Yesterday was one to remember on Wall Street, with Facebook filing for an initial public offering which could value the social media giant between 75 billion and 100 billion dollars. Facebook’s goal is to raise 5 billion dollars when it starts to sell shares in the spring. The company has produced over one billion dollars in profits last year. Founder and the brains behind Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, was apparently less than thrilled in the past about the company going public and how such a move would create some negativity in the corporate culture. It seems that the rather dreamy dollar figure was enough to change his mind.

Below Forecast

Both the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change numbers and the ISM Manufacturing PMI were released yesterday in the United States. Both came in slightly below expectations. Today Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify before the House Budget Committee. Also, the Unemployment Claims report will be released in the United States at 1:30pm EST. This morning in Australia, the Trade Balance report was released and came in at almost half a billion dollars higher than expected. The AUD/USD is up this morning by 0.09% and trading at 1.0716 at the time of this writing.

Dollar down due to manufacturing

The dollar dropped against other major currencies in late trading yesterday and in early Asian trading on Thursday. This happened due to several positive manufacturing reports in China, Europe and the United States. Purchasing Managers’ reports from several countries, including China and Germany, managed to beat expectations. The EUR/USD is up this morning by 0.03% and trading at 1.3163. The GBP/USD is up as well, showing an increase of 0.05% and trading at 1.5840. The dollar index was down yesterday by 0.16% at 78.91. 

ECB Cautious

The European Central Bank is keeping its hand close to the vest regarding the expected Greek bailout. The ECB will likely not reveal its plans until Greece finally solves its private debt restructuring. Creditors are on keen on the ECB getting involved in negotiations, but the central bank has yet to reveal its intentions. This uncertainty may harm the euro, as investors continue to become disenchanted with the single currency.

Commodities Fall

Gold and oil are both down this morning, with gold trading at 1747.85 and crude oil at 97.39 USD per barrel, down 0.23%. Oil was down due to the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change numbers and higher than expected American fuel reserves. Gold was up in early Asian trading due to increased risk appetite for investors influenced by positive manufacturing data. Gold has since started to head south however, down 0.05%.