American focus:

The euro gained versus the dollar to the highest level in almost a month as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’s committed to the shared currency and European Central Bank officials backed the creation of a euro-region finance ministry.
“We don’t have a euro problem in Europe,” Merkel said in a speech in Singapore today on the final day of a three-day Asia trip that also took her to India. “We have more of a debt problem. Financial markets doubt whether some EU states can manage their debt in the long-term.” Germany is committed to the euro, which is stable, she said.
The dollar dropped against the majority of its most-traded peers as weaker economic data, including higher-than-forecast jobless claims, added to speculation the nation’s recovery is slowing. The yen was lower against the euro as Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence vote after offering to step down once his work to lead a recovery from March’s earthquake is accomplished.
“A lot of the comments we’ve seen from the euro zone are keeping the currency afloat,” said Kathy Lien, director of currency research with online currency trader GFT Forex in New York. “The jobless claims number is still at lofty levels and because of that the dollar remains under pressure.”