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German Economic Expectations Fall Again

MANNHEIM--German economic expectations in June fell at the fastest rate in more than a decade, reflecting the view that Greek repeat parliamentary elections only provided a brief respite and that the situation in the euro zone is "still precarious," the Center for European Economic Research, also known as ZEW, said Tuesday.
The economic expectations index fell to -16.9 in June from May's unrevised 10.8. The last time the decline in the indicator was this great was in October 1998. Experts in a poll by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a fall to 2.8 for June.
The widely watched ZEW index fell again in June after improving sharply in recent months. After declining for nine months on the deepening of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, the index turned negative in June after turning positive in February.
ZEW said the decline is a warning that optimism over Germany's economy is still premature as its main trading partners are experiencing an economic downturn.
The current conditions index fell to +33.2 from May's unrevised 44.1. Experts had forecast a reading of 39.0 for June.

Microsoft Unveils 'Surface' Tablets

Microsoft unveils tablet it hopes will take on iPad


--Tablet runs on version of Windows 8 operating system
--Surface to be priced similarly to other tablets, company says
LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) unveiled on Monday a family of tablets that run the upcoming version of its Windows operating system, a move that comes as the software company races to catch up with Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) in mobile computing.
At an event in Los Angeles, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer introduced the company's Surface family of tablets. The devices, which feature magnesium bodies and built-in stands, run versions of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system.
Mr. Ballmer said the Redmond, Wash., company recognized the importance of integrating software and hardware, a strategy that is the hallmark of rival Apple.
"With Windows 8, we didn't want to leave any seam uncovered," Mr. Ballmer said. "We wanted to give Windows 8 its own hardware companion.
"The surface is a PC. And the Surface is a tablet. The Surface is something new." Mr. Ballmer later said.
The Surface family comes with a magnetically attachable cover that has a built-in accelerometer. The inside of the cover is a full keyboard that recognizes the device when it is attached. The Surface's stand, called the Kickstand, snaps into place with an audible click. It has connection for charging and linking the tablet to peripherals and it will come with a Netflix (NFLX) application.
The Surface "works great for entertainment," said Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft's Windows division.
Microsoft has built a software business with $70 billion in annual revenue and left the computer hardware to allies such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Dell Inc. (DELL) and others. Now Microsoft will be going after tablet customers too.
A Dell spokesman said the company "remains a committed partner of Microsoft" and is continuing to develop a "full slate" of Windows 8 products.
H-P didn't immediately respond for comment.
"Don't focus too much on Microsoft competing with other PC vendors," said retail analyst Ross Rubin of NPD Group in a Tweet. "They all have the same main competitor in Apple."
The Surface is a compact 9.3 millimeters thin and weighs 1.5 pounds, very similar to Apple's iPad at 9.4 millimeters and 1.44 pounds for the model with WiFi. Besides the kickstand and detachable keyboard cover, the cover also has a trackpad.
Apple didn't immediately respond for comment on the Microsoft device.
Microsoft said the Surface would be priced comparably to other tablet computers and available simultaneously with release of Windows 8. It will appear first in the Microsoft Store online and through company retail locations.
Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said Surface will go on sale to capture the maximum benefit of the holiday gift season. Doing a prominent press event so far in advance is aimed at rallying applications developers behind the new platform.
"They now have a six month window to get developers they have on the PC side to join them on Windows 8 and this tablet," she said.
The Surface and other tablet versions of Windows will run on low-power chips designed by ARM Holdings PLC (ARMH). Windows 8 Pro versions of the Surface are aimed at enterprise computing customers and will run on chips made by Intel Corp. (INTC).
Microsoft made the announcement at the center of the music, film and television world, which Microsoft has already embraced to deliver content to its popular Xbox 360 game console. The Microsoft tablet will run the tablet version of Windows 8, called Windows RT. Windows 8 is the next edition of the company's flagship computer-operating system, which will for the first time run on both desktop computers and tablet devices.
Windows 8 is Microsoft's best hope for competing with devices running Google's (GOOG) Android operating system and with Apple's iPad and iPhone products. Microsoft has almost no presence in the tablet market, which is expected to double in size, with sales of 118.9 million units this year, according to research firm Gartner Inc. Apple's iPad is expected to account for a little less than two-thirds of those sales and Android machines for nearly a third.
Microsoft has spent the past two years developing Windows 8. The company is putting the finishing touches on the software before shipping it to manufacturers, which will load it on devices slated to hit stores in October or November, in time for the holiday-sales season.
Many companies have tried to compete with Apple's iPad with tablets based on the Google Android operating system, but few products have sold well. In smartphones, Android phones collectively have a majority of the market, but Apple's iPhone remains a dominant hit.
Microsoft has long manufactured keyboards, mice and other accessories, but hasn't always succeeded with consumer devices. Xbox has become the best selling gaming station, but its Zune music player, designed to compete with Apple's iPod, never caught on with music buffs. Its KIN mobile phone died a quick death shortly after it appeared in 2010. Handset maker Nokia Corp. (NOK) is now is leading phone partner.
-Ian Sherr contributed to this story. 

China Yuan Official Central Parity Rates for Friday

The China Foreign Exchange Trade System published the following official central parity rates for major currencies against the yuan Friday:

 
            Friday    Thursday 
USD/CNY     6.3089     6.3191 
HKD/CNY     0.81312    0.81446 
JPY/CNY*    7.9509     7.9687 
EUR/CNY     7.9596     7.9362 
GBP/CNY     9.8040     9.8016 
AUD/CNY     6.3136     6.2818 
CAD/CNY     6.1628     6.1422 
CNY/MYR     0.50366    0.50200 
CNY/RUB     5.1300     5.1263 
 
*per 100 yen 
 

The daily central parity rate for the yuan versus the U.S. dollar is the weighted average of prices given by market makers. The highest and lowest offers are excluded from the calculation.
In each daily trading session, the central bank allows the dollar/yuan rate to move no more than 1% above or below the central parity rate, and the yuan/ringgit and yuan/ruble to move no more than 5%. It allows other currency pairs to move as much as 3% above or below the central parity rate.

IMF Reiterates No Plans to Fund Financing for Spain, Only Monitoring

WASHINGTON--The International Monetary Fund has no plans to provide any financing for Spain, only to take a monitoring role in a EUR100 billion European bailout for the country's banks, an IMF official reiterated Thursday.
But IMF spokesman Gerry Rice repeated that the fund believes Europe should use its emergency bailout funds to take direct stakes in ailing banks as opposed to lending to governments, which then uses the cash to recapitalize banks. Otherwise, Europe risks boosting governments debt burdens and pushing borrowing costs higher.
The IMF's point has been highlighted in recent days as Germany's opposition to use euro funds for bank bailouts has fueled market concerns that Spain's bailout will mean Madrid will be unable to pay its obligations, pushing its borrowing costs to unsustainable levels.
Asked if Europe it's facing its last chance to fix the crisis at two upcoming euro summits in June--as some economists believe-- Mr. Rice said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has repeatedly warned Europe of the urgency of prompt action on a comprehensive crisis plan. The IMF has said the E.U. needs to strengthen the capacity of its bailout funds, spur growth through looser monetary policy and tweaking budget-tightening plans, and creating a banking union.
Mr. Rice also said the IMF would warn world leaders at an upcoming summit of the Group of 20 largest industrialized and developing countries of the downside risks the global economy from a worsening of the euro zone crisis. He said the fund is hoping the G-20 firms up commitments to boost IMF resources, as tentatively promised earlier this year when IMF members pledged to raise more than $430 billion in new lending resources for the fund.
Officials from some key emerging economies, including China and Brazil, have indicated they may delay detailing any possible IMF cash commitments over concerns about the pace of IMF governance reform that would give them greater power within the fund.
Despite those remarks, Mr. Rice said there had been "no backtracking or delay" on new resource commitments, and "it was never expected that the package would be completed with every detail by" the G-20 meeting early next week.
The IMF spokesman also said there had been no request for financial assistance from Cyprus, despite some economist expectations that the country may soon need external financial support.