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		Home Page Mortgage News You Can Use Iconocast SEM G7 positions on dollar ahead of Florida meeting Thursday February 5, 9:45 am ET LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven (G7) most developed economies are scheduled to meet in Florida on February 6 and 7 amid concern about the steep fall of the U.S. dollar. Following is a snapshot of developments and key facts: LATEST NEWS * The euro made slender gains against the dollar on Thursday o stand at $1.2590 after the ECB decision to leave rates at 2.0 percent and comments from ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet. * ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet again warned Thursday of the risk of excessive exchange rate movements, but declined comment on what action the G7 finance ministers might take on currencies at this week's meeting. * French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin called for G7 finance ministers meeting in Florida to agree on the need to avoid exchange rate swings distorting the world economy. * Japan's Finance Ministry said on Thursday it would tell the G7 meeting it would act against speculative currency moves, showing it would not flinch at any criticism of its intervention tactics. * BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui said the yen's recent rise posed short-term risks and business sentiment had to be watched. He said Japan's yen-selling intervention did not conflict with the central bank's monetary easing that was aimed at lifting the country out of deflation. * Further gains in the euro's exchange rate could damage the European economy and the G7 should have a detailed discussion on exchange rates , Luxembourg's prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday. * The dollar's weakness against the Swiss franc is less of a headache for the SNB thanks to the stronger euro and an economic upturn, board member Philipp Hildebrand said. * The U.S. economy remains strong and foreign exchange markets should not simply focus on bad points such as the budget and trade deficits, Japan's top financial diplomat Zembei Mizoguchi said on Thursday. KEY QUOTES "With regard to exchange rates we again particularly stress stability and express concern about exaggerated exchange rate movements," --ECB's Trichet -- "It is not my tradition ... to announce in advance anything as regards the G7. I will give you a rendezvous after the meeting of the G7 in Florida and we will have the usual and customary press encounter to explain the communique" -- ECB's Trichet -- "Productivity...should not be undermined by inequality or great fluctuations in exchange rates which are not adapted to the reality of our economies...We want exchange rates which are adapted to the reality of our economies. That is why I want the G7 to reach agreement on this diagnosis of the situation." --French PM Raffarin. -- "We will state our usual stance (at G7) that sudden moves in exchange rates are undesirable and have an impact on the Japanese economy and on the world economy. And therefore, when moves are excessively speculative, we will take firm action,"-- Japan Vice Finance Minister Hayashi. -- "A strengthening of the currency in itself is fine for us, but in the short term we must carefully watch its impact...We must watch the impact on business sentiment."- BOJ Governor Fukui -- "We will take necessary measures if there are excessive currency moves, with the aim of restoring medium-term stability," - Zembei Mizoguchi, vice finance minister for international affairs. -- "I do think like (French) Prime Minister (Jean-Pierre) Raffarin that the G7 ministers...should have a detailed discussion on the exchange rate situation...I don't think we are in trouble...but I do think if things would continue as they are developing for the time being then the European economy could enter dangerous waters." --Luxembourg PM Juncker -- "If dollar weakness were to accentuate, it would be unpleasant....In actual fact, the current currency situation is not such a belly ache. Concerns over currencies are no longer above everything else given the global recovery at firms" -- SNB's Hildebrand. ---------------------------------------------- KEY UPCOMING EVENTS - see (M/DIARY) for more detail * Following G7 central bank policy meetings scheduled: ECB: Feb 5 BOE: Feb 4/5 * OTHER EVENTS- THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5 FRANKFURT- ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet gives a news conference at 1330 gmt after the Governing Council's decision on interest rates is announced at 1245 GMT. TOKYO- Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Toshihiko Fukui holds news conference at 0630 GMT after the end of the BOJ monetary policy meeting. FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 BOCA RATON, Florida- G7 finance ministers meet (to February 7) hosted by U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow. ----------------------------------------------------- KEY FACTS G7 finance ministers - from U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada - last met in Dubai on Sept 20, 2003. The key passage of their communiqué said "We reaffirm that exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals. We continue to monitor exchange markets closely and co-operate as appropriate. In this context we emphasise that more flexibility in exchange rates is desirable for major countries or economic areas to promote smooth and widespread adjustments in the international financial system, based on market mechanisms." Since the Dubai meeting, the dollar has fallen: -10.84 percent against the British pound -12.47 percent against the euro -7.51 percent against the yen -1.34 percent against the Canadian dollar -9.00 percent on a trade-weighted basis   Back to Original Article: Mortgage News You Can Use   Continue with: Japan MOF Hayashi: Expect G7 To Discuss FX Japan's Indicators Index Tops Expectations in December Issues likely to come up at Florida G7 Bond Prices End Down Slightly Workers' Productivity Slows at End of'03 Wall Street Waffles on New Economic Data European Central Bank Keeps Rates Steady Thursday's World Gold Prices U.S. Productivity Grows at 2.7 Percent Annual Rate, Down From 9.5 Percent More borrowers tap into home equity U.S. productivity cools, jobless claims rise U.S. Treasuries, Thursday, Feb 5 House Backs Extended Jobless Benefits Mortgage Activity Drops US TREASURY OUTLOOK - Waiting for payrolls U.S. Treasury's Snow repeats deficits manageable Funds probe spreads to Alliance Capital 401k plans are getting even more scrutiny Fed's Bernanke sees low inflation, slow job growth
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