley, Ebay Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. rose after posting better-than-estimated results, among 22 companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to report earnings today. Spain sold 6.61 billion euros ($8.5 billion) of bonds, compared with a maximum target of 4.5 billion euros, while French yields fell to 1.05 percent from 1.58 percent in October at its auction of 2014 notes. The S&P 500 gained 4 percent this year through yesterday as U.S. economic reports and speculation that China will loosen monetary policy outweighed concern that downgrades for European nations would worsen the debt crisis. That’s the biggest gain since it rose 10 percent over the first 11 days in 1987, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of America jumped as the second-largest U.S. lender by assets reported net income of $1.99 billion, or 15 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $1.24 billion, or 16 cents, a year earlier, as the company sold assets and rebuilt capital. Morgan Stanley reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss than analysts estimate on an increase in equity-trading revenue.
EBay, the largest Internet marketplace, reported fourth- quarter sales and profit that beat estimates. Eastman Kodak Co., the photography pioneer that introduced its $1 Brownie Camera more than a century ago, tumbled after filing for bankruptcy protection from creditors. Of the 34 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings since Jan. 9, 21 posted per-share profit that topped analysts’ projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Initial jobless claims fell by 50,000 to 352,000 in the week ended Jan. 14, the lowest level since April 2008, the Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 41 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected 384,000. Other reports showed builders began work on fewer houses than forecast in December, while the cost of living  in the U.S. was little changed last month for a second month.  Almost three shares gained for each that fell in the Stoxx 600. Alstom SA rallied 13 percent after the world’s third- largest power-equipment maker said orders will be “strong” in the fiscal fourth quarter. Carrefour SA slipped 1.9 percent as the world’s second-largest retailer said 2011 profit was at the lower end of its forecasts.

Copper climbed as much as 2.1 percent to $8,410 a metric ton, the highest price since Sept. 20. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities advanced 0.7 percent, led by the industrial metals. China, the biggest buyer of copper, will let larger lenders increase new loans by a maximum of about 5 percent from a year earlier, according to two people at state lenders who have knowledge of the matter. The banking regulator is delaying implementing the most stringent capital adequacy ratios and may lower risk weightings for loans to small businessmen and companies, four people said separately. Oil in New York gained 1 percent to $101.60 a barrel.  The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 1 percent, set for its third consecutive gain and the highest close since October. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong rose 1.7 percent.

League Assets posts the Bloomberg Morning Market Summary each weekday morning on real estate investing. topics.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Canadian dollar rose for a third day as U.S. equity-index futures advanced on speculation Europe’s debt crisis will ease, boosting demand for riskier assets. The Canadian currency was headed for a 0.9 percent gain against its U.S. counterpart on the week as the International Monetary Fund was said to seek a $500 billion expansion of its lending resources to safeguard the global economy. Greece and its private creditors are beginning a final push to renegotiate debt in talks in Athens. The loonie advanced 0.2 percent to C$1.0134 per U.S. dollar at 8:16 a.m. Toronto time. One Canadian dollar buys 98.68 U.S. cents. The Canadian dollar was also higher Wednesday as crude oil prices moved past US$101 a barrel following signs of improving growth in China and the U.S. The February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 95 cents to US$101.66 a barrel, on top of a $2 jump Tuesday. Prices had jumped after China, the world’s second largest economy, reported 8.9 per cent growth in the fourth quarter, slower than the previous quarter but strong enough to indicate it would avoid an abrupt slowdown. Retail and factory production improved while oil demand was up 6.4 per cent in 2011 from 2010, according to data cited by Barclays Capital. In the U.S., government data showed manufacturing in New York expanded at the fastest pace in nine months. Analysts said higher oil was also supported by tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as a move by France to accelerate the EU’s implementation of an embargo on Iranian oil exports. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has said Saudi Arabia was ready to pump more oil if needed to make up for a shortfall in Iranian exports. That came as Iran warned Gulf nations not to make up any shortfall and that it may shut the Strait of Hormuz, which is used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil. There was little change in other commodity prices as March copper was unchanged at US$3.73 after the Chinese economic report in particular sent the metal jumping nine cents Tuesday. China is the world’s biggest copper consumer. And February gold on the Nymex dipped $1.50 to US$1,654.10 an ounce. Investors also digested a warning from The World Bank which warned Wednesday of a possible slump in global economic growth. It also urged developing countries to prepare for shocks that could be more severe than the 2008 crisis. The bank cut its growth forecast for developing countries this year to 5.4 per cent from 6.2 per cent and for developed countries to 1.4 per cent from 2.7 per cent. For the 17 countries that use the euro currency, it forecast a contraction, with a growth outlook to be negative 0.3 per cent from growth of 1.8 per cent.

The euro strengthened after the International Monetary Fund was said to propose raising its lending capacity by $500 billion. U.S. stock-index futures rose as Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s earnings beat estimates. The euro appreciated 0.7 percent to $1.2823 at 8:15 a.m. in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.3 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1 percent. The S&P GSCI index of 24 commodities gained for a second day. Portuguese 10-year yields increased four basis points to 14.28 percent after a bill sale. The IMF currently has about $385 billion available to lend and wants to lift that to $885 billion after identifying the potential for a $1 trillion global financing gap in the next two years, according to a person familiar with the talks.

The euro appreciated against 13 of its 16 major peers, advancing 0.6 percent against the yen. The Dollar Index fell 0.5 percent. The gain in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 will advance for a second day. Goldman Sachs rose 1.8 percent in pre-market trading. S&P 500 companies, which topped profit estimates in the previous 11 quarters, probably will report a 4.6 percent increase in per-share earnings during the September-December period, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Data from the Federal Reserve at 9:15 a.m. New York time may show U.S. industrial production increased 0.5 percent in December after a 0.2 percent drop the prior month, according to the median estimate of 80 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Stocks in Europe fell earlier after the World Bank cut its global growth forecast by the most in three years and Germany lowered its outlook for 2012. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3 percent, after dropping as much as 0.2 percent.

The yield on Portugal’s two-year note rose two basis points to 15.22 percent. Portugal sold 1.25 billion euros ($1.6 billion) of 11-month bills, the longest maturity it has auctioned since the nation sought a rescue last year. The cost of insuring against default on European corporate debt fell to the lowest in 2 1/2 months. The Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of credit-default swaps on 50 companies with mostly high-yield credit ratings dropped 9.5 basis points to 681.5, the lowest since Oct. 31. German two-year yields were little changed at 0.18 percent. The country got bids for 7.596 billion euros of two-year notes at an auction today, compared with a maximum sales target of 4 billion euros, the Bundesbank said in a statement. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields slipped one basis point to 1.85 percent.

League Assets posts the Bloomberg Morning Market Summary each weekday morning on private REIT topics.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Canadian dollar got a strong boost from commodity prices that took off Tuesday morning in the wake of data from China showing stronger than expected growth. The loonie was up 0.54 of a cent to 98.77 cents US shortly  before the Bank of Canada was due to make its next announcement on interest rates. Canada’s dollar remained higher after Bank of Canada kept its main interest rate unchanged and said economic growth will be “more modest” amid a weaker outlook for the U.S. and Europe. The Ottawa-based central bank left its target for overnight loans between commercial banks at 1 percent, where it has been since September 2010, as forecast by all 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Canada’s currency gained 0.4 percent to C$1.0139 per U.S.dollar at 9:02 a.m. in Toronto. One Canadian dollar buys 98.63 U.S. cents. The loonie rose to 94.07 Canadian cents per U.S. dollar on July 26, the strongest level since November 2007, on speculation the Bank of Canada would lift interest rates as the global economy expanded. Since then it has depreciated to as low as C$1.0658 on concern Europe’s sovereign debt crisis may spark another liquidity crunch. China reported that the economy grew 8.9 per cent in the final quarter of last year, down from 9.1 per cent in the third quarter and the slowest in 2 1/2 years. But markets had been expecting a bigger decline to 8.7 per cent and the data also showed that December retail sales and factory output accelerated. The Chinese government moved to slow its economy last year to deal with high inflation. But leaders have recently started easing lending to encourage growth in the face of plunging export demand from the U.S. and Europe.  There have been worries that Chinese officials would be unable to engineer a soft landing for the economy.   A growing Chinese economy has been an important source of support for a struggling global economy and in particular has boosted prices for oil and metals. The Chinese data sent commodity prices up sharply with the February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up $2 to US$100.70 a barrel.  March copper gained 11 cents to US$3.74 a pound while February bullion climbed $32.80 to US$1,663.60 an ounce.

U.S. stock-index futures rose as investors awaited the fourth-quarter earnings of American companies and the economic slowdown in China spurred speculation that policy makers will take measures to stimulate growth.  Alcoa Inc. gained 2 percent in premarket trading as commodities rose. Carnival Corp. fell 15 percent as rescuers continue to search for 29 people after its Costa Concordia cruise liner ran aground off Italy’s Tuscan coast. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March rose 0.9 percent to 1,299.9 as of 10:43 a.m. in London. U.S. stock markets were closed yesterday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures expiring the same month added 101 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,491 today. China’s gross domestic product rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Beijing. Growth exceeded the 8.7 percent median of 26 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

League Assets posts the Bloomberg Morning Market Summary each weekday morning to provide more information about investing in Canada

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Canadian dollar rose against all but one of its 16 major peers on speculation the nation’s exports will benefit from accelerating U.S. economic growth. The Canadian currency extended an eight-week advance against the euro amid concern Europe’s fiscal turmoil will worsen after Standard & Poor’s cut the credit ratings of nine nations including Italy, France and Spain, last week. The loonie advanced with the Mexican peso and the Brazilian real. The Bank of Canada meets tomorrow to set   Canada’s currency strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.02 per U.S. dollar at 7:51 a.m. Toronto time. One Canadian dollar buys 98.04 U.S. cents. The euro weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2925  The Bank of Canada will hold rates at 1 percent, where they’ve been since September 2010, according to all 21 forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank said last month that Europe’s fiscal crisis is a key risk to the domestic recovery, and policy makers may reiterate that view in tomorrow’s statement, due at 9 a.m. Ottawa time.  Regional reports from the New York Fed on Jan. 17 and the Philadelphia Fed on Jan. 19 may show manufacturing continued to pick up in January, according to economist surveys.

Canadian existing home sales rose 1.8 percent in December while prices increased at the slowest pace in more than a year, a realtor group said.  Sales were 39,740 units in December, bringing the total for all of last year to 456,749, an increase of 2.2 percent, the Ottawa-based Canadian Real Estate Association said in a statement. The average resale price rose 0.9 percent in December from a year earlier to C$347,801 ($341,000), the least since October 2010.  “The momentum in sales activity provides clear evidence that low interest rates continue to draw homebuyers,” CREA President Gary Morse said in the statement. “Canada’s housing market will continue to benefit from low interest rates in 2012, and continue making a significant contribution to Canadian economic activity.” Demand for homes has been supported by some of the lowest mortgage rates in decades, with last week’s average five-year fixed mortgage rate of 5.29 percent remaining close to a low of 5.19 percent set in September. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened mortgage regulations last year, saying he was concerned that some families were taking on debts that would become unaffordable as interest rates rise. From a year earlier, December sales rose 4.6 percent, the association said.

European stocks swung between gains and losses, following three days of declines, as France auctioned debt after Standard & Poor’s stripped the country of its top credit rating. U.S. index futures and Asian shares fell.  Carnival Corp. tumbled 17 percent in London after its Costa Concordia cruise liner ran aground off Italy, killing at least six people. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1 percent to 249.5 at 2:07 p.m. in London after earlier falling as much as 0.5 percent and rising as much as 0.4 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March lost 0.2 percent. The U.S. market is closed for a holiday today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.1 percent. The Stoxx 600 erased its gains on Jan. 13, closing 0.1 percent lower, after reports that S&P planned to downgrade several euro-area countries. The gauge still climbed 0.7 percent over the week as Spain and Italy sold debt at lower borrowing costs.

The rating company downgraded France to AA+ from AAA with a negative outlook after the close of European trading on Jan. 13. It cut Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Spain by two grades, while also lowering the long-term ratings on Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia.  Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands had their grades affirmed. The euro declined for a second day, falling to an 11-year low against the yen today even as the European Central Bank was said to buy Italian and Spanish bonds.

Euro-area leaders will this week try to rescue under-fire efforts to deliver new fiscal rules and cut Greece’s debt burden as they urge investors to ignore the S&P downgrades.  Greek officials will reconvene with creditors on Jan. 18 after discussions stalled last week over the size of investor losses in a proposed debt swap, raising the threat of default. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will also meet as the ECB warns governments against “watering down” a revamp of budget laws.  Carnival dropped 17 percent to 1,863 pence, the biggest tumble since 2008, after its cruise liner capsized off the Italian coast on Jan. 13, injuring about 60 people. The ship, carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew, hit submerged rocks in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Rescuers are still searching for as many as 17 people.

League Assets posts the Bloomberg Morning Market Summary each weekday morning to provide context about investing in Canada

(Source: Bloomberg)

Canada’s dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts amid a decline in crude oil prices as leaders of Germany and France met to try to salvage the euro.  The Canadian currency fell from almost a one-year high against the 17-nation currency as a measure of implied volatility rose for the first time in five days. The Bank of Canada will publish its quarterly business outlook and loan officer surveys at 10:30 a.m. Toronto time. The loonie fell against all but five of its 16 most-traded peers, depreciating 0.2 percent to C$1.3105 against the euro, after touching C$1.2991 on Jan. 6, the strongest since Jan. 13, 2011. It was little changed at C$1.0275 per U.S. dollar at 7:25 a.m. Toronto time. One Canadian dollar buys 97.32 U.S. cents.

Canadian building permits declined for the fourth time in five months in November, as a reduction in non-residential work exceeded a gain in housing. The value of permits issued by municipalities fell 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted C$6.10 billion ($5.93 billion), following a revised 11.6 percent gain in October, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists forecast a 5 percent decrease, based on the median of nine forecasts gathered by Bloomberg News. The value of permits has declined from C$6.61 billion in June, mirroring the country’s job market that stagnated in the second half of last year. The Bank of Canada predicts that housing will add little to economic growth in 2012 while business investment may add 0.7 percentage point to Canada’s 1.9 percent economic growth rate.  Permits for non-residential construction dropped 17.6 percent to C$2.24 billion in November. Commercial projects, the largest part of the non-residential category, fell 5.1 percent to C$1.11 billion.  Work on institutional buildings, including schools and hospitals, dropped 34.1 percent to C$692 million and the value of permits issued for industrial projects fell 12.2 percent to C$439 million. Residential permits rose 6.9 percent to C$3.85 billion, the first gain in four months, Statistics Canada said. Single-family housing permits rose 8.2 percent to C$2.38 billion and multiple- unit work increased 5 percent to C$1.47 billion. The nationwide value of building permits was 10.7 percent higher in November than the same month a year earlier, the report said.

The euro rebounded from the lowest level against the dollar since September 2010 as leaders began discussing plans to shore up the currency. European stocks and U.S. index futures advanced.  The euro appreciated 0.3 percent to $1.2759 at 9:05 a.m. in New York, snapping a three-day decline. The German 10-year bund yield increased three basis points. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent after dropping 0.4 percent earlier. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.9 percent, and Hungary’s BUX Index rose 2.2 percent. Wheat jumped 1.8 percent, and S&P GSCI index of 24 raw materials climbed 0.4 percent. Greece’s struggle to contain its debt is a “special case” and no country must leave the euro, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin to consider measures designed to rescue the euro over the next three months. A round of talks among euro-area leaders will follow before the next summit in Brussels on Jan. 30. Alcoa Inc. is due to release fourth-quarter results after the market closes today, unofficially starting the U.S. earnings season. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose one basis point to 1.97 percent. The government will sell  $32 billion of three- year notes tomorrow, $21 billion of 10-year debt the following day, and $13 billion of 30-year bonds on Jan. 12.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc lost 3.5 percent, the most since August, after the U.K.’s biggest drugmaker said it will hold further talks with U.S. regulators on requirements for a filing for the experimental drug Relovair for use against asthma. UniCredit SpA, Italy’s largest lender, tumbled 13 percent as rights to buy its shares slumped in their first day of trading in Milan.  Alcoa gained 1 percent in pre-market trading. The biggest U.S. aluminum producer may say it lost 1 cent a share in the fourth quarter, according to the average of 18 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Companies in the S&P 500 may report earnings grew 6 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, the smallest quarterly gain since September 2009, according to projections compiled by Bloomberg as of Jan. 6. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.4 percent. Chinese stocks gained the most in almost three months after the central bank reported lending and money supply growth that exceeded economists’ estimates in December. Hungarian shares rose for the first time in five days after Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state news service MTI yesterday his government was open to “any kind” of credit line with the International Monetary Fund.

Wheat jumped to $6.35 a bushel, the first increase in four days. Silver gained 0.6 percent and corn and soybeans advanced at least 0.9 percent. Oil in New York was little changed $101.51 a barrel.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Canadian dollar weakened for a second day versus its U.S. counterpart as crude oil fell and rising bond yields in France, Spain and Italy signaled renewed concern some euro-area nations may struggle to fund themselves. The Canadian currency declined as much as 0.7 percent as U.S. stock-index futures dropped and a measure of implied volatility rose, weakening its appeal. Economists forecast the nation’s employers added 20,000 jobs in December, after net losses in the previous two months. The loonie because of the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, depreciated 0.4 percent to C$1.0171 per U.S. dollar at 7:54 a.m. Toronto time. One Canadian dollar buys 98.32 U.S. cents. The currency is still heading for a 0.4 percent gain for the week. Futures on crude oil, Canada’s largest export, dropped 0.6 percent to $102.70 a barrel in New York. Canada derives about half of its export revenue from the sale of raw materials, including crude.

Stocks and the euro declined on concern Europe will struggle to contain the debt crisis as borrowing costs rose at sales of securities by France and Hungary. U.S. futures dropped, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will retreat for the first time this year. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.8 percent at 7:25 a.m. in New York as UniCredit SpA, Italy’s biggest bank, tumbled for a second day. S&P 500 futures slid 0.7 percent. The euro weakened 0.9 percent to $1.2827, and French 10-year bond yields rose five basis points. Hungary’s forint sank 0.6 percent to 322.66 against the euro. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said yesterday deeper cuts in incomes and an accord on foreign aid are the only way for the country to avert economic collapse and a “disorderly default.” France sold 10-year bonds at an average yield of 3.29 percent, up from 3.18 percent in December. The U.S. service industry probably grew last month and jobless claims fell last week, economists said before reports today. “We expect the euro-zone recession to deepen early in the year and for European financial-market pressures to remain intense in the next few months,” said Dominic Wilson, chief market economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Frankfurt. The decline in the Stoxx 600 extended yesterday’s 0.6 percent drop. UniCredit slid 12 percent to the lowest level since 1992 after yesterday plunging 15 percent on plans to sell shares in a rights offer at a 43 percent discount.

Societe Generale SA retreated 3.9 percent as the French bank said it plans to cut about 1,580 jobs at its corporate and investment banking unit. Banco Comercial Portugues SA and Banco Espirito Santo SA lost more than 7 percent in Lisbon. The decline in S&P 500 futures indicated the U.S. equities gauge will drop for the first time this year. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index, due for release at 10 a.m. New York time, rose to 53 in December from 52 the previous month, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Fifty is the dividing line between expansion and contraction in the services gauge. A separate release may show the number of applications for jobless benefits fell last week. The data comes before tomorrow’s payrolls report from the Labor Department, which is forecast to show the U.S. economy generated 150,000 jobs last month, according to an economist survey.

The European Financial Stability Facility is selling 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) of bonds at a yield spread of almost seven times its first issue a year ago after euro-region sentiment worsened. The bailout fund will price its February 2015 notes to yield 40 basis points more than the benchmark swap rate today, a banker involved in the deal said. That compares with the six basis-point spread it paid to sell 5 billion euros of July 2016 bonds Jan. 25, 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six trading partners, climbed 0.7 percent. The euro slid 0.7 percent against the yen, approaching an 11-year low, and depreciated 0.3 percent versus the pound.