The EU will not extend its economic sanctions against Russia immediately

European shares opened lower this morning following significant losses on Wall Street after the FOMC meeting, but reversed their losses to trade mixed currently. US Equities are near opening levels as well. US pending home sales were slightly weaker than expected but didn’t harm sentiment.

The EU will not extend its economic sanctions against Russia immediately, despite the dramatic escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, the FT reports on its website, saying political divisions in the EU are preventing a hardhitting response from the EU.

In the week ending the 24th of January, US initial jobless claims dropped from 308 000 to 265 000, the lowest level in nearly 15 years. While the Labour Department said there were no special factors, the drop might have been due to the Martin Luther King’s Day Holiday, which might have distorted the figures.

The Aussie dollar dropped to its lowest level in 5 years against the US dollar today as investors increase bets for a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia next week, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand skipped its tightening bias overnight.

The Danish central bank cut rates for a third time this year in order to defend the “unnegotiable” EUR/DKK peg. The deposit rate was cut from ‐0.35% to ‐0.50%. The lending rate remains at 0.05%.

Spanish retail sales jumped 6.5% Y/Y in December, the biggest rise since 2003, indicating that Spanish consumers boosted their spending, supported by an improving economic outlook and falling oil prices.