April 21, 2009

The dollar advanced against the euro and the pound Monday as European and US markets sank amid new worries about banks' profit reports. The 16-nation euro fell to $1.2923 in late New York trading from $1.3027 Friday. Earlier in the session, the euro slid to $1.2887, its lowest point since mid-March. The British pound dropped to $1.4539 from $1.4793, while the dollar fell to 97.84 Japanese yen from 99.24 yen. Bank of America Corp. said Monday it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses even as it posted earnings that beat expectations.

Other big banks have also increased loss provisions in the past two weeks.Markets were encouraged last week by upbeat reports from US banks Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., although investors know that difficulties in the banking sector remain.Worries about the financial industry overshadowed Oracle Corp.'s announcement that it would acquire Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.4 billion and a $6 billion bid by PepsiCo Inc. to buy its two biggest bottlers. Major market indicators tumbled more than 3 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 290 points.