FTSE 100 modestly lower ahead of BoE MPC minutes

EUR Current Account 25.9B 14.2B 16.3B

GBP MPC Meeting Minutes 0-0-9 0-0-9 0-0-9

GBP Retail Sales m/m -1.3% 0.0% -0.7%

GBP Public Sector Net Borrowing 8.0B 7.6B 16.7B

Cold weather dampens retail sales in April

LONDON | Wed May 22, 2013 9:34am BST

(Reuters) - Cold weather continued to hurt British retail sales in April, driving the biggest monthly drop in a year, official data showed on Wednesday.

The Office for National Statistics said sales of barbecue food and garden furniture were hit in particular.

Retail sales volumes including automotive fuel fell 1.3 percent in April from March, confounding economists' forecasts for flat sales.

German 10-y Bond Auction 1.41|1.6 1.28|1.6

GBP CBI Industrial Order Expectations -20 -18 -25

FTSE 100 slightly lower in midday trade ahead of US data

CAD Core Retail Sales m/m -0.2% 0.2% 0.7%

CAD Retail Sales m/m 0.0% 0.2% 0.8%

US STOCKS-Futures up ahead of Bernanke testimony

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose in thin trading on Wednesday, ahead of highly anticipated Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the economy and monetary policy.

Bernanke is expected to strike a dovish tone when he addresses a congressional committee at 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Earlier on Wednesday, influential New York Fed President William Dudley reinforced his own remarks Tuesday, when he damped speculation that the U.S. central bank was preparing to reduce its monetary stimulus.

USD Existing Home Sales 4.97M 4.99M 4.92M

Bernanke touts benefits of Fed easing, no hint of pullback

WASHINGTON | Wed May 22, 2013 3:04pm BST

May 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus is helping the U.S. economy recover, and the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas, central bank chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

In testimony that offered no sign that he is ready to retreat from the Fed's latest round of bond buying, Bernanke emphasized the high costs of unemployment and inflation that continues to run below the central bank's target.

Spike on gold.

Bernanke's Q&A testimony to congressional panel

(Reuters) - Below are highlights of the question and answer session of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on the U.S. economy to the congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday.

FTSE100 ends firmly higher with banks and miners strong

Can anyone confirm the previous high (1999), I think today's intraday high (6,875.62) may have beaten it.