A wrap-up of the key issues affecting global markets for fundamental investors:

Currencies

• Euro weakening is a sign of trouble for the German economy. (Spiegel Online)
• ECB cuts rates and the euro falls below 1.24 level. (Zero Hedge)

China’s Slowdown

• New orders drop in China as manufacturing weakens. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
• China to relax loan-to-deposit ratio rules. (Reuters)
• The Bank of China lowered interest rates for second time in less than a month. (Wall Street Journal)

Commodities

• Comments from world’s largest copper producer, Chile, suggest demand from China may be strong. (MetalFirst)
• Springtime slump in oil markets continued in May. (International Energy Agency)

Derivatives

• Some estimate that the London Whale’s losses could top $9 billion. (Forbes)

Euro Crisis

• Last week’s summit is all but forgotten, Spanish yields climb as doubts grow. (Financial Times)
• Italy approves €4.5 billion in spending cuts. (Wall Street Journal)

Hedge Fund Money

• Daniel Loeb’s five undervalued top buys. (Seeking Alpha)
• David Einhorn’s top holdings. (Insider Monkey)

Interest Rates and Central Banks

• Central banks are attempting to spur global growth. (Wall Street Journal)

Japanese Debt and Inflation

• BOJ’s Shirakawa says Europe is the biggest threat to Japan. (Reuters)
• Business sentiment improves in Japan.

U.S. Stocks

• Boeing’s deliveries soar, thanks in part to the Fed devaluing the dollar. (Portland Business Journal)
• S&P 500 by dividend yield: many exceed the yield on 10-year Treasuries. (Bloomberg)

Real Estate

• Comparing price-to-income ratios across various U.S. markets: Despite the popping of the bubble, many markets are still way above trend. (Zillow Real Estate Research)
• Across Europe, price-to-income ratios suggest home prices have much further to correct. (Economics in Pictures)

Time Capsule

• Jim Rogers discusses his then-coming world tour back in 2000. What a difference a decade makes. (The Millennium Adventure)

For more news and trends, visit the Economics Community of Practice.

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Euro money image from Shutterstock.