The Traderszone Network

Asian shares crept off four-year lows on Wednesday as China’s efforts to stabilize its currency brought a moment of calm to equity markets, even as oil marked a sorry new milestone under $30 a barrel. …

Crude futures rose on Wednesday for the first time in eight days, with U.S. oil pulling further away from the widely watched $30-per-barrel level breached the previous session, after U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly fell last week. Increased Iranian oil output should feed into oversupply this year with the expected lifting of Western sanctions on that country’s exports, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

China’s central bank held the line on its yuan for a fourth straight session on Wednesday while putting the squeeze on offshore sellers of the currency, dampening fears of a sustained depreciation – at least for now. Investors globally seemed to welcome the stabilization, bidding up equities and yuan proxies such as the Australian dollar while knocking back the safe-haven yen. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the mid-point for the yuan at 6.5630 to the dollar (CNY=CFXS), virtually unchanged from firm fixes on the previous two days.

“We believe it is incredibly important, in the business we’re in, that we insure all Americans,” Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said. Bertolini’s comments contrast with a warning in November from UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer, that it was considering exiting the exchanges in 2017 due to weak enrollment and high costs. Aetna’s exchange business represents 5 percent of its total membership and 6 percent of its total operating revenue, Bertolini said in remarks at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it expected record 2015 pre-tax profit, excluding special items, in the “upper half” of its outlook for $10 billion to $11 billion. Profit for 2016 will be at least as high, excluding special items, said Ford. Analysts were expecting pre-tax profit of $11 billion for 2016, on average.

Comments from a customs spokesman in China on the trade data
– Weak external demand one of the main reasons for weak exports in 2015
(the data is here)
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There should be more to come. The China customs comments tend to drag on for a good while after trade data has come out.

Higher all over the shop for ‘risk’ today in the wake of the yuan stability again plus the China trade balance
AUD/USD chart probably a decent summary for how the global markets are viewing developments today: