The Australian dollar has faced a.............>

FOREX: The Australian dollar has faced a combination of headwinds in early Asia

trade, landing at the bottom of the G10 pile as a result. The latest Australian

PMI survey from CBA saw decelerating rates of expansion in both manufacturing

and services sectors, while CBA noted "a sharp fall in employment intentions at

the start of Q3," amid the RBA's focus on domestic labour market. Soon

thereafter, APRA required Macquarie, Rabobank & HSBC to tighten the intra-group

funding arrangements, pointing to their improper reporting of funding stability

within the group. The final blow to the Aussie was delivered by Westpac, who

brought forward their RBA call and now exp. two more 25bps cuts in Oct & Feb.

- AUD weakness has spilled over into NZD to a degree. Earlier reaction to a

wider than expected NZ trade surplus was muted, with headline print underpinned

by softer than forecast imports and exports.

- USD remains buoyant after a strong session yesterday, JPY has gained some

traction despite positive equity performance at home.

- Today's economic docket features a batch of global flash PMI readings, as well

as new home sales and corporate earnings reports in the U.S.