Friday's trade data allowed the market to focus on the cyclical performance of the U.S. economy, ... It doesn't appear that the yield difference will shift in favor of the euro any time soon.

By choosing to act preemptively, before inflation becomes strong, the ECB is clearly looking to reducing short-term volatility to keep rates in growth-friendly territory.

The results confirm the view that the euro zone export/investment-led recovery is graduating to a more self-sustainable level, supporting expectations of rising interest rates in 2006.

Yields are the main factor driving flows. The key factor supporting the dollar is expectation of higher rates and acceleration of inflation expectations.

The recent hawkish comments from the ECB suggest that the bank is increasingly concerned about the inflation outlook.

The ECB has to be cautious since risks probably outweigh benefits. So I expect hawkish talk but cautious action.

It does not matter what share of the market it covers but how good the composition is, and for someone like MasterCard, it is safe to assume this condition is satisfied.