Oil rose more than $2 to hit a one-month high near $72 on Monday as positive Chinese economic data and firmer equities bolstered hopes of economic recovery and higher energy demand.

The yen rose today as uncertainty about the global economic outlook and forthcoming U.S. corporate earnings increased the safe-haven appeal of the Japanese currency.

World stocks took yet more losses Tuesday, with Europe shares hitting a record low, a day after most equity markets suffered a thorough battering at the hands of investors fearful for the global financial system.

RBA cuts 100 BPS…  It IS a recession!  Paulson to ruffle feathers?  Yen to rally hard? And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Currencies continue to rally…  More Stimulus…  Data shows more rot on the vine… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Australia’s central bank took the hatchet to its benchmark interest rate Tuesday, cutting 75 basis points to 5.25%, the lowest since March 2005. Since the start of September, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates three times for a total of 200 basis points, in an attempt to insulate the economy from the global financial crisis. 

Let’s get right to the point and suggest that Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Rick Battelino was talking to the banks yesterday and not anyone who lives on planet Earth, or Terra Australis Incognito, where last we heard, inflation was running at 4.5% on a yearly basis.