Euro Rises Despite Greece Downgrade

The euro rose against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen on Thursday, despite another Greece downgrade. Rating agency Moody's slashed Greece's credit rating by three notches to Caa1 from B1. The new rating suggests there is a 50% chance of a default or another restructuring of debt. The news did not seem to hurt the euro too much, as many analysts have predicted the move. The euro currently trades at $1.4386, or 0.405% higher than yesterday's close. The euro added slightly less value against the yen, however, rising 0.323% to ¥116.37. In a day with no major data publication for the Eurozone, traders have turned their attention to the United States and Japan. The Japanese currency has been hit after Japan's PM said he will leave his post early. The U.S. economy is expected to post important unemployment and productivity data. The falling value of dollar suggests traders are not too optimistic about the strength of these numbers. Traders who believe the euro will find strength in bad results of its competitors, namely the economies of the U.S. and Japan, will be interested in the EUR/USD Exchange Rate ETN ERO and the ProShares Ultra Euro ETF ULE. Those traders that believe the problems in Greece will start pushing the value of the euro down the hill will be more interested in the Market Vectors Double Short Euro ETN DRR and the ProShares UltraShort Euro ETF EUO.