A full-scale sell-off of the yen has been underway since the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in Japan's national elections. The yen reached a new low since April 2011, bottoming out at 84.48 JPY/USD. It would appear that markets are delighted with the victory, as most riskier assets, including the Nikkei 225 Stock Average and futures on U.S. equities have gained a couple of points on the news.
On a gloomier note, the decision by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to resign after the budget is approved this week could prove to be a major blow to efforts by the eurozone to get out of the impasse that has been lingering now for three years. The euro is nevertheless holding its own, and is up close to 9% against the USD since July.
Apart from November's Canadian Existing Home Sales figures, no major news is expected in North America today. Wishing you a great day.