Euro nears $1.21 as divergence trades bloom (news: 08/09/17)

Today's press

• Euro nears $1.21 as divergence trades bloom

  LONDON (Reuters) - The euro rose to a fresh 2-1/2 year high on Friday as currency bulls judged the central bank’s concerns about the strengthening currency at Thursday’s policy meeting as lukewarm at best.

• UK exports outside EU fall despite weak pound

  Britain’s efforts to expand trade in goods beyond the European Union’s border took a knock in July after official figures showed the deficit with the rest of the world widened following a drop in exports.

• Wall St. opens lower as Irma powers toward Florida

  (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as investors assessed the financial impact of hurricane Harvey, as hurricane Irma powers toward Florida.

• Canada jobs growth picks up in August; unemployment at nine-year low

  OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian economy added more jobs than expected in August, sending the unemployment rate to its lowest since the financial crisis, but part-time hiring accounted for all of the gains, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday.

• Pound Climbs to Five-Week High Even as U.K. Data Mixed Bag

  The pound rose to a five-week high against a weaker dollar as investors covered short positions and U.K. manufacturing data beat expectations.

• $257 Million: Filecoin Breaks All-Time Record for ICO Funding

  Blockchain data storage network Filecoin has officially completed its initial coin offering (ICO), raising more than $257 million over a month of activity.